HITTING SEND AND TRUSTING GOD

One year of Monday Monday

Monday Monday is a free weekly newsletter. If you want to support this space and have access to my monthly advice podcast + transcribed column YES YES become a paid subscriber. Eight episodes are ready for you to listen to in the apple podcast app or browser.

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From 2009 - 2011 I wrote a monthly column for GR Screamer called The Art Of that I later self published into a zine, chronicling my attempts and eventual triumph in getting sober

I have been sending a digital newsletter since 2013. I started building an email list with a clipboard and piece of paper that sat at the checkout counter of Have Company that said NEWSLETTER LIST - many of you wrote your email on that piece of paper nine years ago, thank you

This year marks ten years since I started my first business in 2012, Have Company, first the name of a zine and then a 1967 camper that was turned into a shop to sell books and zines and handmade goods that later become a storefront, artist residency, and art gallery on Division Avenue in Grand Rapids, MI until October of 2016

From July 2015 - October 2016 I danced every single day and posted it to the internet, I continue to make dance videos there

I ran a public studio space in Inverness, CA called Center, which remained the name of the artist residency I facilitated in Grand Rapids in 2019

I have had private studios, home studios, podcasts, and radio shows

I have written four books, five zines, and many letters

I’ve made dozens of quilts

I have consulted with over 100 other artists to help them write their own books, strategize in business, vision new projects, host their own residencies, and more

I have had pop up shops, online shops, shops in basements and craft fairs

I have taught 1,768 people how to quilt, dance, write, devote more time to their craft, be disciples of themselves, cultivate their practice, and find the sunset in all of it

I have been featured in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Bust Magazine, Dance Magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and more

My books have been bestsellers at Skylight Books in Los Angeles, Powell’s in Portland, and even in the gift shop at The Tate Modern Museum in London

I have taught dance class on zoom, in meadows, in studios around the country, in living rooms and backyards

My far reach and dedicated practice has allowed me to redistribute tens of thousands of dollars to mutual aid orgs, individuals, and projects I care about

People have told me my dancing is terrible, to quit and never do anything again, that I deserve chronic pain, that my writing is trashed and jumbled and sounds like a diary entry gone wrong, public disbelief that I even have books that have been published

In all of this time I got sober, married, divorced, so much heartache, grief, surgeries, death, coming out, uncoupling, moving back and forth across the country, being born again over and over, pushed to the ultimate edges

And yet, I write

The thing that has stayed the most consistent, throughout any move in my life or shift in my business or art practice, is writing a digital newsletter. It is my most consistent container, the place where I come when my multitudes become unmanageable, when I don’t know where to go next - I come to the writing

I am not brave, I am not courageous, I am not filled with the spirit of knowing my writing is good enough. I just keep hitting send and trusting god.

I want to express to you how much it means to me that you read it, that you share it, that you tell me how it has changed you

To celebrate one year of this format I want to share with you my NEWSLETTER CLASS that over 450 people have taken - many of whom have launched their own newsletters or integrated the tools into their own research and art practice

It is on sale for $22 through this Tuesday 7/26

I love teaching, I love sharing my knowledge, and I love watching so many of you blossom into beautiful writers, thinkers, and artists

Here are the top five favorite issues of Monday Monday, as chosen by you dear readers - each one is linked to the issue itself

Writing this newsletter this past year saved my life and allowed me to make sense of the world around me, the world inside of me

I would love to know what your favorite part of reading along has been, how it has changed you, and how it helps you see yourself

And if you aren’t already a paying subscriber, I would love to invite you to become one today

A portion of July’s paid subscriptions goes towards The Fountain Street Church Choice Fund

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⌇⋰ Email : info@marleegrace.space or respond to this email

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