Born into a family of artists and inspired by her mother, Chitra Mandanna started using the sewing machine at the age of 5 to sew dresses for her dolls. The passion to sew has continued, from stitching dresses to upholstery to quilts and artwork. Add to this her intricate talent in drawing and painting and you have a potent combination.

Chitra is a multifaceted artist dabbling in many different media that include pencil & charcoal sketching, knife painting, painting with oil, acrylic, pastels and watercolours, carving on stone, soap, fruits & vegetables, carpentry and upcycled art. She started quilting about 12 years ago with mainly utilitarian appliqué and patchwork quilts. She got into making art quilts about 6 years ago and has since won awards at quilt shows and embraced it as her favourite artform.

Chitra has shown her work at a number of art exhibitions and also does commission work. She takes workshops and classes in various forms of art including quilting.