People today feel suffocated by the rush of daily and business life from time to time. I sometimes feel I need to do something different to clear my head, especially when I have extra work to do. Sure, holidays are the best options for quality relaxation; however, we often do not have enough time for even short getaways. Thus, quick activities in line with your hobbies, like doing yoga, swimming, attending a workshop, etc., can be lifesavers.


Masterpiece provides all the necessary materials for your art productions during the workshops.

I recently tried one of these activities. I attended a painting workshop at Masterpiece, an atelier where art and entertainment come together. I am really into painting but never received proper training. Nevertheless, I have always wanted to learn its techniques and create art; therefore, this painting workshop was a great chance for me.

In Masterpiece, you do not need any talent or experience to become an artist. Founded by painter Mehmetcan Yaman and lawyer Can Tulay in 2014, the workshop organizes various events in many disciplines, such as painting, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy and mosaics, together. They organize an event program every month. Simply choose the artwork that you want to create from this program and buy a ticket.

The workshops generally take around two hours under the direction of painting, sculpture or ceramic artists. Learn how to create art from professionals step by step, and I assure you that you will not think about anything but your own production. Do not bring any materials with you – just your ticket, enjoy the workshop and take your artwork home with you. If you want to delve into art, enliven your routine or clear your head of your busy schedule, add a very entertaining experience to your life with Masterpiece.

Where many disciplines meet

The trainer of my workshop was Mehmetcan Yaman, one of the founders. Before starting to paint, we had a small discussion about art and the workshop. He began talking about their establishment: "I graduated from Yıldız Technical University Combine Arts Department. My childhood friend, Can Tulay, is a lawyer. I was always talking about art when we were together. One day, he wanted to try to do some painting. After he tried, he said it was a very good activity to let it all hang out. When I saw that he understood and managed to do some art, I also liked it very much. Then, the idea to open a workshop occurred to us."

First, they opened their workshop in Istanbul's Asmalımescit neighborhood on a small venue. After two years in 2016, they opened another workshop in Galata. When I asked Yaman about the interest of people, he said there had been widespread interest in the workshops from art lovers. Then they also opened some other branches in other provinces, including Ankara, İzmir, Bursa and Kocaeli.

They moved their center to Maslak and are working to develop this workshop in all aspects. For example, they will also start to host dance, acting and photography workshops and plan to establish a small conference hall where talks on various subjects will be held. Yaman added that they also started to collaborate with the Ministry of National Education to provide official certificates to workshop attendees. They will also train students studying in fine arts faculties at universities.

Yaman is a person who was always into art. He said he first enrolled in Istanbul University's Forest Industry Engineering department. However, he recognized that he wanted to do what he likes and decided to prepare for fine arts. Thus, he is an inspirational individual who has chased his dreams. He thinks the most important thing about a person's future life should not be how much money he/she makes and believes everyone should create their dream job; then money will be earned.

He also discussed his thoughts on the situation of art in the modern world. He said: "Recently, the situation of art is determined by the market. People's perception of art has become so superficial. They all try to prove that they deal with art through their social media accounts."

Elephant adorned with various colors

I also want to talk about my experience in the painting workshop at Masterpiece. We made an elephant on canvas in oil paint. In the first step, Yaman instructed us on how to apply paint strokes on canvas and use colors. I should mention that he is a very funny trainer. Even if I was in a real quandary over how to apply oil paint, he provided us with useful methods and helped us have an entertaining time.

We learned that we would use turpentine to thin our paints. Yaman also showed us how to mix colors on our palette. Initially, it couldn't shape my elephant, but I did a good job for my first time by following the advice of Yaman. However, I need more practice to create better paintings, which means I will definitely returning to Masterpiece for more lessons.

If you need some different activities to add color to your life or escape from your routine and if you are an art lover, I highly recommend checking out Masterpiece's website. You will surely find a workshop suitable for you. Besides, if you're looking for extensive training, you can enroll in Masterpiece's long-term courses. Works by course attendees are exhibited at the venue.

A side note: Mehmetcan Yaman will also open a solo exhibition at the venue this December. Be sure to drop by and check it out.