Tanya Marriott designed and made her first doll at the age of 12, after participating in a porcelain dollmaking workshop for kids with Anne Styles in Petone. She had spent her childhood making "things" out of Fimo, and after the course decided to sculpt her own pieces.
The early medieval characters had stiff limbs and jaundiced bug-eyed features, but this did not deter her, instead each piece was better than the last, and became a challenge to better her skill.

Encouraged by her mentor Anne, and Mother Cherryl, herself a dress designer, she entered her first show at the age of 15, having made about 40 figures. The Beast was entered into the Royal Easter show in Auckland in 1994 and won second place. She was then invited to have her work judged by the New Zealand Porcelain Doll Federation for the Gold Seal of Excellence award.
The median of polymer clay was new in the doll-making world, making Tanya one of the first to receive a gold seal in this median, and the youngest to ever receive the award in New Zealand.

As the years progressed, so did Tanya's Sculpting, moving from medieval and horror figures, to whimsical and fantasy. Exhibiting her work was difficult as many shows did not support polymer artists, but as the new sections were introduced, Tanya's work was displayed and awarded.
At the age of 18 Tanya went to University to study Architecture, changing to Industrial Design in her second year, during which time she switched from traditional Fimo, to working with Super Sculpey and Elastoclay, supplied by Zigzag in Christchurch.
Polymer sculpting was taking off and a group was began by Prue Miller called the Original doll makers of New Zealand, of which Tanya is a member.

Competition was becoming tough, with many other hidden artists emerging to compete. At the end of her third year in 1999 Tanya began working for Weta SPFX as a mould maker having gained a position working on the Lord of the rings film through her sculpting experience. Her work there included, casting and mould making, as well as costume construction.
Back at university the following year her dolls were now being exhibited throughout the north island, cleaning up the sections and original doll of the show.

The following summer at the conclusion of her degree she was invited to attend the International Toy Fair 2000 in New York with Weta Spfx, with the film to be released the following year Weta had designed a series of sculpted characters that were to be displayed for the first time, the exhibit was ranked number one at the Fair.
Upon her return she worked for Three foot six Ltd as a model maker for the Lord of the rings filming unit, using her sculpting skills to create detailed miniatures for the scaled landscapes and fortresses.

During 2001 she exhibited her work in her hometown show of Wellington winning all sections and taking the prestigious doll of the year trophy with the Scarlet Warrior, winning over both porcelain and cloth original dolls. She also received runner up with the Unicorn, with frog kisses taking out another section.
She is now taking character sculpture classes at the Learning Connexion and Pataka, and working full time as an Industrial Designer for Corada, an Environmental and Architectural signage company in Wellington.

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