Let me watch over you

Sometimes it's so good to take it slow, and sometimes it's simply necessary (if you don't, your body will make you...) I'm back online after a much-needed hiatus that has allowed me to incubate new ideas, work behind the scenes, do some house repairs and work in the garden with my little family. Among others things, we've been de-ivying the old stone walls around our property, quite an intensive job!

The studio has been busy too, as one of my goals this year is to finish some artworks that have been put aside for ages. The latest finished piece is this little lady!

"Let me watch over you"paper clay sculpture by Laly Mille

She’s made of paper and paper clay, painted with oils and finished with cold wax. I love that she is mostly made of natural materials, which is something I try to do more and more (might be the topic of a new class!). If she were to be left in the wild, she wouldn’t do any harm to our beautiful Earth.

I have titled her ‘Let Me Watch Over You”, after one of the messages engraved on her dress. It feels very soothing to me, this idea that everything is OK, that it’s all taken care of, that higher forces are protecting me, watching over me, keeping me safe when I feel vulnerable, small, tired… Like the past week when I had pains in my neck and back that prevented me from working on the computer, and suddenly there was all this stress of “you need to keep posting online! you need to keep promoting your work! you need to get that new platform finished! you have students waiting for a reply! you have a lesson to film for someone else’s course, how have you not done it yet??…”

But her dress reminds me of the milky way and the big, magical, starry Universe we belong to. She feels both gentle and strong, so small yet draped in the whole galaxy. Quietly reassuring, soothing, calming. She reminds me I’m not just my small and sometimes overwhelmed self. There is so much more I can trust and rely on.

And indeed, even during this slow-paced time, magic has been showing up in big ways as some students have shared this with me:

What a joy to contribute to this delightful publication again, and I had no idea my art would be on the cover! Such a lovely surprise. It could be a while before my copy makes it all the way to France, but if you are on the other side of the ocean, don’t hesitate to treat yourself!

view the magazine

The artwork on the cover and the one on the left inner page are actually from one of the projects in my online class Soulful Abstracts, while the butterfly paintings on the right are from Layers of Light! If you want to learn all about these dreamy projects and techniques, click below to find out more. Soulful Abstracts is currently closed (you can put your name on the waiting list for the next round) but Layers of Light is open!

Layers of Light

Soulful Abstracts

If you’ve been feeling a little vulnerable and overwhelmed lately, then I hope this little piece of my (he)art will lift your spirits and give you an extra dose of faith in yourself and in our still beautiful world. She will be available in an online show at the end of the year and for now I’m very happy to have her as a sweet guardian in our home.