Nazlı Durmuşoğlu Utku was born in Istanbul in 1979. She graduated from Istanbul University Turkish Language and Literature Department in 2002. She took miniature classes from Özcan Mafirat Onat and Betül Bilgin, tile classes from Özkan Tokaç, botanic illustration classes from Hülya Korkmaz; and received her illumination license from Emel Türkmen in 2008. She participated in many exhibitions both in Turkey and abroad. Utku won fourth prize in Abu Dhabi Ministry of Culture Al-Burda International Illumination Competition organized in 2008. She has been giving illumination classes dsince 2008.