Tamar Karbelashvili was born on 11 September 1937. The main areas of her artistic practice are easel graphics, book design, and illustration, although she also created paintings. From 1962 to 1966, she studied at the Faculty of Graphics at the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. After graduating, she began working at the Ganatleba publishing house. Later, she also collaborated with other publishers and actively contributed to the artistic design of books.

Tamar Karbelashvili gained professional recognition with her diploma project, which stood out for its distinctive graphic language and artistic expressiveness. Her illustrations for The Book of Wisdom and Lies by Sulkhan-Saba Orbeliani, executed using the colour linocut technique, are distinguished by their refined colour palette and high artistic quality. Book graphics later became the principal direction of her artistic practice. She illustrated literary publications across various genres, as well as school textbooks.

In her easel graphic works, Karbelashvili used sanguine, pastel, gouache, and tempera alongside linocut. Through these techniques, she depicted natural and urban landscapes with restrained expressiveness and refined colour. Views of Svaneti and Tianeti, as well as landscapes of Tbilisi, hold a special place in her artistic practice.

Karbelashvili participated in group exhibitions held in Georgia in 1963, 1965, 1966, 1971, 1990, and 1991. Her solo exhibition was held in 1980.