Tanya Minhas

00:00:02:13 – 00:00:31:16
Tanya
It was only when I was at a point in my life where I had grief. And at that time, no other language was sufficient. And that was exactly the pivot when I committed myself to living my life as an artist.

00:00:31:18 – 00:00:57:06
Claudia
Hello and welcome back to Shift Happens. I am starting with a question for you. What does art do to you? What fascinates you about a painting? The colors, the forms, the historic reflection or relevance? Today I’m in conversation with New York based artist Tanya Minhas-Nahem, who reflects on the importance of the invisible in art, in nature, in life.

00:00:57:07 – 00:01:20:19
Claudia
Fascinating. Tanya, originally from Pakistan, started her career in management consulting to then eventually spending her time experimenting with different art forms. She explains how this was the way she grew up, surrounded by and immersed into art, history and crafts. We speak about the moment in her life when she decided to commit her entire life to being an artist.

00:01:20:21 – 00:01:50:09
Claudia
In this period, she realized that art is really the only language to express how she felt and feels. Even though this is a very personal experience. It again shows how we’re all connected and similar in the way that mostly when we have to face hard and challenging times, we evolve, grow, and move a little closer to ourselves. Tapestry of dreams is the title of Tanya’s new solo show, a body of work that reflects her immediate experiences in nature.

00:01:50:11 – 00:02:12:17
Claudia
Weaving in cultural elements of her Pakistani heritage. For anyone who lives in New York City, her show is currently on view from September 18th to October 25th at her gallery. Winston walked her on West 25th Street. Please refer to my show notes for address and opening hours.

00:02:12:19 – 00:02:39:12
Claudia
On another note. I’m so proud and excited to announce that shift happened. Season five is supported by London based jewelry brand Tilly Swears. Its founder, Tilly Swears creates gorgeous, timeless pieces that have been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, the New York Times. Her jewelry is for women of all ages. Guess who is wearing it? To no one less than Taylor Swift.

00:02:39:14 – 00:03:09:04
Claudia
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00:03:09:06 – 00:03:19:04
Claudia
Welcome, Tanya. Shift happens. We had to shift our appointments quite a few times to get here, but now we’re finally there.

00:03:19:06 – 00:03:20:11
Tanya
Yes.

00:03:20:13 – 00:03:42:21
Claudia
So, Tanya, as you know, in shift happens, we talk about a pivotal moment in life. And either what one has learned in that moment or how it has influenced the life that came afterwards. But before we start, I want to ask a few questions. What is your current state of mind?

00:03:42:23 – 00:03:47:21
Tanya
At the moment, I have to say that I feel quite tranquil.

00:03:47:23 – 00:03:49:02
Claudia
Nice.

00:03:49:04 – 00:04:17:05
Tanya
And I also want to say, even though this isn’t even your question, I want to say thank you, Claudia, for including me in this series of conversations. You know, it’s it reminds me, as I’ve been listening to your podcasts and other women that you’ve interviewed, and it is just only women so far. And maybe always I’m not sure what your plan is for the future as this evolves, but it reminds me of the tradition of storytelling.

00:04:17:07 – 00:04:48:08
Tanya
Of Native American storytelling or other cultures. That knowledge is transmitted down from your ancestors. And so it’s quite special to be a part of this sort of in the new generation of conveying your history verbally. And because you’ve compiled people from all over the world, it’s wonderful to have that access. The benefits of technology.

00:04:48:08 – 00:04:49:15
Claudia
Yes, absolutely.

00:04:49:15 – 00:04:50:12
Tanya
Absolutely. Right.

00:04:50:15 – 00:04:51:07
Claudia
But thank you.

00:04:51:08 – 00:04:54:15
Tanya
Yeah. So thank you. I’m honored to be a part of it. And for that reason.

00:04:54:16 – 00:05:13:07
Claudia
Thank you. Thank you for pointing that out, because I really also believe that it’s such an important part. And because podcasts in general are so, successful and people are so drawn to it, we can see how, how we need to be nourished by this form of storytelling.

00:05:13:09 – 00:05:19:15
Tanya
And it’s a way of getting distances shorter, even as in real life distances are getting longer. Yeah.

00:05:19:17 – 00:05:32:15
Claudia
Yes, true. It’s a form of connection. Yes. So your tranquil, great, Dogs or cats?

00:05:32:17 – 00:05:37:22
Tanya
Both. However, the other people in my household are allergic.

00:05:38:00 – 00:05:39:18
Claudia
Oh, I see.

00:05:39:20 – 00:05:47:11
Tanya
Isn’t that sad? Dogs. Cats? Chickens. Any animal. Any animal. Okay. Yes.

00:05:47:13 – 00:05:50:09
Claudia
Still all sparkling.

00:05:50:11 – 00:05:52:04
Tanya
Still.

00:05:52:06 – 00:05:57:06
Claudia
What is your superpower?

00:05:57:08 – 00:06:10:19
Tanya
This name? Good. Listening to nature. Beautiful.

00:06:10:21 – 00:06:26:01
Claudia
So, you shared with me beforehand that for you, it was, like, the most important moment when you accepted that you would commit your whole life to being an artist.

00:06:26:03 – 00:06:26:21
Tanya
That’s right.

00:06:27:00 – 00:06:48:14
Claudia
And that I find really, really interesting because it’s it’s it’s huge. And it encompasses everything in life. So of course, I’m like wondering when do you think exactly this happened? In which phase of your life and and how did you know? Okay, this is just what I have to do. This is my calling.

00:06:48:16 – 00:07:16:22
Tanya
Claudia, I have actually been thinking about this, too. And thank you for asking this question and making it one of your main questions in your podcasts. But I was so in my family, there are many artists, as in people who can draw and paint incredibly well. So I grew up taking it for granted. That this is something that everyone does and also in certain schooling systems you learn how to draw.

00:07:16:23 – 00:07:44:08
Tanya
It’s like a technical skill just as you learn how to do embroidery. Carpentry. So I always loved to draw and paint and so did pretty much everybody else in my extended family on my mother’s side. I’m not sure about my father’s side in terms of that, that sort of artistry, but I just took it for granted that it was one of the languages that I spoke.

00:07:44:09 – 00:08:21:21
Tanya
And I always studied it, painted, drew, sculpted. It was only when I was at a point in my life where I had grief. And at that time no other language was sufficient. And that was exactly the pivot when I committed myself to living my life as an artist, because then I could speak the language that expressed how I felt and also transform and work through that.

00:08:21:23 – 00:08:51:15
Tanya
Grief to a point of tranquility transformation. As you know a lot of my work is around transformation. And I’m extremely interested in nature because nature is by nature chaotic. But in that chaos there’s an order and there is a beauty and a regeneration. Does does that sort of give you a clue. And I think that for many people it’s that way you commit when you find your language.

00:08:51:17 – 00:09:14:01
Tanya
Could be you want, you can use your language is the legal language and that you commit to it. Or it’s a voice. You’re singing or it’s you can heal people’s bodies. But I think that’s really the search in life. And sometimes you come to it obviously I wish that I had never had grief out of it.

00:09:14:03 – 00:09:24:05
Tanya
That is the case for everybody. But that happened and therefore I had no choice but to make the commitment in order to express and transform.

00:09:24:05 – 00:09:45:18
Claudia
But it is often the case, right? When we hit rock bottom, many say, when we experience deep grief or we experience a deep loss that often this comes with some sort of revelation or some sort of renewal, or finding your voice and committing to your language.

00:09:45:20 – 00:10:12:07
Tanya
Always. I always, always believe that even before this pivotal moment, I always just naturally felt in my life that there’s always a choice. And sometimes if something doesn’t naturally work, it’s the wrong thing. Just that if it feels difficult, most times it’s not right for you or for the people around you because it creates, not the fine feeling.

00:10:12:09 – 00:10:31:00
Tanya
Not to be flippant you know as in the sense of, of course there are difficult things that you feel that one feels that when work through life is just not all. What do you say. I read this actually in a book. Life is not all people haul. Yeah, I think it was the individual. Is that. Yes.

00:10:31:02 – 00:10:38:06
Claudia
That’s a good sentence to carry, you know, to carry away from this life is not always easy. Yeah.

00:10:38:08 – 00:10:46:04
Tanya
Yeah. Well, it should feel like it’s a flow. Because life is a flow. It’s all energies.

00:10:46:06 – 00:11:16:15
Claudia
Yeah. Exactly. I feel at the moment we live at a time where this where there’s not the real flow. We’re stuck. But that’s a side note. So you, you felt that being an artist and committing fully as an artist, you found your language. What you wanted to express, and what was it that was so important for you and where you realized that this all comes together like the content?

00:11:16:17 – 00:11:24:05
Claudia
What do you want to say? Like your thoughts. And doing so creatively as an as an artist.

00:11:24:07 – 00:12:01:12
Tanya
So, you know, until this point happened, I painted portraits. That was my genre oil portraits, people. And when I committed to being an artist, not a painter, but an artist, I moved totally to abstraction. And I moved to, I suppose, a form of crystallization, an accumulation of moments and moments and moments. Excuse me. To the extent that they form an energy using my worth.

00:12:01:12 – 00:12:46:03
Tanya
But And so that is the startling thing for me in, in the new language was abstract. And energetic. And about the invisible and the harmony in the invisible. So emotion breath, joy, elation, sadness, the displacement of ocean with the current in the water, the wind. You see it because things move. Deeps fire. You feel the flame.

00:12:46:05 – 00:13:16:23
Tanya
You feel the heat. You don’t see it. The spirit that holds our body and our soul. Er really brought that up Earth. Because it has all the components of life. And that is how the work that I started to make when I committed to being an artist. Not just a painter. That changed in my work.

00:13:17:01 – 00:13:58:03
Tanya
And over the years it’s been mainly abstract about these energies and geometry. And crystals embroidery as a form of historical narration. And now I’m pulling these energies into landscapes which is just such a wonderful feeling for me. Because it really those express both the movement of all the different elements that I work with, the natural elements and in a way I can get enclosed space, but also spaces that I just like that resonate with me.

00:13:58:05 – 00:14:00:08
Tanya
That say okay this is beautiful.

00:14:00:10 – 00:14:29:09
Claudia
Yeah. That’s interesting because you say as you also said, that you came to realize that being an artist means living it as a whole and that there is no compartmentalizing between between the work and the personal. And you live in New York City, you have a busy life. You you know, you. Yeah. Like, how do you find your your calm and how do you extract yourself from the very busy life that is around you and that you all that is also part of you?

00:14:29:11 – 00:14:54:00
Tanya
Oh, yes. Claudia, you know, I used to really get anxious about how to carve out the time to paint. I felt that I had to be in my studio from like nine to whatever, or like all night and then I realized this is actually counterproductive to what I’m doing. And so that was a short little moment. So I work when I can work.

00:14:54:02 – 00:15:27:00
Tanya
Given all the different components of my life and because my work is meditative and it is about harmony, whether that harmony arises from chaos or whether that harmony arises from peace and a gentle swaying of the breeze, or still lake, or as the snow on a mountain. I need to work in that state of mind. So now I work when I can work.

00:15:27:02 – 00:15:48:13
Tanya
And that’s enough for me. And I can see what I want to say in that space. And one of the things that really did help me was to really think about me. And how do I like to work and not be so influenced by how books told me or other people told me how to structure my day.

00:15:48:15 – 00:16:04:01
Tanya
And how to make my priorities. Because for me everything is an equal priority. That is a part of my immediate life at the moment. My family, my friends and my work. So I just work according to that.

00:16:04:03 – 00:16:29:16
Claudia
Yeah I mean it’s so lovely and beautiful for you that you found your language and within your language you found your voice and you said also, that you believe that everyone has this potential. I do, but that we live in a, in a society where, where it’s just the opportunities to live this out are more and more reduced, right?

00:16:29:19 – 00:16:55:18
Tanya
More reduced, or I think people are fearful. I think there’s greater fear in our generation and the generations below us. About how do you figure out how to live your everyday life. So there’s no conflict in terms of work and personal life. And if you are working in a field that you love, then there will not be as much conflict.

00:16:55:20 – 00:17:26:21
Tanya
Then if you’re doing something that goes contrary to what you like doing, and so many people have different, have contradictory talents. Contradictory. Well, yes, I guess quite contradictory. As in we would see them as contradictory, but historically speaking, they’re not really like, I think, Rousseau, who was a tax collector. I’m just saying about artists. I think Da Vinci was like a scientist, in addition to being an incredible painter and so many so historically from medieval Renaissance times.

00:17:26:21 – 00:17:58:01
Tanya
And probably if you go back to even civilizations like Winter daro like you, the functionality and beauty went side to side and so did commerce. And now we try to stratify. And I think that makes it more difficult for people to say, okay, this is my talent and this is what I want to focus on. And maybe choosing something that isn’t necessarily going to make you happy.

00:17:58:01 – 00:17:59:22
Tanya
At the end of the day.

00:17:59:23 – 00:18:07:23
Claudia
Yeah. Yeah. Well, it’s a journey also, right? I mean, it’s yeah. Like. Yeah. And then these moments happen that.

00:18:08:01 – 00:18:10:22
Tanya
Yes. How do you know you should try different things. Yeah.

00:18:11:00 – 00:18:15:04
Claudia
Like you, you started out like me in management consulting. Yeah.

00:18:15:06 – 00:18:40:09
Tanya
Yes, yes. And I loved it. And I use it to make decisions. Yeah. The strategic ways like a way to structure your thought. That’s wonderful. Yeah I’m lucky. And I would encourage everybody to think that way. To think not, not think my way. But to really in your heart and in your, in your mind in all your faculties.

00:18:40:11 – 00:18:54:02
Tanya
How would you ideally live. How would you spend your days. And then in the practicality of it all, what would you decide to do. I think it’s worth to take the time to figure it out.

00:18:54:04 – 00:19:06:03
Claudia
Yeah. And maybe it is the time that we, we have stopped taking for that process. One has to carve it out. But then again it needs to happen organically.

00:19:06:05 – 00:19:33:03
Tanya
I think it has to happen organically. And for women, it’s even harder, I think, because when you have your families and your, you have additional roles, if you have maybe a job that is very regimented, maybe it’s easier to do it while you’re also taking being a mother and a wife and a daughter and a sister. Perhaps that could be something you say, okay, it’s easier for me just to do this.

00:19:33:03 – 00:20:00:10
Tanya
I know I’m doing this, and then that’s it. It’s over. And for other people, it’s more. It’s easier to be amorphous. And work when you can without compromising other things. So it’s really personal I think for everybody. But it is I think important for every like young girl, every every child. I think it’s important for every mother to try to bring this up with their kids.

00:20:00:12 – 00:20:03:20
Tanya
I’m just thinking of the next generation. Yeah.

00:20:03:22 – 00:20:25:08
Claudia
Yeah. It is. I mean, I think I feel that the younger people are more and more realizing that there are gifts that are inherent in them and that they try to to make space to live it because it’s not given everywhere. I mean, our kids, we’ve we’ve known each other for a while. And our kids, we went to a school, right.

00:20:25:08 – 00:20:52:03
Claudia
That gifted them, really. And we gifted them because we sent them to that school and were able to do it. We gifted them with the ability to create. Yeah. And to take away something that they built, that they drew and they learned all these. What you’ve described earlier, what you’ve done in that, but you’ve also done in school, like they learned all these skills and they cannot be taken away.

00:20:52:05 – 00:21:14:00
Tanya
Because they know, I think that those school, that school really gifted them with, with the permission to have or try to have original thought. As opposed to everything derivative. Yeah. And that, that is really a special thing. But thank you for bringing that up. You know it kind of slipped my mind that.

00:21:14:02 – 00:21:36:18
Claudia
Yeah. No I was thinking about that. So in your work and as a female artist, how, have you been thinking about it, that you are a female artist and that you are a woman? Oh, cool. Being creative and finding your language in art. Is this ever crossed your mind?

00:21:36:19 – 00:22:06:07
Tanya
I don’t think that I have, although I do say that somebody that I’m really, really inspired by Alice Neel. You know, the portrait painter and her life story and how she found inspiration in the everyday from her Spanish Harlem neighbors to her baby in the crib and no matter what was going on, you just painted what was right there.

00:22:06:09 – 00:22:35:18
Tanya
And that has always been something that stuck in my mind because I thought, well, I don’t know if she was, male artist, maybe she wouldn’t or he would not have been doing that. So I did think about that. But in the everyday I don’t think I really think about it. That might just have to do with my upbringing.

00:22:35:20 – 00:23:03:05
Tanya
But I think that like just really, literally have to do with that. Because I came from a culture where it is a little bit different if you’re a woman or if you’re a girl child or a man child. My father always said to me, there’s really no difference. As long as you do something that that stands out, that’s really the thing to look at.

00:23:03:07 – 00:23:06:00
Tanya
So I’ve always looked at things that way.

00:23:06:04 – 00:23:08:10
Claudia
A little bit of pressure.

00:23:08:12 – 00:23:18:18
Tanya
That’s a lot of pressure. Exactly. It is. But it has not been like the male female comparison. It’s been like, yeah, just trying to be really good.

00:23:18:20 – 00:23:32:19
Claudia
I know you don’t really like to talk about where you know, you’re coming from and your journey, but I still think it’s very interesting and uplifting and especially then, you know, becoming an artist.

00:23:32:21 – 00:24:03:18
Tanya
You mean like where I grew up in about. Oh, no, I love to talk about it. I know I grew up in Pakistan until I was 17 years old, and so, oh, culturally, I’m completely Pakistani and I’m extremely proud of it. And it’s, it definitely 100% affects my work, especially for instance, the new paintings that I’m talking about, the paintings that I’m working towards for my solo show in September, which I think I mentioned to you.

00:24:03:20 – 00:24:33:14
Tanya
They’re all, I’m using paint like embroidery. Because it’s part of a culture that I’ve lost and a language that I’ve lost because I have been living in the United States since I was 17 years old, and I went to college for a graduate school here, worked, got married, had a child, got married again. I’m still living here, working here as a proud American.

00:24:33:16 – 00:25:08:03
Tanya
But culturally, yes, I am completely Pakistani and it’s a very rich heritage. But in terms of the miniature painting, the detail to arts and crafts, textiles, tapestries, historical art, I mentioned, London. There were about one of the oldest civilizations in the world. So the ceramics even like the layout of that civilization. So I’m very proud of it.

00:25:08:05 – 00:25:33:14
Tanya
And I’m loving how it’s coming into my work now. I had worked on this series called The Loss of Language a while ago, because I’m fluent in Urdu, and I don’t really speak it very much because I don’t spend so much time with just the way my life has worked out. Even my friends from home who live in the United States, or when I see them outside of here, they don’t that much speak to me in Urdu.

00:25:33:14 – 00:25:57:23
Tanya
So when I find somebody who does, I’m so excited. And I realized I’m not dreaming in Urdu anymore. I’m dreaming in English. So I guess I have become like completely intertwined by two like two languages. So I did a series called that The Loss of Language, in which I used words and wildflowers to convey what I was feeling.

00:25:58:01 – 00:26:05:00
Tanya
And I’ve put it aside for now, but perhaps in the next few years I’ll bring it up again because it’s important.

00:26:05:02 – 00:26:23:02
Claudia
Yeah it is. And it probably also is maybe age related or journey related where like where in life are we. What is the point. Because when also, you know, when we were younger then maybe the past and where we come from is not so important as where we want to go to.

00:26:23:03 – 00:26:23:16
Tanya
Yeah.

00:26:23:21 – 00:26:40:06
Claudia
And then there comes a point where where the reflection on, you know, where we come from, where we stem from, what has been the cultural influence, either from the bigger culture one lived in or a family culture one lived in? How has this actually influenced me?

00:26:40:08 – 00:27:09:11
Tanya
We all think about that, right? Yeah. And, I think that our country, the United States, has so many people from so many different backgrounds that it’s just exciting. You can’t help but go deeper into, oh, with my heritage, what did I grow up with? And you start thinking about it more and more. But you see this if you come to the show, you see the influence of my parents heritage.

00:27:09:11 – 00:27:14:21
Claudia
Yes. So what is the name on? What is the name of the show?

00:27:14:23 – 00:27:16:21
Tanya
A tapestry of dreams.

00:27:16:23 – 00:27:22:16
Claudia
Tapestry of dreams. And, you said it’s coming up in September.

00:27:22:17 – 00:27:23:04
Tanya
Yes.

00:27:23:04 – 00:27:25:23
Claudia
It’s going to be on view in New York City.

00:27:26:01 – 00:27:26:12
Tanya
Yes.

00:27:26:16 – 00:27:29:20
Claudia
And, I will put it in my show notes.

00:27:29:22 – 00:27:33:14
Tanya
Oh. Thank you. It’s Ed Winston. Back to fine art.

00:27:33:15 – 00:27:45:17
Claudia
Yes. And, so the work that you are preparing for this show, how long have you been working on it, and how has it evolved? Or did.

00:27:45:17 – 00:27:48:00
Tanya
Oh, it’s wonderful. I’ve been working on it for a year.

00:27:48:01 – 00:27:53:19
Claudia
Did you know exactly in the beginning. This is what I want to do. Use your strategic side of the bread.

00:27:53:21 – 00:28:21:08
Tanya
It’s been evolving. I use the strategic side of my brain to lay out the show. Yeah. Gallery. Give me, like, layout of the space. And then I went. Then I made a video and it had dimensions. And then I used. I laid out how many paintings I would make to say what I wanted to say. So that’s that was the strategy.

00:28:21:08 – 00:28:31:15
Tanya
And now I’ve just been painting. So I have time. I’ve been taking the time to make the paintings. And I’m quite happy with them.

00:28:31:16 – 00:28:32:16
Claudia
Exciting.

00:28:32:18 – 00:28:57:07
Tanya
It’s so exciting Claudia. It’s so exciting. Yeah. Because also it’s nice because the work has this very specific energy. It’s really great to be in one space. Just my paintings. The last time I had a solo show was in Charlottesville, and it was in 2021. And right, it was like February 12th and then Covid right after. Yeah, Covid.

00:28:57:07 – 00:29:23:09
Tanya
And then it was like on then they had to move it online. But it was wonderful. Is in one room is just my painting. And then the other room was Aboriginal art artists because that area, the Chloe Royal Collection, is there. So there it was. It was just one. It was beautiful. So I’m looking forward to like having a bigger room, a bigger room than the previous July show.

00:29:23:11 – 00:29:29:07
Tanya
Yeah. Yeah. Because that was just there was seven paintings, but that was really very nice in Bridgehampton.

00:29:29:09 – 00:29:29:23
Claudia
Yes, it.

00:29:29:23 – 00:29:32:13
Tanya
Was beautiful, but it was small. Yes. Beautiful. It was.

00:29:32:13 – 00:29:40:18
Claudia
Yeah, it was small, but it was beautiful. And you are right. I mean, the energy is just different if it’s a whole body of work.

00:29:40:19 – 00:29:43:16
Tanya
Yeah. I think that’s why they give artists solo shows.

00:29:43:18 – 00:29:44:09
Claudia
Yeah.

00:29:44:11 – 00:29:46:21
Tanya
So your voice can be heard?

00:29:46:23 – 00:29:56:13
Claudia
Definitely. Yeah. No. And and as you say, it does create energy. Everything is energy. It speaks to you differently. I mean, to me, as a viewer.

00:29:56:15 – 00:30:35:11
Tanya
You know, sometimes I think people feel like if you say energy, then you’re being, like, too mystical. But the chemistry of our body is whole energy, so full, thick because there’s like an energetic problem because of the chemicals or the enzymes or I don’t know, that’s not my forte, the biology of the body. But I think that your, your in the state of your energetic equilibrium makes a huge difference not only to your health, but also to other people around you.

00:30:35:14 – 00:30:43:23
Tanya
Oh, I’m sure you’ve come across that. You come across a person and you just don’t want to be around them because they just feel not good for you. Has that ever happened to you?

00:30:44:01 – 00:31:13:18
Claudia
Oh, definitely. You know. But but they also. Yes. And, it’s absolutely there and but in particular with art. Art has always been there. There has always been an urge in every culture to express themselves and to to others to tell stories through certain ways, or to show beauty, to reflect beauty, to use a different language. And the museums are full.

00:31:13:20 – 00:31:33:23
Claudia
I mean, I’m always like, so happy when I pass the museum and I try to go when it’s not so full. But I’m always happy when I see the long lines because I, I find it fascinating that people, people are just drawn to it and they are drawn to because energy is being communicated or transmitted.

00:31:34:01 – 00:31:37:11
Tanya
It’s the invisible. Right? Like in the brushstrokes?

00:31:37:16 – 00:31:38:13
Claudia
Yeah.

00:31:38:15 – 00:32:10:23
Tanya
And in the shapes you say something that another person can can read, and it might not even necessarily always be what you’re saying, but they can read it. And it’s the same as you go to the ocean and you can tell when it’s roiling. Right. You can feel it. You can feel when there’s like something a little bit dangerous and you can go to a lake and it’s calm and you feel it in your body, then you feel it in your heart and in the movements of the hand.

00:32:10:23 – 00:32:20:05
Tanya
When you’re working, no matter what your expression, you convey the emotion and that it presents itself.

00:32:20:07 – 00:32:26:08
Claudia
Yeah I believe so too. I really do. And so I’m very excited for your show.

00:32:26:14 – 00:32:28:06
Tanya
Oh thank you.

00:32:28:08 – 00:32:35:19
Claudia
When will you I mean how. What is your process like. When will you finish it. And do you know how to how to go about it.

00:32:36:00 – 00:33:12:03
Tanya
Well my process of each of my paintings is that when I have inspiration. I write and I write what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling. And based on that I plan my paintings. And at the moment, because I’m doing landscape paintings, they’re all places that are important to me. And I then try to convey why they’re important and what the beauty is in each of them.

00:33:12:05 – 00:33:38:02
Tanya
And so it goes painting by painting by painting by painting. And that’s where I’m at and I think probably well, maybe because it’s these are these old paintings, you know, I do wall drawings too, but this does not I’m not doing any of this. So once all the paintings are finished, then it’s the installation. And that’s the process with, my gallery.

00:33:38:04 – 00:34:04:04
Tanya
So I have my idea and I’ve laid it out but obviously I, we will decide that together okay. Because luckily the people that I work with are just not only just very aware of my work, but they just have such a great eye of presentation and they just have been in that field for so long that I almost feel like they would be better at maybe hanging the paintings than me.

00:34:04:06 – 00:34:07:11
Claudia
Yeah. And at a certain point you probably have to let go.

00:34:07:13 – 00:34:08:00
Tanya
Yeah.

00:34:08:00 – 00:34:11:14
Claudia
Yeah. Yeah. They graduate.

00:34:11:16 – 00:34:17:06
Tanya
They graduate, they do it, they graduate and I move on to the next thing. Yeah.

00:34:17:08 – 00:34:25:04
Claudia
Beautiful. Really really beautiful. I’m so looking forward and I hope I will be in New York City to be able to see your show.

00:34:25:06 – 00:34:31:15
Tanya
Oh, you must please. I think it’s open September 18th, but I think it’s. They’re up for, like, 3 to 4 weeks for a while.

00:34:31:16 – 00:34:32:05
Claudia
Okay.

00:34:32:10 – 00:34:33:07
Tanya
Yes, yes.

00:34:33:10 – 00:34:50:04
Claudia
I wanted to ask you to to come to a close now. You said your work is very meditative. What are your tools you use to calm yourself down? Apart from that? And what do you do if you need to pick yourself up?

00:34:50:06 – 00:34:58:07
Tanya
To calm myself down, I go on walks and also I use bark flower drops.

00:34:58:09 – 00:34:59:05
Claudia
I love them.

00:34:59:07 – 00:35:14:17
Tanya
Yeah. Yeah. To pick myself up. You know I, I one of those people I wake up up I just, I always have been that way. I wake up up. Good. So yeah.

00:35:14:19 – 00:35:16:03
Claudia
That’s lucky.

00:35:16:05 – 00:35:20:08
Tanya
And if I’ve done that I will. Yeah. I’ll take the dogs. Yeah. Okay.

00:35:20:10 – 00:35:22:19
Claudia
Perfect. Very simple.

00:35:22:21 – 00:35:27:04
Tanya
It’s very simplistic.

00:35:27:06 – 00:35:37:16
Claudia
Good, good. Much easier than all of those, Instagram Reels I see about how to calm yourself down and how to connect with your nervous systems.

00:35:37:16 – 00:35:59:17
Tanya
Like. No, but those things also all work. But I can only do them under guided, instructions. Yeah. That’s true. Yeah. You know, like, not on Instagram. But if, like, a person will sit with me and work, like, work through those with me. I would love it. Like any kind of holistic work I love. But day to day it’s my beach walks.

00:35:59:17 – 00:36:09:10
Tanya
It’s my city walks into my swims and into my bath for our remedies. Yeah, I should be like a poster girl for bath ravaged me.

00:36:09:12 – 00:36:11:02
Claudia
Oh I love them. I love.

00:36:11:02 – 00:36:13:02
Tanya
Those two. I think the best they are.

00:36:13:03 – 00:36:31:06
Claudia
They really are. Yeah. Well, Tania, I it was lovely. Lovely to speak to you and to connect here for shift happens. As I said, I will include the information on your show in the show notes of the podcast. So everybody who is interested in the city can come and see your work.

00:36:31:10 – 00:36:43:07
Tanya
That is so kind of you. So I guess my ancestral wisdom is bark. So I have a job walk and kosi my show. Okay.

00:36:43:09 – 00:36:45:03
Claudia
All right. Thank you so much.

00:36:45:04 – 00:36:47:07
Tanya
Thank you. I’m honored to be part of this.

00:36:47:08 – 00:36:50:22
Claudia
Thank you. Yeah. I thank you for making time for it. Bye, Tanya.

00:36:51:03 – 00:37:07:17
Tanya
Thank you. Bye.

00:37:07:19 – 00:37:34:04
Claudia
I love this thought of the invisible moments in art, and how this is what actually draws us into the experience of art. And my other takeaway is the quote that Tanya mentioned. Life is not always. Hee hee ha. Don’t forget, if you’re in New York, go to Galerie Winston Wachter on West 25th Street to see her solo show.

00:37:34:06 – 00:38:04:10
Claudia
Thank you for listening to Shift Happens. Please follow and subscribe to this podcast. It’s an easy hit for you with a huge impact for me. It helps me grow even further and bring you more conversations with women from around the globe. Shift happens has been created and is hosted by me. Claudia Mahler editing Andy Boroson social media Magda Reckendrees

00:38:04:12 – 00:38:10:00
Claudia
I hope you felt connected and heard by listening to Shift Happens.