Art Mail

Signups for Collection 5 are open through October 5th!

Dear Wild Heart is for you, friend.

If you've found yourself navigating a river of grief, change, or uncertainty but know in your heart there is still beauty to be discovered in the world, Dear Wild Heart is for you.

Click here to view & order past collections of Dear Wild Heart.

Dear Wild Heart, is a monthly art mail subscription for folks who want to reconnect with their wild & creative hearts through handmade art and creative inspiration.

There are two tier options for you to choose from:

The Collector Tier & The Kindred Tier

The Collector Tier includes:

Each collection features an original cyanotype print from an ongoing project called whispers from The WilderMess: reminders for a wild, grieving, and hope-filled heart. The pieces from this project are printed on 2.5 inch x 3.5 inch pieces of cold-pressed watercolor paper. They include a poem or thoughts written by Marika printed along with foliage gathered from the wild. Each print will have that collections's poem or thought, but the pattern of brush strokes and placement of wild things will be different for each print delivered. And so, no one will have the exact same piece of art as the one that finds its way to you.

Your monthly Collector subscription includes:

💙 An original hand-printed cyanotype artwork (2.5 inches x 3.5 inches)

💙 A sticker of the current collection's cyanotype piece

💙 A letter from Marika

💙 1-2 surprises to help inspire you to create something, connect with someone, or be in conversation with your wild & creative heart (this could look like a bookmark, postcard print, sticker, or some other wild thing I've come up with)

💙 Access to a secret password-protected webpage full of extra wild things created by Marika specifically for the current month's collection

The Kindred Tier includes:

Each collection features artwork inspired by an original cyanotype from an ongoing project called whispers from The WilderMess: reminders for a wild, grieving, and hope-filled heart.

There are no original cyanotypes included in the Kindred Tier, but you are receiving the same printed extras as folks in the Collector Tier. If you would like to have original cyanotype pieces, you can sign up for the Collector Tier here.

Your monthly Kindred Tier subscription includes:

💙 A sticker of the current collection's cyanotype piece (one original design will be created to print for the Kindred tier, and all members will receive a sticker of that design).

💙 A 4x6-inch print of an original design created for the collection (sometimes this will be in postcard format ready for you to send through the mail if you choose)

💙 A surprise piece (this might be a sticker, a print, a bookmark, or some other wild thing I've decided to create)

💙 A letter from Marika

💙 Access to a secret password-protected webpage full of extra wild things created by Marika specifically for the current collection

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✨ Sign up by the 5th of the month to receive the current collection (shipped by the 5th of the following month).

✨ If you sign up after the 5th, your subscription will begin with the next month's collection (example: sign up June 6th-July 5th, and you will receive the next art mail collection in August)

✨ Renews every month on the same day of the month you initially subscribed until you cancel.

💌 Shipping is included in the price listed here.

💌 This item ships via snail mail (USPS standard envelope with no tracking).

💌 FOR US CUSTOMERS: Please allow 5-10 business days for your package to arrive from shipping date. If it has not arrived within 14 business days, please contact me via email so we can get a replacement sent out.

💌 FOR CANADIAN CUSTOMERS: Please allow 5 to 28 business days for your package to arrive from shipping date. If it has not arrived within 6 weeks, please contact me via email so we can get a replacement sent out.

You can update your address, payment details and more from your customer portal as well as cancel or pause your subscription at any time.

By signing up you acknowledge that Dear Wild Heart is an ongoing subscription that will renew monthly until you choose to cancel.

SIGN UP FOR DEAR WILD HEART COLLECTOR TIER SIGN UP FOR DEAR WILD HEART KINDRED TIER CHECK OUT PAST COLLECTIONS OF DEAR WILD HEART

Art Mail FAQs

You can sign up anytime!

Sign up by the 5th of the month to receive the current collection (shipped by the 5th of the following month).

If you sign up after the 5th, your subscription will begin with (and you will receive) the next month's collection (example: sign up June 6th-July 5th, and you will receive the next art mail collection in August)

At this time, we are only shipping to customers in the United States and Canada. If that changes in the future, we will announce it here in the shop, via our newsletter, and on social media.

Dear Wild Heart collections are sent via snail mail (USPS standard envelope with no tracking) by the 5th of each month.

If you are in the US, it should arrive 5-10 business days after shipping. If you are outside of the US it can take 5-28 business days after shipping to arrive.

Sometimes things get lost or just take a little longer to find their way to their final destination, but if you haven't received your art mail by the above timelines, please feel free to reach out to me via email marika@thewildermess.com.

Your subscription renews on the same day of the month that you initially signed up. So if you subscribed on May 25th, your next charge will be on June 25th, then July 25th, and so on until you cancel.

You can manage your subscription in the customer portal here.

If you'd like to cancel your subscription, make sure to do so before your next billing cycle, otherwise you will still be charged for the next collection release.

I do not accept returns on art mail, or give refunds once your subscription has been charged or renewed. If you do not wish to continue your subscription, you can cancel before your next renewal date via your customer portal.

However, if your art mail was lost or damaged enroute to you, please reach out to me via email so that I can send you a new one.

The cyanotype pieces (the ACEO-sized piece, the bookmark, and sometimes a third item) in your art mail are handmade by me. Each one is unique, and takes time to create. The designs for other possible pieces in your art mail (like postcards or stickers) are first created by me, and then outsourced for printing which also takes time. I wait until signups are closed to order however many outsourced items are needed, and print all final pieces.

Because we're still in the beginning of this journey, I want to give myself more time than I might need. If the timeline is able to shift later, I will let you know!

Love for Dear Wild Heart

Inspiring me to dive deeper into creativity

"Once upon a time, the mailbox was a bringer of joy – birthday cards, international pen pal missives, party invitations and birth announcements. As the world digitalized, and human communication evolved, that metal container also became depersonalized, more likely stuffed with inflated utility bills, home remodeling pitches and charity pleas that ironically contain hundreds of free custom return address labels.

So, when Marika’s Dear Wild Heart packet arrived in my dented, beat-up mailbox I sensed it somehow come alive once more. I opened her gift; I smiled and then laughed. I viewed and touched the beautiful art, reading her letter to me … I cried. Later, I delved into her online expansion and discovered more layers of wonder delivered through images, words and bare honesty.

Meeting my own grief and disappointment was softened with permission granted for imperfection, for failure, for being human, inspiring me to dive deeper into creativity. My mailbox has been transformed by Marika’s work. As have I."

Kelley Woods, Woods Hypnosis

It was like receiving a hug from a friend

“As soon as I started to open the envelope from Marika, I could feel the love and care and magic poured into every detail. Everything was so thoughtful, from the personal note to the beautiful wrapping to the gorgeous art inside — it was like receiving a hug from a friend, and it found me at just the moment I needed it. Marika's artwork is so lovely and intentional, and always reminds me to slow down, breathe deeply, and feel into whatever space I'm in — and the joy of getting a lovely, curated, hand-created package in the mail was something that felt so much bigger than the sum of its parts. This was truly such a gift, one I'll continue to treasure.”

Meg Jones Wall, 3am.tarot

Unexpected moments of delight

"Wildermess is the perfect name for this experience. The art mailer itself was wonderful, I’m excited for my first cyanotype piece of art! But I knew I would love that part, it was the website that surprised me even more. Instead of feeling like a standard website, it felt like stepping into a little world filled with nature, creativity, and unexpected moments of delight. It’s interactive, calming, and the kind of place you want to return to when you need to reconnect with yourself. I’m already curious about the next art mail!"

Jennifer McCallum, Firefly Pet Photography

A little bit of wonder, love, and joy

"Freya and I check the mailbox every day after our morning walk. Today was extra special because we had a very important piece of mail - definitively not junk mail! This special parcel traveled all the way across the US, from corner to corner, to deliver a little bit of wonder, love, and joy (much-needed during a time when the world feels so heavy). After allowing Freya to sniff the envelope, I carefully opened it to discover several hand-crafted pieces of art! I adore the bookmark, and already have plans to use it with a new book I'm anxiously awaiting delivery for on the 19th! The postcard was a delightful, unexpected surprise, and I'm already planning who I might send a special note to in the future! Everything in this little package was obviously made with such care and love, down to the beautiful design on the back of the heartfelt letter. I am very much looking forward to receiving my next special delivery from the WilderMess."

Krystal Hise Portrait Artist

Hi I'm Marika, and I'm so glad you're here!

I'm an artist, photographer, and creative wildling from NW Washington in the US. I make cyanotypes with and of wild things, and pair them with little thoughts or poems. I also make cyanotypes from my photographs, and specialize in creating beautiful pieces of art inspired by dogs (I call these MoonDog artworks) through my photography business, SoulDog Creative.

Whispers from The WilderMess

Before Dear Wild Heart, I was working on a personal project called Whispers from The WilderMess: reminders for a wild, grieving, and hope-filled heart. It was an experiment in making tiny cyanotypes (ACEO-sized) using my favorite wild things and bits of poetry and thoughts I'd written over the last few years while navigating some difficult personal losses.

As I created the first few pieces for the project, I realized what I wanted it to become--a tiny oracle deck. At first, I imagined only making it for myself, but after sharing it with some friends and fellow creatives, I realized it wasn't only meant for me.

I created Dear Wild Heart as a way to share these pieces of my own heart and wildness with others every month. The truth is that moving through grief & discovering wonder are so much sweeter when done together.

One day in the future, this may lead to an oracle deck, or to some other wild thing. Wherever it takes us, I'm so glad you're here.