Melissa Thompson

Melissa was born in 1980 in Alice Springs to Kawaki and Carlene Thompson, a very senior Pitjantjatjara family. She has four other sisters, two of whom also work at the art centres, as does her mother Carlene. She has worked as a community policewoman in Ernabella in the past. Melissa is currently working as a domestic violence councillor on the Pitjantjantjara/Yankunytjatjara Lands. She has one child. Melissa has recently started working in the Ceramics Studio at Ernabella Arts, although she has in the past produced paintings and she worked on the mural that decorates the Ernabella store. Mellissa draws from traditional iconography in her work. This can include bush food but she mainly develops designs that are her own interpretations of traditional patterns. She also draws from women’s Tjukurpa (traditional stories) and Inma (traditional ceremony) in her mark making.