kerrisherwood.com | The Direction of Intention

Taste The Sky [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on November 27, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

I remember closing my eyes, face to the sky, to feel the joy in the snowflakes fall. On another day, separated by years, I walked out into the rain and with outstretched arms, I asked the sky to wash my grief away.

On yet another day, a younger version of me, bundled against the midnight cold, lay in a mountain field with friends and watched the stars shoot across the heavens. Oooo-ing and aahhh-ing. Then there was the winter day I stood with my back pressed against the brick wall and drank in the warming sun. My bones and the sun connected.

In answer to his puckered disbelief that I was yet a non-believer, I suggested he find a spot beyond the city lights, and on a clear night peer into the starry sky, and realize what he was seeing. Infinity knows no tribe.

“Clear blue sky always brings my thoughts to Colorado,” I said. “There’s nothing like the Colorado blue.”

One night, amid raging inner turmoil, I looked to the full moon and whispered, “Okay. I will follow where you lead me.”

It is a welcome common occurrence, she stops mid-stride and points, ” Do you see the duck!” or “Doesn’t that look like a crazy Mickey Mouse?” Cloud watchers. A festival of pareidolia ensues.

And who hasn’t looked to the sky and uttered, “Please…” The yearning heart reaches for a vast wordless sky.

read Kerri’s blogpost about SKY

share. like. comment. support. sky watch. we do and love all of it.

buymeacoffee is a call from the sky to support the continued work of the artists you appreciate.

Filed under: Gratitude, Merely A Thought Monday, Metaphor | Tagged: artistry, blue sky, cloud watchers, Colorado, Colorado sky, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, full moon, grief, heart, infinity, joy, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, pareidolia, rain, shooting stars, sky, snow, story, studio melange, the melange, yearning | 1 Comment »

Pile It On [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on November 25, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

We’re in agreement about “the news”. Nightmarish. We are in disagreement about the temperature. I go through the winter months adding layers of clothing and piling on the blankets. Kerri is constantly peeling off layers, tossing off blankets. I like the cool night air but draw the line at frostbite. She likes the cool night air but is willing to go all the way to icicles-on-eyelashes. At night we live in an episode of Life Below Zero.

On the bright side, eyes-frozen-shut eliminates any possibility of accidentally glimpsing the nightmarish news. Silver linings sometimes come in surprisingly cold packages.

read Kerri’s blogpost about COLD NIGHTS

like. share. support. comment. bundle up. it’s all good.

buymeacoffee is an uncanny hot flash of cold wind meant to open consideration of supporting the continued work of the artists that freeze your fingertips.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, cartoon, cold, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, hot flashes, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life below zero, middle age, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, news, painter, saturday morning smack-dab, silver lining, smack-dab., story, studio melange, the melange, two artists, winter | 1 Comment »

Mind The Deer [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on November 24, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

We don’t always see them but we know they are present. The deer. We note their tracks and have learned where they usually cross the path. They follow careful pathways, game trails that are visible when we are walking slow enough to spot them.

As a symbol, they are heart-centered. They are associated with gentleness and it’s easy to understand why. They are gentle creatures. Even when bounding away, their leap is graceful and quiet, as if they are careful not to disturb the grasses and ground. They are mindful of their impact on the world.

We feel fortunate when we see them. It sometimes feels as if they show themselves to us. They seem to know when our hearts are hurting so reveal themselves, even for a moment, to help fill us with peace. It’s always true that we stop all movement, all thinking, all worry, all despair…when they show themselves. They are like magical makers of space, instantly turning tumult into vast acres of serenity. They look at us with large black eyes to make sure our spirits are calm, our hearts refreshed, and then they disappear as quickly as they appeared. “What were we talking about?”

“I can’t remember.”

The calm stays with us as we become like the deer, filled with their intentional spirit, quiet and innocent. Present, that special place beyond our future worries and past regrets.

Kerri’s albums are available on iTunes and streaming on Pandora and iHeart Radio

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE DEER

like. support. share. comment. or leave this screen and go find the deer. you won’t regret it.

buymeacoffee is…just that. though it’s not coffee that you buy. it’s support for continued work. and it is appreciated beyond measure.

Filed under: Awakening, Energy, KS Friday, Metaphor | Tagged: artistry, AS IT IS, calm, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, deer, deer spirit, game trails, gentle, grace, heart centered, innocence, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, mindful, mindfulness, peace, pianist, presence, quiet, serentiy, story, studio melange, symbol, the melange, watershed, watershed moments | 3 Comments »

Consider The Landscape [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on November 23, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

“We are a landscape of all we have seen.” Isamu Noguchi

In my landscape of life, there is a mountaintop at sunrise. There is a nurse shark hiding in the coral. There is a boat with orca whales breaking on all sides. There is leap of faith after leap of faith after leap of faith. There are betrayals and loyalty. Lightning strikes and earthquakes. There are stages and audiences. Two times living under martial law. Revelations and reckonings. Leaves rustling. A white dog and a black dog with amber eyes. Fresh baked bread and hot coffee. Visits to the past. Fingers stinging with cold so near to frost bite. Shame and embarrassment. Triumph and encouragement. Near starvation and too-much-food. Friends suddenly appearing from nowhere and friends suddenly disappearing into the same nowhere. There is unbridled hope. There is a wasteland of despair. There is cursing the heavens and genuine thanksgiving. So many empty attempts at being clever. So much reinforcement of the fullness of my ordinary. There are so many yesterdays that blur and wash together, a raging river.

There is one today. A single now.

Certainly there is landscape enough to fill a thousand canvases with childlike play. There is enough to fill a million million pages with wonder. Cicadas and sunsets. The smell of fresh basil. To sculpt with words ideas that may or may not help others see the fullness of their unique landscape and how infinitely conjoined it is with mine.

pax, 24x24IN, mixed media on panel

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE BOWL

like. share. support. comment. happy thanksgiving.

buymeacoffee is a landscape of opportunities to support the work of the artists you appreciate.

Filed under: DR Thursday, Gratitude, Identity | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, experiences, fullness, hope, ideas, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life path, Noguchi, ordinary, pax, peace, presence, shape, story, studio melange, Thanksgiving, the melange, yearning | Leave a comment »

Follow The Marker [David’s blog on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on November 22, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

An ode to markers on the trail:

Popcorn is for a safe return. Remembrance. Home is this way.

Cairns are a gift to those who come next. Courtesy. This is the way through.

Blazes are systemic. Reassurance. You are on the correct path.

Signs are for sorting. Guidance. This is a crossroad of choices.

Companions are for amity. Togetherness. A living marker. The journey is best when shared.

“We’ve sorted a lot of life on this trail,” she said.

It’s a loop. We usually walk it twice around. Sometimes we’ll reverse direction and make a third pass. Loops are good for untangling knotty questions. We rarely come to certain conclusions, almost never leave with answers. We metaphorically set markers on our life trail so we know if we are in unknown territory or have been this way before. “Do you remember when…”

Remembrance. Courtesy. Reassurance. Guidance. Togetherness.

“What do you think we should do?”

“I don’t know. Let’s walk another loop.”

read Kerri’s blogpost about MARKERS

comment. if you want to. or share it. or like it. or not. support it. or not. all are appreciated. by us.

buymeacoffee is a like a marker on the trail, similar to a cairn, a sign to-left-to-you-left-by-us so we might both find our way through.

Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Gratitude, Metaphor | Tagged: artistry, courtesy, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Guidance, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, questions, reassurance, remembrance, story, studio melange, the melange, togetherness, trail, trail marker | 1 Comment »

Snack And Be Lost [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on November 21, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Years ago I wrote to Rob and told him that I felt lost-in-the-woods. His advice to me was to be lost. To sit down in the woods and rest for awhile. Orientation would come with a clearer mind. It was sage advice.

Yesterday Rob wrote to me and told me that there was a hole in his life. My advice to him was to sit in the hole for awhile. Let go of attempts to fill it and experience the hole. Wholeness would come in time. It is grand to return sage advice to the very person that offered it to you.

Lostness. The hole. They are not fixed states. They are fluid. The same is true of wholeness and found-ness. They are never forever. Life rolls on and each new day brings surprises and change. Comfort and discomfort. Thank goodness.

Rob’s message to me was simple: I never resist the comfortable experience of knowing-where-I-am so why should I resist the uncomfortable experience of not-knowing-where-I-am. The discomfort comes from the resistance so stop resisting. Be lost.

The sun is setting early these days. Our shadows stretch long on the trail by 3:30. I’ve not adjusted and it throws me for a loop. Disoriented, I stop, turn and look at the orange ball low on the horizon, shining through the trees. The seed pod glows and reminds me of a crazy muppet in mid-howl. In an attempt to orient I ask, “What time is it?”

“Snack time,” she said.

Ah, yes. With a lifetime of sage advice swirling around my soul, to this latest disorientation, I willingly gave over and offered no resistance to her suggestion. The lesson I wish I knew when I was younger: disorientation, sitting in my lostness, is always easier done with snacks.

read Kerri’s blogpost on LOW SUN AND SEED POD

share. like. support. comment. and, for heaven’s sake, snack no matter what you decide to do.

buymeacoffee is a table for two set in the deep woods made available for anyone lost and willing to sit down and rest for a spell.

Filed under: Awakening, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: advice, artistry, change, comfort, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, discomfort, experiences, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, lost, lost in the woods, muppets, resistance, rest, sage, snacks, story, studio melange, the melange, time, time change, wholeness | 3 Comments »

Live Your Words [David’s blog on Merely A Thought Monday]

Posted on November 20, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Language is among the most powerful yet rarely acknowledged and mostly discounted forces on earth. We name our experiences, we story our lives with words. Alter a single word this way or that and the story of a lifetime takes on a completely different cast. Success. Failure. Together. Alone.

Currently we are witness to an aspiring autocrat label fellow citizens as vermin and thugs. A well-worn page from the despot playbook. Dehumanization of others is the first step in approving, priming, unleashing, and then normalizing violence. If history teaches us anything it is that language is not only capable of creating unspeakable beauty, it is also capable of unleashing unimaginable horror. This is not playground rhetoric or locker room talk. This is laying the groundwork for brutality. White. Black. Supremacy. Equality. Community. Tribe. Division. Togetherness.

Language matters (education matters).

Consider this simple phrase chalked onto a park bench: I With. This phrase struck me as particularly potent yet unappreciated. I accompany you. I am with you. I walk with you through this life. I choose to stand with you. With. I.

No word is more dynamic and intoxicating than “I”. There is no more necessary or formidable preposition than “with”. I with love? I with hate? I with unity? I with division? I with open-heart? I with closed-mind? I fear. I embrace.

The great power in language is in the words we choose to live.

read Kerri’s blogpost about I WITH

like. support. share. comment. all words that are actions we appreciate.

buymeacoffee is a phrase formed of individual words meant to initiate a possible action of support for the continued work of artists you appreciate.

Filed under: Education, Identity, Language, Merely A Thought Monday, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, choice, closed mind, community, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, despot, division, equality, hate, history, I, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, labels, language, lessons from history, love, open heart, propaganda, rhetoric, story, studio melange, the melange, togetherness, unity, with | 1 Comment »

Get Lost [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on November 18, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

It’s true. She is sometimes hypnotized by items in a grocery store. At first I mistakenly thought she was reading every word on the labels or was frozen in some pain. Now I know better. She gets lost in reminiscence. The stuff on the shelf serves as a memory trigger.

My job is twofold: first, to protect her from oncoming carts. People with lists are notoriously poor drivers. Kneeling people, lost in a memory fit, are hard to see. Second, after an adequate amount of time, to snap her out of it. Her capacity for threading back in memory-time knows no equal so sometimes she needs a nudge to return to the present.

Oh, Yes. There’s a third job: after such a long trip her joints actually freeze and she sometimes needs help standing up.

read Kerri’s blogpost about WAX PAPER

share. like. support. comment. get lost in thought. it’s all good.

buymeacoffee is like wax paper in a grocery store, capable of throwing you back to a magical time before zip-lock bags, phones with cords and art appreciation day.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, cartoon, cartoonists, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, grocery store, hypnotized, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, memory, memory trigger, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, painter, reminiscence, shopping, story, studio melange, the melange, two artists, wax paper | 1 Comment »

Imagine It [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on November 17, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

It looked like a spiny dragon’s tail or Nudibranch that abandoned ship eons ago and, somehow, its petrified remains traveled from the deep of the sea to a trail in Wisconsin. Perhaps it was the skeleton tip-of-the-tail of a dinosaur. My imagination flooded with mythic-creature-possibilities. As Kerri knelt to snap her photos, I carefully scanned the woods. One cannot be too careful when dragons and dinosaurs might be lurking about.

While I was pretending to be watched by Jurassic critters, it occurred to me that imagination is a muscle. In order to exercise it, to make it strong, it must be used. With intention.

In truth, we (humans) daily exercise our imaginations though we don’t know it. Imagining that we can control what other people see or think. Imagining that the worst will happen. Imagining what might have been. Imagining that our day will be mundane. Imagining ourselves too small in the story of our lives. Imagining ourselves as superheroes saving the day.

That’s one way of exercising the muscle. Another way is to imagine possibilities. Imagine the ridiculous. Pop open the expanse of conceivability. In this direction of imagination exercise, it’s hard to take yourself so seriously.

And, I suppose, that’s the point. Hope slips in when life is held lightly. Hope and imagination-in-the-direction-of-impossible-possibilities are one and the same thing. Spacious. Surrender. In my reckoning, when I have been in the tightest bind or stuck in the worst scenario, the person who shows up, the door that opens, the hand that extends…is beyond my imagining and arrives when I let go.

Last night, deep in the night, I lay awake and listened to Kerri’s soft breathing and Dogga’s gentle old-dog snores. The window was cracked to allow in the cool night air. The chimes sang softly in the midnight breeze. A decade ago, I couldn’t have believed such riches of life would be mine.

But like a dinosaur watching me in the woods, I must have, somewhere way back then, closed my eyes and imagined it.

Kerri’s music is available on iTunes or streaming on Pandora and iHeart Radio

read Kerri’s blogpost about SPINY STICK

like it. support it. share it. comment on it. imagine it. we do and thank you for it.

buymeacoffee is a dragon tale whispered to your soul from the deep woods in hopes that your imagination will take over and run wild. It could happen.

Filed under: KS Friday, Possibility | Tagged: artistry, blueprint for my soul, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, dinosaurs, dogga, dragons, dreams, hope, imagination, intention, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, KS Friday, light heart, mythical creatures, nudibranch, possibilities, possible, solo piano, story, studio melange, the melange | 1 Comment »

Embrace The Contrast [David’s blog on DR Thursday]

Posted on November 16, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

In art it’s called the contrast principle. The pairing of elements that are opposite from one another. Or somehow different. Man made next to nature made. Fabric next to steel. Autumn color next to grey and white.

Contrast principle is a fundamental, not only in art but in perception. We only know ourselves through relationship with others. I am a son, a husband, a friend. These designations are also examples of the contrast principle. I know myself, I perform myself, based on the others that I am with.

Contrast need not be oppositional. It can be a complement. Red and green. Blue and orange. Relationships that change the individual colors. Together they are bold. Lively in their contrast.

A single color on a canvas, a single idea in a brainstorm, a single party in a congress, is static. Bland. Lifeless. Ellsworth Kelly placed his wall-size blue canvas next to a wall size yellow next to a wall size red. Primaries in contrast capable of snapping your head back when first you see them. Dynamic. Alive.

A community with contrast, a community of color and varied ideas, a community that embraces the value and power of the contrast principle, is capable of anything. The illumination of each other. The best kind of harmony.