Maria Tavares

Tavares was born in Santiago do Cacem, and moved to Lisbon, when she was three years old. Tavares was born to parents, Manuel de Carvalho and Piedade de Carvalho and is the middle of three daughters. As the children of a Catholic mother, and following Portuguese tradition, all three siblings were given the name Maria, followed by another unique given name. Tavares's other given name is Rosario, which is the name that she was referred to by friends and family, as she grew up. It was through playing with her sisters at an early age that she adopted the nickname, Miza – the name by which she signs her art, today.

Tavares's collection of art, Vitamin D, was designed to raise awareness for MS and its links to Vitamin D deficiency, and was exhibited at The Gallery, in Liverpool in 2012.

Tavares divorced in 2011, and for the sake of her art decided to keep her married name, as she had painted under this name for 25 years. In 2010, Tavares was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), following years of unexplained health problems, which went undiagnosed by doctors, one of which suggested she should try anti-depressants.

Tavares attended secondary school at Escola Secundaria de Santo Andre, in the city of Barreiro, graduating in 1982 with a range of NVQs, mainly in the field of education. In 1994, Tavares moved to Brazil, where she began taking art classes in various artist's studios in São Paulo. She stayed in the country for seven years, honing her craft and experimenting with a mix of different mediums. Tavares has also lived in Lausanne and Madrid, before finally settling in Liverpool at the turn of the century. After Tavares moved to Liverpool in 2000, she qualified as a teacher at the University of Central Lancashire, in 2006.

Maria "Miza" Tavares (née Maria Do Rosario Castanheira de Carvalho) is a Portuguese artist and art teacher, born in Santiago do Cacem on 15 May 1965.