Visual Storytelling with Wild Pigments
ART RETREAT WITH TIJANA & Mariah IN PUGLIA, ITALY
23rd - 29th MARCH 2026
THE RETREAT
Join renowned artist and illustrator Tijana Lukovic and natural dye artist Mariah Palmer for a magical art retreat focused on visual storytelling and wild pigment making, using folklore and personal symbolism as our guide. Inspired by folk tale Vasilisa the Beautiful, we’ll explore enchanted forests, magical beings, symbolic objects, and inner journeys. We will further connect to nature and the beautiful Italian landscape by learning all about wildcrafting for color and how to make our own natural pigments, specifically - oil pastels, watercolours, and ink. By paying extra attention to the plants, rocks, and minerals of the area, we will forge a deeper relationship with our surrounding landscape by engaging with living color and will carry a piece of our experience home in the form of wild pigments. We’ll use standard materials such as gouache, watercolour, pastels, and coloured pencils - as well as our own handmade pigments - focusing on expression, mood, and intuition over perfection. This is a space to tap into your imagination, your emotions, your relationship to the natural world, and your own mythic voice.
ABOUT TIJANA
My paintings and illustrations are inspired by magical and in some cases even metaphysical realm, they contain traces of folklore, fairy tale, mythology and love for nature woven into everyday life of a mother, book lover or a day dreamer. Celebration of nature and motherhood is often one and the same, intertwined in one moment captured on the painting.
In my work I try to share my observations of the ever-changing seasons and my will to be more in tune with nature and wheel of the year.
Painting is my profession but also a therapy where I explore my inner mind and try to bring up those deep down buried thoughts into the light of my paper. I am facing my fears, illuminating my unconscious mind and walk through the forest of my childhood memories.
Thank you so much for being here and making me company on my journey to understand this complex universe of worlds inside and outside of us. For my even love of drawing and painting I earned MFA in both fields.
ABOUT MARIAH
Mariah is a textile artist and designer living in the mountains of Bozeman, Montana, USA.
She creates color and pattern on fabric using natural dyes that she wildcrafts and grows in her dye garden, and then uses the dyed fabric to create one-of-a-kind clothing. She also builds community by teaching workshops on natural pigments and their uses in design and textiles. She earned her BA in Clothing, Textiles, and Design in 2005 and for the following two decades she has furthered her study of various crafts, including metalsmithing, ceramics, and textiles. Most recently, her focus is dedicated to the chemistry and applications of natural dyes. Mariah’s work is deeply rooted in her local context, engaging with the plants, rocks, and minerals that tell the story of the land she calls home.
She is currently co-teaching a course called Local Color - a permaculture and natural dye course that follows the growing season and explores the art of foraging and growing color from seed to harvest. She lives with her husband, 11-year-old daughter, and animals, both domestic and wild.
PUGLIA, THE RETREAT LOCATION
Puglia or Apulia, is the southernmost eastern region of Italy. Its coastline, the Adriatic in the east, the Ionian south and west, is one of the most beautiful in all of Italy, with silvery olive orchards stretching all the way to the long sandy beaches touched by the one of the clearest and cleanest seas in the Mediterranean. It is an ancient land, and one which was invaded many times in its history. One can still see towers built to ward off invaders centuries ago.
Want to know more about the retreat, venue and surroundings? Send us your questions here:
THE VENUE: MASSERIA SPECULA
Carved into a gentle hill, our Masseria is surrounded by 20 hectares of exclusive private land, offering a tranquil retreat just 1km away from the enchanting shores of the Ionian Sea.
Our mission is to contribute positively towards humanity and the environment. We do this by running our eco-friendly venue where we invest in clean energy, invest in tree planting and land conservation, and organise beach clean-ups.
Our venue has single, double, triple and quadruple rooms, a sea-view dining room, a dedicated events room, various private gardens and the beach at just a 15min walk away.
THE ROOMS at masseria specula
THE ROOMS at The villas
THE FOOD
At Masseria Specula, we’re lucky to have five Apulian women cook the authentic Italian recipes that their mothers taught them. We serve vegan and vegetarian food to help minimise the impact on the environment. In line with our ecological ethos, our chefs choose the best seasonal ingredients grown in the neighbouring fields.
THE PROGRAM
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DAY 1
Welcome drinks and tour of the venue
Dinner with the group, Tijana and Mariah
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day 2
Breakfast with the group
Workshop with Mariah: Introduction to natural pigments including a brief history and the science behind natural dyes, earth pigments and lake pigments. Begin with a foraging excursion around the studio followed by ink making and creating lake pigments that can be used later for oil pastels and watercolours
Lunch with the group
Workshop with Tijana: Introduction to Visual Storytelling, Telling a Story Without Words, setting the Place, Atmosphere and Mood - we will read and focus on the story of Vasilisa the Beautiful as our narrative foundation
Dinner with the group
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day 3
Breakfast with the group
Workshop with Mariah: Create oil pastels using lake pigments
Lunch with the group
Workshop with Tijana: Magical Beings and Archetypes - Character building
Dinner with the group
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day 4
Breakfast with the group
Departure for day trip to Grottaglie to visit the historical town and have a pottery workshop
Lunch out
Return to Masseria Specula
Dinner with the group
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day 5
Breakfast with the group
Workshop with Mariah: Foraging excursion to the beach to look for earth pigments to use in making watercolours
Lunch with the group
Workshop with Tijana: Objects with Power - Visual Symbolism
Dinner with the group
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day 6
Breakfast with the group
Workshop with Mariah: Finish lake pigments from plants we've collected and store for future use. Bring it all together by mixing media with inks, watercolours and pastels
Lunch with the group
Workshop with Tijana: Bringing the Story Together - making an accordion book
SURPRISE WORKSHOP FOR THE GROUP
Dinner with the group
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day 7
Breakfast with the group
Goodbyes and departures
BOOK YOUR SPOT
AT the main venue
Single room at the main venue: € 2400 per person (SOLD OUT)
Shared room at the main venue (shared with 1 other person): € 2000 per person (2 SPOTS remaining)
Shared room at the main venue (shared with 2 other PEOPLE): € 1800 per person (3 SPOTS remaining)
Reserve your spot with a €1000 deposit.
AT the VILLAS (200m / 3 min walk from the main venue)
Single room at the VILLAS with private bathroom: € 2200 per person (1 SPOT remaining)
Single room at the VILLAS with shared bathroom (bathroom shared with 1 other room): € 1900 per person (2 SPOTs remaining)
Reserve your spot with a €1000 deposit.
What’s included:
Art classes, individual tuition with Tijana and Mariah.
Personal video call with Tijana and Mariah prior to the retreat.
Exclusive use of the entire property including all common areas, workshop spaces and gardens.
Accommodation at Masseria Specula.
Tables, chairs, glass jars, printer, ink and paper towels available at the venue.
All meals (freshly prepared breakfasts, home cooked lunches & dinners).
Complimentary water, coffee, tea.
Day trip to Grottaglie and a pottery making workshop.
A surprise workshop.
Roundtrip airport transfer from/to Brindisi Airport (BDS) at one prearranged date and time with 1 minibus for the whole group.
All tourist taxes and fees.
What’s not included:
Art materials additional freely provided acrylic colours - make sure to bring your favourite paint brushes, sketch books and pencils! We can give you a list of items to bring along.
Airplane tickets.
Travel insurance.
Airport pick-up / drop-off from airports other than Brindisi Airport.
Anything not listed in the “What’s Included“ section above.
Send us a message to reserve your spot: