May | 2018 | The Direction of Intention

Paint The Sun [on DR Thursday]

Posted on May 31, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

My sketchbooks are peppered with landscapes. I call them my meditation drawings because I do them as a form of meditation – to quiet my mind. I am kinesthetic so quiet comes to me through movement. Drawing is one of my favorite forms of dance.

One day, a few years ago, I decided to experiment and paint one of my meditation drawings. I like it but have no idea what to do with it. I’m not a landscape painter so it exists as the ‘something-different’ in my studio archive. Someday, maybe, I’ll do a few more of them and mount a show of meditation-drawing-inspired-paintings. Until then, it lives as a morsel for this weeks melange. Kerri calls it White Sun.

The moon over Benziger Winery

White Sun. 18 x 48 IN. mixed media on two panels. It’s not listed on the gallery site so contact us if you are interested in purchasing it.

WHITE SUN [morsel] gifts and products

throw pillows!

read Kerri’s blog post about WHITE SUN

www.kerrianddavid.com

white sun painting and products ©️ 2016/18 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Uncategorized | Tagged: art process, dance, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, drawing, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, mediation, morsel, movement, painting, painting morsel, quiet mind, sketchbook, society6.com/davidrobinson, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Eat Well [it’s Flawed Cartoon Wednesday]

Posted on May 30, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Of this snake Confucius might have said, “Swallow the hydrant, expect the firetruck.”

John, a master carpenter, used to say of my theatre construction techniques, “Penny wise and pound foolish.” I built things to last for the run of the play. He built things to last beyond the nuclear winter. I told him that the cockroaches would have really nice furniture. “And Twinkies,” he’d add. Too true. A Twinkie, like his furniture, was made to last forever.

My favorite aphorism of the year comes from Master David Miller. He was preparing to direct a play called The Arsonists, so immediate and relevant for our political times. When I asked him to sum it up he said, “If you invite an arsonist into your home you shouldn’t be surprised when your house burns down.”

We are, after all, what we eat. Narratives and Twinkies alike.

YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT gifts and cool stuff

mugs, gift cards,…

read Kerri’s blog Post about YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT

www.kerrianddavid.com

you are what you eat/designs ©️ 2016/18 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Flawed Cartoon Wednesday, Random, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged: aphorisms, Confucius, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, flawed cartoon, Flawed Cartoon Wednesday, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Max Frisch, MrDavidAMiller, society6.com/flawedcartoon, studio melange, The Arsonists, the melange, Twinkies | Leave a comment »

Surf Uncertainty [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on May 29, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

surfuncertaintyprimaryimageBOX copy

I love this image. It is a visual of the burning point. For me, it captures a singular truth in life. You can’t control the wave, but you can learn to ride it. So, be in it. Ride it.

I can already hear Kerri in my mind saying, “What the heck does that mean?” Go outside tonight and look at the night sky. If you understand what you are seeing you might realize how little in this life you actually control. Mostly, in this moment of life, we surf the unknown, whether we recognize it or not. We can deny it or we can learn to ride the wave of constant change. Trying to control it is a recipe for misery.

Happiness ensues when you learn to distinguish between what you control and what you cannot. Surfing life is the art of riding the uncontrollable wave and enjoying the ride.

Enjoy SURF UNCERTAINTY gifts and products

t-shirts, tote bags, and more!

read Kerri’s blog post on LEARNING TO SURF UNCERTAINTY

www.kerrianddavid.com

learn to surf uncertainty/designs ©️ 2016/18 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: burning point, change, control, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life, presence, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, the melange, uncertainty, uncontrollable | 2 Comments »

Face The Wind [it’s Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on May 28, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Saul taught me to look beyond the obstacle and, instead, place my focus in the field of possibilities. How I experience my life is largely a matter of where I decide to focus, what I choose to see.

Life, I’ve learned (or finally accepted), never stops throwing new things at me – challenges & opportunities. And, when looking in the rear view mirror of my life , I am generally hard-pressed to distinguish between what was a challenge and what was an opportunity. The challenges became opportunities, the opportunities brought a basket of challenges.

The winds of change blow all the time. As Chicken, like Saul, reminds me on this Chicken Marsala Monday, the winds of change are never an obstacle. They are a constant force (called life) moving you, moving all of us, to learn, to grow. They are an invitation to turn our faces into the wind, look to the horizon and appreciate the ride.

SUPERHEROES gifts and products

bags and more

read Kerri’s blog post on The Wind Never Stops Blowing You

www.kerrianddavid.com

the wind never stops blowing you/designs ©️ 2016/2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Creativity, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, growing, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, life, life force, obstacle, opportunity, possibility, relationship, resistance, society6.com/chickenmarsala, tai chi, we-space | Leave a comment »

Take Stock [on KS Friday]

Posted on May 25, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

We just passed an anniversary of sorts. Five years ago, en route to a consulting job, I stopped for a few days to meet a woman. We’d never met, but for the previous five months had exchanged daily emails. It was a surprise correspondence, a deep diving conversation about art and love and divorce and aging and…life. We called our correspondence The Roadtrip. I thought it was about time to meet my Roadtrip partner. I stepped off the plane, met Kerri, we held hands and skipped out of the airport, drove to her place, sat on the roof and drank wine. And, my entire life changed. I felt as if I’d finally come home.

So, this past week, five years down the road, we’ve been taking stock of all that has happened, all that we’ve experienced together. We are telling each other the story of us. So much extraordinary life in all of its color, bumps, losses, discoveries, illnesses, good coffee, frustrations, delights and small moments of appreciation.

I sit next to H in the choir. He is 92 years young. He inspires me. I told him about the week of taking stock. He nodded. It’s good to look at where you’ve been. It’s the only way to know where you next want to go. I told him that it seems to me that life moves really fast and he laughed and said, “You got that right!”

On this KS Friday, take a moment. Take stock and tell yourself the story of you. Let this beautiful composition, Kerri’s Taking Stock from her album RIGHT NOW, inspire you to look back and, as H said, “Touch the riches.”

TAKING STOCK on the album RIGHT NOW is available on iTunes & CDBaby

Kerri’s Designs, TAKING STOCK gifts & products

t-shirts, hoodies, leggings

read Kerri’s blog post about TAKING STOCK

www.kerrianddavid.com

taking stock/right now ©️ 2010 kerri sherwood

taking stock designs & products ©️ 2018 kerri sherwood & david robinson

Filed under: KS Friday, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged: correspondence, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, looking back, memories, right now, society6.com/kerrisherwood, Taking stock on Right Now, The Roadtrip | Leave a comment »

Scatter News [on DR Thursday]

Posted on May 24, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

scattered news product BAR copy

I’m reading a book by Derrick Jensen, A Language Older Than Words. If you google him you will read that he is “hailed as the philosopher poet of the environmental movement.” He is also described as a “radical environmentalist.” He is thoughtful. He is well researched. He asks very big questions. Agree or disagree, he has strong, clear opinions and reasoned beliefs. Step back from his environmentalism and you will find that he speaks directly into the layers of shadow and denial that wrap our national narrative. He isn’t afraid to call a lie a lie. I suspect he is considered radical not because of his beliefs but because of his insistence on bringing into the open what the national narrative would rather keep hidden.

Lately, this word, radical, has become curious to me. Like so many of my friends, I have felt our community is the rope in an angry tug-of-war. We plug into news sources tailored to our political leanings that seem dedicated to reinforcing our divisions. Dedicated to keeping us angry. And, we know it. And we eat it up. We tear ourselves apart, define ourselves too narrowly, and that is not understood as radical.

earth interrupted vi

For example, we do not consider it radical that there have been 22 school shootings this year alone (at this writing). We do not see our utter inability and/or unwillingness to address it as radical. That more American school children have died of gunfire this year than soldiers in combat is astounding. Or should be.

What should be radical is now the new normal.

A few decades ago, Neil Postman wrote that we were in danger of amusing ourselves to death, that we were going down a path that would render us incapable of discerning between what has gravity and what is concocted. More to the point, we would invert the two, investing in the dross at the expense of the substance. It seems that we have arrived at the doorstep of his prediction.

Our acceptance of the radical is radical. And what is the cost?

This is the meditation behind Earth Interrupted VI: News. Worthy. and this week’s morsel, Scattered News.

SCATTERED NEWS gifts & products

mugs & travel mugs

read Kerri’s blog post about SCATTERED NEWS

www.kerrianddavid.com

scattered news design & products ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

earth interrupted vi: news.worthy. ©️ 2018 david robinson

Filed under: DR Thursday, Perspective, Uncategorized | Tagged: A Language Older Than Words, Amusing Ourselves to Death, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Derrick Jensen, division, earth interrupted, earth interrupted vi, impotence, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, National narrative, Neil Postman, new normal, news, radical, school shootings, society6.com/davidrobinson, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Acquire Taste [it’s Flawed Cartoon Wednesday]

Posted on May 23, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

flawedcartoonPRIMARYimage BOX_edited-1 copy

flawedDateNightStoreBox copy

It came as a great shock to me to learn that I was hard to live with. Well, actually, that is a lie. I’ve known it for years but hoped no one else (read: Kerri) noticed. Well, she noticed. I think she was on to my game from the start but for some reason decided to focus on the good bits. Lately, I’ve been telling her that I am like a good wine and will get better with age. That, too, is probably a lie, but I think this time she might have bought my line! At least she is giving me another day so there’s a good chance she might someday think I am perfect! A boy can dream….

From studio melange on Flawed Cartoon Wednesday, a nod to acquired tastes everywhere.

ACQUIRED TASTE products and gifts

pillows to throw!

read Kerri’s blog post about ACQUIRED TASTE

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Flawed Cartoon Wednesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: dating, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, first date, flawed cartoon, Flawed Cartoon Wednesday, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, relationships, society6.com/flawedcartoon, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Choose Your Way [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on May 22, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

One of the ideas behind the melange was to invite you into our studio, to offer a peek behind the curtain into the messy art piles and chaotic processes that spark and give fuel to our creative lives.

We make it a practice to walk through life noticing things, appreciating moments. It is a muscle we consciously exercise. It is the reason we write. It is the reason we take photographs of the food arranged on our plates or the evening sunlight topping the trees or the funny sign posts on the paths we walk. Kerri recently said – and I think it is true – we are inspiring ourselves and perhaps, through our art, words, and designs, helping others live appreciative lives.

In a past incarnation, when working with teachers or corporate types or artists, I said again and again, “See what is there, not what you think is there.” Try and see beyond what you think. A full spectrum of beauty bubbles brightly right in front of our noses but largely goes unnoticed through the mind chatter that dulls our perceptions. It renders us sense-blind.

On this Two Artists Tuesday, a not-so-subtle reminder to slow down, choose a piece of quiet, open your eyes and appreciate your moment. Take a stab at seeing what is bubbling out there just beyond your oh-so-important-thinking. It just might take your breath away. Or, more to the point, it might bring you a deep creative breath. It just might give fuel to your creative life.

WHICH WAY gifts and cool products

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read Kerri’s blog post about WHICH WAY

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Art, Awakening, Creativity, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: awareness, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, horizontal, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, monkey mind, see beyond thinking, seeing, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, the melange, thinking, Two Artists Tuesday, vertical, which way | Leave a comment »

Enjoy The Puddles [it’s Chicken Marsala Monday]

Posted on May 21, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Puddle is a fun word to say. Try it. Puddle. Muddle. Fuddle. In fact, when fuddled or muddled, there is only one thing to be done and that is to find and jump gleefully into a puddle. Essentially, become puddled.

Chicken has a decidedly Buddhist side. If he had three simple rules for spiritual growth, one would certainly involve puddles and play. Speaking to we too serious adult-types, he might say: you can never control the rain, but you can most certainly control how often you play in the puddles .

On this Chicken Marsala Monday, from studio melange, leave behind your muddle and go to the puddle side of life [begin by reading this post out loud to someone you love – puddles are more fun with friends].

ENJOY THE PUDDLES gifts and cool things to remind you to play

bags, bags, bags

read Kerri’s blog post on ENJOY THE PUDDLES.

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Awakening, Chicken Marsala Monday, Uncategorized | Tagged: Buddhist, chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, circumstance, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, detachment, fun, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, play, puddles, society6.com/chickenmarsala, spiritual growth, spiritual practice, spirituality, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Let Me Take You Back [it’s KS Friday]

Posted on May 18, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

let me take you back

Before Kerri and I were married, I asked her daughter, Kirsten, to tell me ‘the one thing’ I should know and understand about her mother. Kirsten’s answer was immediate. “Mom’s the most thready person you will ever meet,” she said.

It is true. Kerri is the most ‘thready’ person I have ever met. Thready means threaded to the past. We mark auspicious days. Each piece of furniture in our house carries a story. Every day she writes in her calendar what we did or what happened; at the end of the year it is our ritual to read the calendar and retell the stories of the days just lived. We light candles for lost loved ones.

She is rooted, deeply rooted, in family, in ancestry, and she actively and consciously tends the root through her thready-ness. And, what is most remarkable to me, is that her thready-ness is not weighty. It is in no way heavy. It is light-hearted and surprising and lively, just like her composition Let Me Take You Back. On this KS Friday, take a moment, and let Kerri give your spirit a lift. Let her take you back.