Painting and creating in her studio is where you will find local artist Tania Tanti most of the time. With a relaxed approach to bright and bold colour this is where she is most comfortable. Having had a love for drawing, painting and quilting over many years it was only a matter of time before these techniques were all combined to produce Tania’s unique imaginary garden and landscapes that she so readily creates. “I love to work big and I like to work small, whatever the feeling is in that moment is what starts to be created. Sometimes I have a plan and sometimes I just have a colour in mind and this is where I begin.”

Beginning with a blank piece of white cloth Tania paints directly onto the fabric with fabric paint. The paint is heat set and made permanent. Once all of the image has been created and Tania is satisfied with the painted process the fabric is sandwiched and the intense free motion quilting/embroidery begins. Both processes can take time, however the quilting is probably the most time consuming and intense part of the process. Continuously changing the thread as she works is all part of the puzzle of building upon a piece until Tania is satisfied it is complete.

“Once a piece is started it is rarely abandoned, it is quite an obsession. I walk thinking about it, I sleep thinking about it. I see lines within everyday objects and think about where the next shapes and threads will go.”

Framing these art quilts just adds another dimension to finish the pieces off. “I like to have them stretched on a frame. It is difficult with such a huge amount of stitching to always have your work stay flat. Kinks annoy me and take the joy out of appreciating the finished work, so I figure the best way to show them off and finish them off is to frame them. This isn’t always possible for everything, but one way or another they end up with some sort of frame around them, it gives them the finishing touch.”

With many colourful dreams still to fulfill Tania will continue to chase her dreams in her imaginary world full of bright colours. There is still so much more to discover. For any queries please email Tania: info@taniatanti.com.au