Naturalist Collage

MIxed Media Art Class

Draw inspiration from nature and create timeless, dimensional pieces that honor the beauty of the natural world.

 
 

A delightful class to discover collage art. No painting or drawing skills needed!

Click the video to see inside the class:

2 Hours Of Video Lessons    Self-paced Online Art Class    Instant, Lifetime Access    Private Community Forum

Delight in Collage!

Get this brand new class on its own, or save 20% with the Collage Bundle and 3 delightful classes!

Self-paced Online Art Class    Instant, Lifetime Access    Private Community Forum

 
 
 

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by our fast-paced human lives. But making art and reconnecting to nature are two wonderful ways to slow down and rediscover the beauty of our world.

Do you ever feel like...

 
 

You’d like the world to stop spinning for a bit so you can catch your breath.

Taking a walk in nature is the perfect antidote. Paying attention to nature’s beauty, and gathering little treasures like leaves, feathers and twigs, is a wonderful way to feel more present and grounded. Then when you take it all home and use it in your art, it becomes even more magical!

You get caught up in thinking your painting or drawing skills are not good enough.

Take them out of the equation! Collage is so versatile and forgiving. Just choose pieces you love, tear and cut, and experiment with placement until you see something you like. There’s no right or wrong, plus it’s both meditative and fun!

You tend to overthink and put too much pressure on yourself and your art. Where to start? Which colors to choose? How to properly finish a piece?

That’s what I’m here for: let me take you by the hand and guide you step by step, as I share simple techniques that you’ll instantly make yours and will be able to reuse. Working with neutrals is also a great way to take the pressure off and create yummy textured art!

 
 

Allow yourself to mindfully embrace your creativity, and let’s get gluing!

 

What if...

  • you took some creative self-care time that will help you slow down and reconnect to the beauty of the world around you?

  • you discovered a fun and forgiving process that takes the pressure off painting or drawing, allowing you to create beautifully layered art with ease?

  • you could make art that’s peaceful and soothing, with a timeless vintage feel?

  • your connection to nature could be the compass that guides you home to your artist self?

In this class, I invite you to create beautifully layered pieces inspired by naturalist art from the past. Let your intuition take over as you play and experiment with layers that seem to magically come together…

Discover a whole palette of whimsical ideas and techniques that you’ll be able to reuse on your own with joy and confidence!

Let the beauty of Nature inspire your art!

Get this brand new class on its own, or save 20% with the Collage Bundle and 3 delightful classes!

Self-paced Online Art Class    Instant, Lifetime Access    Private Community Forum

Hi, I’m Laly Mille

Mixed media is the perfect opportunity to bring together everything you love: your favorite themes, techniques and materials... it is so good for your artist soul.

This class combines three of my favorite things: Nature, collage and vintage ephemera!

  • Nature always brings me so much joy, inspiration and wellbeing

  • Collage is my absolute favorite technique, so fun and versatile!

  • And I just love the poetic vibe of vintage papers and imagery

This project is inspired by a page from my art journal that I created a while ago. I loved it so much that I wanted to create a whole body of work inspired by it! That’s one of my favorite things about art journaling: it’s an endless source of inspiration for my other art.

The Lessons

Let’s create beautiful, vintage-inspired artworks where nature and creativity intertwine.

You’ll craft richly textured collages from layered papers and natural elements like twigs and feathers…

You’ll discover exciting techniques to bring depth, light, and meaning to your pieces.

Part 1

A Soft Mini Series

Take the time to make your creative space inviting and inspiring, and warm up with a fun mini series! We will experiment with different techniques on small, unintimidating substrates before creating a larger piece.

Remember that this is all about taking time for you, for your heart and soul. I wholeheartedly encourage you to start by taking a walk in nature, breathe, relax and mindfully gather some natural materials like twigs, leaves and feathers.

I’ll guide you to:

  • Get set up with your art supplies

  • Create a beautifully layered background

  • Incorporate the naturalist imagery of your choice: will it be butterflies, birds, eggs, flowers, leaves, or something else?…

  • Add finishing touches like shading and stitching!

Part 2

A Larger Collage

In this larger project, you’ll get to use the same techniques we’ve explored in the mini series, and take them to the next level. Let’s create a beautifully layered and textured collage that celebrates nature and botanical imagery!

I’ll guide you to:

  • Select a variety of materials with a range of textures, from thin tissue to thick, corrugated cardboard.

  • Plan the composition of your piece: what will your focal image be? How can the collage pieces in your background make it stand out?

  • Add dimensional elements that will give your piece more depth and a whimsical feel, like buttons, twigs and modeling paste applied through a stencil. Glue or stitch them in place.

  • Seamlessly blend the various collage elements with paint, pencils and ink, to create a cohesive look. That’s the magic of mixed media!

Part 3

Bring Your Art To Life

It’s time to add an extra layer of beauty and dimension by framing your pieces! I’ll share some ideas that will take your art to a whole other level.

We’ll use cradled wood panels and flip them front to back to create shadow-box frames. I love this extra finishing touch, because it creates a 3D effect that makes the imagery and collage stand out even more. Plus it protects the fragile textured elements, and offsets the beautifully imperfect edges of the art.

I’ll guide you to:

  • Mount your pieces onto chunky wood panels

  • Use wood panels as shadow-box frames to make your art stand out.

  • Add hooks so they’re ready to hang!

Another quick and fun option is to glue your pieces to a stretched canvas!

 

Inspirational Bonus

This class includes a curated Pinterest board to inspire you!

 
 
 
 

In total, Naturalist Collage has 2 hours of high-quality video lessons.

I show and explain everything in detail, and I encourage you to make the process yours and work with what you’ve got. If you've ever taken a class with me, you know I like to keep it clear and super inspiring!

The class is in English with English closed captions available.

Let’s create beautiful collages!

Get this brand new class on its own, or save 20% with the Collage Bundle and 3 delightful classes!

Self-paced Online Art Class    Instant, Lifetime Access    Private Community Forum

what Students said:

"I love your gentle philosophy and how you take ordinary scraps from daily life, see their beauty, and combine them to express a unique story. Your lovely voice, the way you handle bits of paper, ribbon, and tokens from nature embody the sacramental nature of creating. Thank you, your videos have inspired me to actually do art and it is both gift and grace."

— MOLLY W.

"I enjoyed the class immensely! I think the best part was that I enjoyed the process as much as the end result which is so often not the case with me."

— KIM M.

"I love your art and design skills. You're a gifted teacher who goes out of her way to be sure those watching your videos understand every possible way to approach each step. It's clear you're a very caring person. Thank you SO much for this wonderful experience. I've collected my papers and fabrics, and I'm chomping at the bit to get started."

— ELLEN D.

Beautiful layers from the students…..

 
 
 

Recommended Supplies

Below are the materials I use in the class. They’re only suggestions and I encourage you to work with whatever you already own and love!

Inside the class, you'll find a more detailed list with links.

 
 

Basic Supplies:

  • Matte gel medium or other glue

  • A few paint brushes in various sizes

  • White gesso and/or white acrylic paint

  • Pens & pencils of your choice, including a regular graphite pencil or mechanical pencil

  • Plastic card, palette knife or small brayer to create texture

  • Scissors

A variety of collage materials:

Don’t go buy anything fancy! Look for:

  • Papers with different textures: thin like teabags or tissue, ephemera such as book pages or sheet music, and thicker materials like cards, corrugated cardboard etc.

  • Some textile elements like lace, cheesecloth, doilies, burlap...

  • A few found objects/dimensional elements like buttons, feathers, dried leaves, twigs…

A few extra items you might enjoy:

  • Inks: acrylic and/or alcohol inks

  • Watersoluble crayons or pencils

  • Permanent pens & paint markers

  • Spray bottle

  • For stitching: Needle tool/awl, embroidery needle and thread

  • Light modeling paste and stencil

 

what Students said:

"This class was a wonderful creative indulgence. I especially loved the process and finding little treasures to turn into art. I can't wait to make more!"

— EVA O.

“Laly’s classes each teach something different. So often Laly’s voice is in my head, encouraging, inspiring, motivating. She is such a great teacher who inspires you to be who you are fearlessly.”

— BETSY R.

“Laly, you are the best gift I have given myself in a very long time! I am completely enchanted, energized and inspired. Thank you so much!”

— MARGARET M.

Let’s get layering!

Get this brand new class on its own, or save 20% with the Collage Bundle and 3 delightful classes!

Self-paced Online Art Class    Instant, Lifetime Access    Private Community Forum

Your Guide
for this creative journey

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

I’m a mixed media artist from France, and I’m here to help you turn your creativity into a fulfilling, soul-nurturing practice.

Collage is such a versatile and forgiving technique, perfect for beginners! The “Naturalist Collage” class invites you to slow down, gather inspiration from nature, and create soothing art from the heart.

There’s more to art than just painting, and I’m excited to show you new ways to create beautiful art you’ll love!

 You may have seen me in

 
Laly Mille in her art studio sitting at table with pink laptop.
 
 

 Your Questions Answered

If you don’t find an answer below, don’t hesitate to reach out by email at support@lalymille.com. We’ll will do our best to help!

 

I've never tried collage or mixed media before. I can't even draw a straight line! Can I really do this class?

Absolutely! Collage is super freeing and forgiving, and you don’t need any special talent or drawing skills to enjoy this beautiful practice. In this class, we do “mixed media” collage, which means that you can combine paper, images and other elements with any techniques and supplies you’re most comfortable with. I’ll guide you through the basics and as we work with plenty of layers, you’ll see that any “mistakes” can always be fixed or covered up. Collage might be just what you need to fully embrace your creativity!

I don’t have a lot of art supplies. Will I need to spend a lot of money on papers and supplies?

No! You can definitely make beautiful art even if you’re not buying premium art supplies. That’s especially true with collage, where you can use mostly found elements and reclaimed materials, like cardboard and pages from old books. I do recommend matte gel medium as a glue, but other than that, I encourage you to use what you’ve got and go on a scavenger hunt for materials from around your house, and from nature. The final step of framing with wood panels is completely optional and you can simply create on heavy paper or card-stock. Cereal boxes are a great option!

I’m an experienced artist. Will there be anything I can learn from this class?

Absolutely! No matter if you’re already into collage or not, Naturalist Collage is a wonderful opportunity to renew your inspiration, connect to nature and feel more free, while making art that’s gorgeously layered and textured. Plus, if you’re anything like me and have hoarded collage papers for years, this is the perfect opportunity to finally use them! This class is all about taking time for YOU, to relax, rediscover and reconnect to the light of your creative soul.

 

A summary of what you’ll get

Around 2 hours of detailed videos where I share my personal process and my best creative tips.

You’ll be right by my side as I share my authentic collage process and a variety of dimensional techniques, as well as my thought process and inspiration as I create, even the moments when I get stuck!

My self-taught artist roots mean you won’t find any dry or technical art language here!

I have a heart-centered, non-academic teaching style, perfect for beginners all the way to experienced artists. The techniques I share are super forgiving: everything is always fixable and no drawing skills are needed at all. I encourage you to relax, let go of expectations, play, try new things and trust your intuition. This class is all about your own pleasure and creative fulfillment.

Get ready to go on a creative journey!

If you’re new, returning to art after a break or just need a boost of inspiration, this class will be your beacon of light. My hope is that it will give you techniques and inspiration to awaken your imagination and re-spark your creative fire!

And with lifetime access, you can revisit the lessons any time you like to create new collage art with different colors and themes!

Feel part of a creative community.

When you join you'll get access to our private community forum right within the classroom site, where I check in every week.

We’re a lovely tribe where you’ll be welcome just as you are. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and share what you create, the other participants and I will support you!

Discover the magic of collage!

Get this brand new class on its own, or save 20% with the Collage Bundle and 3 delightful classes!

Self-paced Online Art Class    Instant, Lifetime Access    Private Community Forum