In her early teens, her family moved to Panama and was surrounded by the beauty of nature. While there she became a certified scuba diver, avid boogie boarder, and found wonder in everything around her.  She soon developed a love for drawing wildlife.  With encouragement from her art teachers, Shanti placed in the top 10 at the national level for the Junior Federal Duck Stamp competition.

  Shanti married at a young age and held several creative jobs including cake decorating, picture framing, and painting miniatures.  During her late 20s, she became a Mom and stayed home to focus on raising both of her girls.

  When her girls grew older, she felt the urge to return to creating art as well as help support her family.  While drawing a series of tattoo designs to celebrate her Mother-in-law beating breast cancer, she had an epiphany; she knew becoming a tattoo artist was a perfect fit.  After a long hunt, and a move across country, she started an apprenticeship at Cat Tattoo, where she worked hard to develop her skills and become a tattoo artist.

 Shanti is inspired by the Art Nouveau movement – Alphonse Mucha in particular. Currently, she is working on developing and refining her neo-traditional style, but also enjoys the challenge of working in other styles. If you are interested in working with Shanti, you can contact her by email at shanti.cattattoo.com , or call into the shop.