Monday, May 14, 2018

Behind the Scenes Since My Disappearance in August

Where Have I Been as an Artist Since I Last Posted?

Artist Mary Rae Rush (Mary Gravelle)
It's a been awhile since I've written a post here on Blogger. I shifted my focus from writing about my art and art business to blogging only on my art website. Now, I'm thinking it'll be good to post both places. Any thoughts on this subject?

So, where have I been since posting last August? I committed to completing my book on my creative process. I created an online course to match the book. And, I've been painting. My progress seems slow, but now that I read this, I've come along way. Below are snippets of updates on each of those.


Book

My proposed book cover for the forthcoming book on Kindle: INTENTivity
I'm at the end of that completion cycle finally. The title changed from Ignition to INTENTivity. It's been one of the longest, largest creative projects I've undertaken thus far in my life.

I decided to self-publish after receiving one rejection letter from an agent. In hindsight, I might have been better off sending out 100's of book proposals until I received a YES. But, I didn't, so I've been learning the ropes of self-publishing. There is so much to learn and know. As I work to complete uploading to Kindle on Amazon, I see that I've learned a lot. There is still so much more to learn. Perhaps I'll write another blog post of advice to others who want to write a book. The featured photo is where the book cover stands at this point. You would not believe how many book covers I have designed for this book over the past 7 months!

See links below to follow me on social media for updates.

Online Self-Discovery Course for Creative Confidence

Coming soon, online course for self-discovery and transformation.
The book is a "workshop in a book" that outlines a 6-week program. New material had been added since working with clients on this work. I enlisted the help of beta-testers to read over my book and take the course as they read. Much to my delight and surprise, it went very well!

Although during the process, I hardly had time to come up for air in this time period from September through November. I'm deeply ingratiated to the five beta testers who were still standing at the end of this procedure. It was intense for all of us. They were taking a deep dive into the self-discovery process, Igniting Your Intentions, and giving me feedback on the book and the work at the same time. I was recording video and audio and preparing PDF's of the work, building my online course as I went. All through this, I was daily checking in with my student beta testers helping them out with their process.

What Paintings Have I Been Working on and Completed?

Cross Pollination of the Cosmic Bee.
11 x 19 inches.
Tempera on paper.
I think this will be the subject of a separate blog post. But, I painted nothing in September and October of 2017 while I was heavily focused and working on the book and online course.

Then, because I sincerely have to paint for my sanity, I came back to it with a lighthearted approach in November, following prompts from a Facebook painting group. In January I did two paintings, two paintings were completed in February, and in March I did none. I picked up again in April working on a redo of a painting that didn't work from many years ago. That's where I am right now in my oil painting adventures. I've discovered that I need to take a more balanced approach to my goals.







Until Next Time

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About the Author, Artist and Writer, Mary Rae Rush

Mary Rae lives in Camp Verde, Arizona with her loyal assistant, Sir Kitty. Visit her websites for more information.

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