david robinson | The Direction of Intention

Eat Some Laughter [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on November 28, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Every lie begins with a truth.” Jonathan casually tossed that gem-of-a-phrase into our dinner conversation. I could write pages on his prompt – especially in these times – but that is a rant for another day. What matters at this writing is that, just as a lie is rooted in truth, so is a cartoon.

Today’s pillow onslaught is in honor of Kerri’s designs inspired by our it-went-nowhere-but-made-us-laugh-every-day-Flawed Cartoon. In revisiting her designs, I realized that her pillows reach into the truths that inspired the laughs. Face Your Giant. Dream. So Much Possibility. You Are What You Eat.

Eat some laughter. Taste some truth. Surround yourself with Kerri’s designs.

(from the Flawed Cartoon Hall of Fame)

Pinochio BIGcopy copy 2

shop for pillows

read Kerri’s blog post about FLAWED PILLOWS

flawed cartoons, designs, & products ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Flawed Cartoon Wednesday, Flawed Wednesday, studio melange, Uncategorized | Tagged: david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, flawed cartoon, Flawed Cartoon Wednesday, humor, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, lies, pillows, society6.com/flawedcartoon, truth | Leave a comment »

Land Safely [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on November 27, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Two artists can get into a world of trouble. They (we) can also create our share of trouble. Our idea pile is mountainous. The word ‘reality’ requires more than a few footnotes.

If you’ve ever spent the time considering the melange (as I know you have…) you recognize that we lack the simple wisdom of knowing when to stop. In the corporate world we’d be known as constant content creators. In the mad mad realm of entrepreneurs, we’d be understood as being in a constant state of pivot. Our Two Artists designs were initially intended to be improvisational, gestural-let’s-see-where-this-goes statements. I dare you to find the bottom of that idea pool!

All of this is to say, you could leap from a very tall building and land safely – even comfortably – on the stack of pillows we’ve imagined and designed. There’s no need to test my assertion. Stay in your swivel chair. But, if you have impulse control issues, it might be a good time to buy a pillow. And I know just the place. Follow the link.

THE LINK

read Kerri’s blog post about THROWING PILLOWS

two artists designs/products ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Random, studio melange, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artists, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, ideas, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, pillows, society6.com/twoartists, throw pillows, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

Pick A Pillow [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on November 26, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Merely A Thought Monday was a progression, an evolution of our single panel cartoon, our imaginary child, Chicken Marsala. Chicken used to show up with simple phrases like Assume Awe or Love Needs No Words. We called them “nuggets.” One day we realized that folks liked the words but were barely conscious of the drawing of Chicken. So, Chicken retired to Maui. His words remain.

Along with Chicken we also developed product designs, lines of merchandise inspired by the day’s cartoon. Prints, tote bags, laptop sleeves,… one for each day of the Melange….a remarkable 80 different designs/lines by the time we realized our product lines were as invisible and/or overwhelming as Chicken. So, we retired them, too.

Last weekend, like an old couple looking at pictures of good times past, we revisited our designs. Shifting in my rocker, pulling my cardigan up on my shoulders, I sighed and said, “Some of those designs were darn good.”

Kerri sighed, adjusted her spectacles and said, “Do you have a pillow for my back? I need a pillow for my back.”

So. That’s how pillow week at the Melange came to be. Nostalgia. And necessity. It’s all we’ve got. It’s the best there is! [just count your blessings that we’re not showing you slides of our trip to the coast]. Follow the link. Get Kerri a pillow. Or, just pick up one for yourself. Or a friend. If you see Chicken, tell him to write.

THE LINK

read Kerri’s blog post about THROW PILLOW WISDOM

chicken designs and products ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

rootinlove WITH EYES jpeg copy 2

Filed under: Chicken Marsala Monday, Merely A Thought Monday, studio melange, Uncategorized | Tagged: chicken marsala, Chicken Marsala Monday, Chicken nugget, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, pillow design, pillows, product lines, society6.com, society6.com/chickenmarsala | Leave a comment »

Be Grateful [on KS Friday]

Posted on November 23, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Grateful. The perfect word to carry into the season. Today, the perfect word has a soundtrack. Enjoy it with your family and leftovers.

GRATEFUL on the album AS IT IS available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about GRATEFUL

grateful/as it is ©️ 2004 kerri sherwood

Filed under: Gratitude, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: AS IT IS, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, family, grateful, Gratitude, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, leftovers | Leave a comment »

Give It [on DR Thursday]

Posted on November 22, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

in the giving copy

Enough said. Happy Thanksgiving.

Instrument of Peace, 48 x 91IN

read Kerri’s blog post about IT IS IN THE GIVING

instrument of peace ©️ 2015 david robinson

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Gratitude, Uncategorized | Tagged: david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, give, instrument of peace, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Prayer of Saint Francis, receive, studio melange, Thanksgiving | Leave a comment »

Offer Pie [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on November 21, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

lincoln quote copy

Kerri flew through Denver on election day and stopped to snap this photo. These days the papers and airwaves are filled with stories of our national dedication to division. They are rife with incivility. We are rife with incivility.

A house divided cannot stand. It reads like a cliche’ – because it is – yet, apparently needs to be put to the test (again). There are a few more things true of a divided house, the reason they cannot stand: They are easy to manipulate. They waste their best energy on division (the tail wags the dog). They are deaf to the obvious paths out of division (when the only tool in your box is a hammer…). The foot they shoot is their own (the house they destroy is the one they are living in).

Above all it infects us with a bad case of Chicken Little Syndrome.

Sometimes the absence of middle ground is made civil when we step into the commons with a dedication to politeness. Courtesy. Graciousness. There are other words that probably sound like so much impossibility. Cliches? Pie in the sky?

Well, tomorrow is a day of thanks giving that usually comes with an abundance of pie! Perhaps the sky need not fall if we can sit still for a moment and reach across the table with an offer of pie. Nothing else need be decided. Just pie. And thank you. There are few better places to begin the mend.

read Kerri’s blog post on CIVILITY

Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Language, Perspective, Possibility, Uncategorized | Tagged: A house divided, Chicken Little, Chicken Little Syndrome, civility, courtesy, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, graciousness, incivility, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Lincoln, middle ground, pie, politeness, Thanksgiving | Leave a comment »

Look To The Odds [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on November 20, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

our two fingers copy

With every bizarre image comes a good story and that is certainly true of this odd affair.

A few hours after I dropped Kerri at the airport for her flight to Colorado I was cutting paper for a project. My x-acto knife wasn’t paying attention and rode up the ruler and through my left index finger. I bled so much that I decided NOT to tell Kerri. I didn’t want to worry her on her trip.

An hour later, walking around the house with my finger above my head, trying to get the bleeding to stop, a text came in from Kerri. She was cutting stems from daisies and the knife slipped. She cut a nasty gash in her left index finger. She was bleeding so much that she wanted me to know.

What are the odds? We calculated that our accidents happened within the same hour.

Our story is one of strange connectivity. We started paying attention to it when, long before we laid eyes on each other, we discovered that we had the same middle name.

What are the odds?

When we met, that first day at O’Hare International Airport, I stepped off the plane to find a woman dressed just like me (black sweater, jeans, boots,… The Truth: our closets are mostly identical – filled with blue jeans and black things though she has more variety in tops and waaaaaay more shoe choices).

What are the odds.

I won’t bore you with the now long list of weird coincidences and connectivity. Nowadays, when Kerri breaks her baby toe, as she does once a quarter, I immediately put on my steel toed boots and move slowly around the house.

read Kerri’s blog post about LEFT INDEX FINGERS

Filed under: Random, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: connection, connectivity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, relationships, studio melange | 3 Comments »

Get It Done [on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on November 19, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

productive avoidance box copy

When Master Miller tossed this phrase my way I laughed out loud. Isn’t it often the case that the closer we come to an important moment the more we pour our excess nervous energy into any and every distraction? And, isn’t it a bonus if our distraction of choice is actually productive? I’ve washed a lot of dishes in an effort to keep myself occupied! A younger version of me ran miles and miles in fits of productive avoidance.

In the years since Quinn helped me see that no one really knows what they are doing I’ve decided that almost everything is in productive and/or creative avoidance. No one wants to peer into the great not-knowing. Like everyone else, I want to believe that what I do matters, that I am imbued with purpose. I want to believe that I have chosen my destiny and am storming down my path. And, what might I see if I could step out of my all important story? What might I find beyond my grand narrative? It’s scary stuff! Productive avoidance makes for some great distraction!

Kerri and I have an ongoing conversation about things that matter. At the end of the day, there’s only a very few things on the list. The rest? Well…at least we are getting things done!

read Kerri’s blog post on PRODUCTIVE AVOIDANCE

Filed under: Edges, Energy, Merely A Thought Monday, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged: avoidance, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, meaning, meaning making, narrative, productive avoidance, productivity, purpose, story, studio melange | Leave a comment »

Hear It [on KS Friday]

Posted on November 16, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

When I was sixteen years old, a new driver, I made a left hand turn in front of a delivery truck that I did not see. I’m not sure how it missed me. At the time I had the illusion that it went through me. I saw the grill, felt the rush, and watched as it skidded to a stop in the turn lane I’d just vacated.

After college I went to Europe with my pal, Roger. I was penniless (almost) when we flew back to the USA. We landed in a snowstorm. Roger’s connecting flight to California left without a hitch. I missed mine to Colorado. I was stranded and desperate, knowing I didn’t have the resources to get home. A man standing in line behind me heard my plight and told me of an announcement – a limited number of cheap fares. I raced across the terminal and bought the last ticket, flying the next morning. I had the EXACT amount of money in my pocket. I used my last penny. Literally.

I have thousands of these stories. As, I believe do all of us. I suspect they happen every day, though go largely unnoticed. A single moment this way or that…a stranger’s hand that pulls us back to the curb. A generosity. A gut feeling. An inspiration. A knowing. A calling. A touch. Sisu.

In a world with no compartments, no division between life or death, fall and winter, it’s all divine intervention, isn’t it? Life? Helping hands are everywhere. There’s no need to believe in a god with a big G or small to appreciate the quiet magic of it all. The scope and mystery of being. The assistance from ‘beyond.’ That’s what Kerri captures in her Divine Intervention. It’s there if you can hear it.

DIVINE INTERVENTION from the album RELEASED FROM THE HEART available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about DIVINE INTERVENTION

Filed under: Energy, Gratitude, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: being, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, divine intervention, helping hand, helping hands, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life, magic, mystery, released from the heart, solo piano, unexplainable | Leave a comment »

Practice. [on DR Thursday]

Posted on November 15, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

a morsel from Waiting & Knowing

The quote is from Carlos Castaneda, A Separate Reality. In a nutshell, it is this: know that you are waiting. Know what you are waiting for. To me that seemed to be a kind of yoga. A practice. It is a practice that might be useful in the age of one-click fulfillment, twitter diplomacy, road rage, ubiquitous impatience. It is a practice with balance as its intention.

in process

It is also a practice that in many ways encapsulates the art of painting as I understand it. So, it seemed a useful spark for a painting in my yoga series. Waiting and knowing. Balance. Sisu. The practice of being where you are.