Mare Wilson Studio
Mare Wilson Studio is the home of
ArtfulPlay. This is art making as it was meant to be: playful, freeing, and entirely your own. I offer workshops in cyanotype and explorative painting and mark making.I have exciting news: ArtfulPlay has a permanent home! My workshops will now be held at my new studio at Wolvenplein here in Utrecht. I'll still be teaching occasionally at the Griftpark, because it holds a special place in my heart. The gardens there, both wild and cultivated, are so inspiring!
Cyantype Workshops
Discover the magic of cyanotype, one of the oldest and easiest photographic printing techniques, where sunlight and chemistry transform simple objects into stunning blue-and-white prints.In this hands-on workshop, we’ll play with the natural beauty of flowers, leaves, and grasses to create unique botanical artworks.Everything is provided—I'll have cyanotype examples to inspire you and fresh and dried flowers and leaves to create with. Feel free to bring botanicals from your own garden or wanderings.You'll leave with your own prints, but more importantly, you'll have a new perspective for the natural beauty around you. Don't be surprised if you're found looking closely at the leaves on a tree or peering into the tall grasses and saying, "Now that would make a great cyanotype!"
Painting Workshops
Ever feel the pull to be creative, but aren’t sure where to start—or wonder if you’re ‘good enough’ to make art? Join me for a playful, freeing abstract painting workshop where you’ll learn to let go of expectations, quiet your inner critic, and embrace the joy of creating without judgment. This isn’t a class about technique or rules; it’s about reconnecting with the creative spirit you had as a child, exploring color and movement, and discovering what unfolds when you let yourself simply play with paint and mark making.We will work collaboratively on one large piece of paper covering the table – it’s a lot more freeing that way. My class is like an improv dance: when you create with other people, you're riffing off their energy, their ideas, their styles. We will explore a variety of media - watercolor, alcohol ink, tempera, oil pastel, and more. I will guide you through each step of the process, leading you toward a more confident, curious, and exploratory approach to art-making. Together, we’ll create a collaborative piece while honoring each person’s unique expression—no experience needed, just a willingness to explore.At the end of the class, we’ll cut the paper up, and everyone will take home a section of the work, to have a piece of this abstract collaborative work for their own.
Shop
Contact Mare for details about her work for sale.
About Mare
I recently moved to the Netherlands from an island in the American Pacific Northwest – both places known for their beautiful rain and flowers! My workshops are inspired by my years of teaching art as a volunteer in my children’s classrooms. Over time, as kids grow older, I watched their open-hearted artistic exploration change from unshakable confidence to questions such as, “Is this right or wrong, good or bad?” The joy that they had from simply being immersed in the process was lost.Many of us lose that permission to be an art maker. That’s why I created my workshops: to lead people back to that joyous place.
