feedback | The Direction of Intention

Epicenters of Mattering [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on May 9, 2024 by davidrobinsoncreative

If you asked me why we write I would tell you that it is because of Lydia. After reading my post Arrive, she must have sensed my low spirits and took the time to comment: Perhaps you have already arrived. Breathe. Feel the awe. In every moment. It is because of Alex who reads what I write everyday and bothers to let me know. Buffalo Bob. A simple like, telling me, “I am out here and what you write matters to me.”

Writing is a relationship like painting is a relationship like music is a relationship. It’s a dynamic feedback loop. A younger me would have told you that the impulse to create is internal; the current version of me wonders if there really is any such separation as internal and external. There is no actor without an audience, no writer without a reader. It’s a matter of mattering. To each other. Ultimately, the artist imperative is to share. It is hard to explain. Ours is essential. It is urgent. It is undeniable. It is an inner necessity – a word that I do not use lightly. To deny it would be to die – a statement that I do not offer lightly. Yet, without an audience, a reader, there would be no point.

We recently asked Rob his thoughts about how to get our words beyond our bubble. We love our bubble, our community of dedicated readers and listeners. However, the changes in the world of arts-as-a-business have made the work we were once paid for free for all takers. Although technology brings our words and music and art to audiences all over the world, it has also left us financially insecure. It’s an oddly mixed message of mattering. So many listeners and readers, so few pennies. Rob and others have been knocking on our noggins to open a Patreon membership. It’s taken awhile for us to embrace the realities of this brave new world.

Networks and relationships. Worth. Value. Mattering. Each of us an epicenter with lines of connection running in all directions. Sharing. Giving. Asking. So very appreciative of a “thumbs up,” so deeply moved when our words come back at us with a loving reminder to Feel the Awe. Breathe.

read Kerri’s blogpost about NETWORKS

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Filed under: Art, Creativity, DR Thursday, Gratitude | Tagged: art, artistry, business, communication, creativity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, epicenter, exchange, feedback, feedback loop, information bubbles, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, mattering, meaning making, Network, Patreon, relationship, story, studio melange, technology, the melange, vision | 1 Comment »

My Wise-Eyes [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on April 5, 2024 by davidrobinsoncreative

We were awake in the middle of the night. I don’t mind these doughnut holes in our sleep because we tend to have heart-to-heart chats. In the dark hours we reach deep into reflection and yearning. We ponder. Last night we talked about our writing. The differences in our styles, what we have learned from each other, how we are becoming better-and-better writers because we write side-by-side, share our work and edit each other.

Every artist needs a person to view or read their work who is completely honest. No energy need be spent protecting the artist-ego. In the theatre that person is called “wise-eyes.” And, in order to take full advantage of the wise-eyes, the artist needs to have open-ears capable of hearing honest reflection. It’s a relationship of deepest trust: “Tell me what you think, see, hear…” Wise-eyes are hard to come by.

Last night, as we talked, I was suddenly overwhelmed by my good fortune: we can – and do – talk about anything. I trust her feedback and insights implicitly. She has my best interests at heart and I have hers. And so we grow. I married my wise-eyes.

The gorgeous shock of dried flowers against an impressionist’s blue sky. I would never see this image were I to walk on my own. And that’s the point. She has me opening my eyes to look at the world in ways that do not come naturally to me. Paradoxically expanding my view to include the close-in, the detail. My head is usually in the esoteric clouds. My wise-eyes-wife is teaching me to also look down, to plant my feet on the ground, to (as she says) “gear-down”. To challenge my idea of what comes naturally. I am becoming a much better artist for it.