signs | The Direction of Intention

No Words [David’s blog on Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on April 16, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

With markers in hand, we stared at the blank poster board. We wanted to make signs to carry to the Hands Off rally but couldn’t decide which egregious offense by the current administration and their pet billionaire warranted signage. All were worthy. All were immediate. In the end, we went sign-less to the rally.

We know what we stand for and could not begin to reduce into a single slogan all that we stand against.

This morning I confess to again being rendered speechless. After reading and fully comprehending how completely the tech billionaires/fascists have invaded, compromised, and intend to use our personal information, I was disheartened. And then I read that the two people “advising” the executive branch on whether or not to invoke the Insurrection Act are a former fox news talking head (famous for his rampant alcoholism and sexual abuse) and a past-governor who reveled in shooting her puppy in the face. That’s when words failed me.

Congress rolls over. The Judicial has no teeth. Checkmate. Democracy falls. At least temporarily.

A “civil” war is so named because it is between citizens of the same country. I find it ironic that another definition of the word “civil is “quiet and peaceful behavior”. We should all wish that we were capable of a quiet and peaceful war. A paradox. That does not appear to be the case.

Words fail. Democracies fall. Experiments fail. The poster board remains blank.

A couple of Sandhill Cranes just flew over our house. Their call, prehistoric and beautiful, beckoned me back to the moment. Sun streams in the window. The cranes will continue to migrate long past the time that we play out this story. They are not really concerned. They require no words.

read Kerri’s blog about POSTER BOARD

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Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Language, Perspective | Tagged: artistry, civil, Civil War, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, Hands Off, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, paradox, peaceful, sandhill crane, signs, speechless, story, studio melange, the melange, words | 3 Comments »

The Way of the Dodo [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on March 29, 2025 by davidrobinsoncreative

On Tuesday we go to the polls. Again. In our state of Wisconsin there is a contentious race for the state Supreme Court. Elon Musk has dumped over 18 million dollars into the conservative candidates campaign. He is coming to the state to hand out money in exchange for votes, violating yet another law. It’s estimated that by the time this election is decided, over 100 million dollars will be poured into the race.

So many laws broken. So little consequence. So much republican fear of free and fair elections based on accurate information.

So much corruption. The signs are everywhere.

The yard signs are everywhere, too. A tug-of-war over the existence of our democracy as played-out in yard signage.

We walk a very thin line now. Razor-thin.

Oh, yes. And the wild geranium are a-poppin’. Breck is budding. The Robins are back in force. This earth will keep turning whether or not an oligarch can buy yet another election, whether or not our democracy goes the way of the Dodo bird.

read Kerri’s blogpost about SIGNS

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Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: artistry, corruption, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, democracy, Dodo bird, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, signs, spring, story, studio melange, the melange, vote, Wisconsin Supreme Court race 2025 | Leave a comment »

A Double Sign of Hope [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on August 27, 2024 by davidrobinsoncreative

Since they do not show-up every year, we take it as a sign of hope when a frog suddenly appears in our tiny pond. It’s late in the season so we thought this summer was a no-frog-year. And then, on Thursday, the final night of the DNC, as I finished scrubbing and refilling our bird bath, I heard the tell-tale splash. I turned and saw it nestled on a rock just beneath the water line.

“We have a frog!” I whispered to Kerri. She gasped, grabbed her camera and hurriedly tip-toed to the pond.

A sign of hope.

It is a hallmark of our relationship that we look for – that we assign and actively celebrate – signs of hope. Deer on the trail? “That’s a good sign!” The brilliant sunset on the day of our wedding? “We’ve been given a remarkable gift – a sign!” A dragonfly landing on our shoulder, a hawk that flies across our path, the owl that calls in the night, the turtle that meets us on the trail, our car that against all odds gets us home…Messengers of hope. Spirit lifters.

We find what we seek.

We named our frog DeeNCee Lullabaloo. DeeNCee came on the night that Kamala Harris accepted her party’s nomination for president. A spirit lifter. A trailblazer. A bright light. A sign of hope and joy arising from a very dark night. So, DNC. DeeNCee. The surname Lullabaloo is a moniker marking this time we have chosen to inhabit, to create and embrace: the lull. I laughed aloud when this morning a quote by Georgia O’Keeffe crossed my screen: I have done nothing all summer but wait for myself to be myself again.” A perfect description of the lull. Lullabaloo.

DeeNCee Lullabaloo. Jumping out of nowhere. A double sign of hope.

read Kerri’s blogpost about DeeNCee

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Filed under: Gratitude, Metaphor, Possibility, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, DNC, dragonfly, Georgia O'Keeffe, hawk, hope, joy, Kamala Harris, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, messengers of hope, signs, signs of hope, spirit, spirit lifter, story, studio melange, sunrise, the lull, the melange, trailblazer | 3 Comments »

See Hope [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on September 26, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

The sun had set. The pond lights aglow. The night was quiet with occasional bursts of the cicada chorus. We were exhausted from the day. I saw its silhouette when Dogga ran his usual circuit by the pond. It leapt across the light and plopped into the water. A frog.

“What are you doing?” Kerri asked as I jumped from my chair.

“But it’s late September!” I said. She narrowed her eyes, my reply too random for synapse connection. “I just saw a frog!” I announced and she was instantly by my side. We stayed by the water for several minutes, searching, but saw no further sign. “I didn’t imagine it,” I whispered. “I saw it. We have a frog.”

“I know.”

I’d like to say that we didn’t need some sign of hope, some whisper of encouragement, but it would be a lie. This unlikely frog, coming so late in the season, seemed like a sign or at least we decided to make it so. “Things are going to change for the better,” she said. I nodded. I was so tired I wanted to blubber with giddy-frog-inspired-relief.

“I’ll take my hope anyway I can get it,” I said.

“That’s what we should name it!” she replied. “Hope.”

Yes. Hope. A silhouette flashing across the light on an otherwise quiet dark night. A leap. A glimpse. And suddenly, anything is possible.

read Kerri’s blogpost about THE FROG

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Filed under: Gratitude, Possibility, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: angst, artistry, bloggers, comfort, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, encouragement, frog, hope, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, possibility, promise, reassurance, relief, signs, story, studio melange, surprise, symbols, the melange | Leave a comment »

Re-Invert [on Not So Flawed Wednesday]

Posted on November 2, 2022 by davidrobinsoncreative

Three snakes crossed our path. A sign, some would say, that the world is about to go upside-down. Topsy-turvy. Of note: Topsy-Turvy is a brewery in Lake Geneva and also a movie about Gilbert and Sullivan. Also of note: our world flipped over a few days after the snakes-on-the-path.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell when things are upside-down. Inversion need not be dramatic or accompanied by a marching band. It can be a slow process. A multitude of weirdness piles up. Also, we live in “interesting times” so upside-down is not so easy to spot because, mostly, our national-world-order is already on its noggin.

Sitting at our kitchen table late at night, we had a hysterical conversation with Rob about panic. The inner-voice of reason advising calm while you thrash around making things worse. Even though relaxing-amidst-the-tangle is the only way to extract yourself, every muscle in your body flails. Panic eats reason for lunch.

As the blood rushes to our brains and we realize that the leaves ought to point in the other direction, we diligently go out on the trail to entice a different number of snakes to cross our path – or perhaps a nice deer or two. We happily entertain the possibility of another sign or symbol, something to foreshadow the righting of the upended ship. Feet on the ground. Blue sky above.

In the meantime, there’s a brewery in Lake Geneva. A movie about Gilbert and Sullivan.

read Kerri’s blogpost about Topsy-Turvy

Filed under: Flawed Wednesday, Metaphor, Random | Tagged: artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, gilbert & sullivan, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, nature symbols, panic, signs, snakes, story, studio melange, symbols, the melange, topsy-turvy, upside down | 1 Comment »

Know The Poem [on KS Friday]

Posted on April 15, 2022 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.” ~Rainier Maria Rilke

“First robin!” she said.

“What?”

“First robin. That means spring is here!” she looked at me with “duh” eyes. I was new to Wisconsin so the rituals were not yet known to me. I did not yet understand that in this strange land a water cooler is called a “bubbler” and that cheese curds are sacred food. Before the week was out, I’d heard it three times from strangers. “First robin!”

Years ago, during my first winter in Seattle, after months of gray, the sun came out for an hour and all the people working downtown poured out of the tall buildings and stood facing the sun. They moaned with satisfaction. “What’s this!” I exclaimed. Weird behavior. The next year, after months of dreary gray, the moment the sun peeked from behind the drab curtain, I ran out of my apartment to revel in the return. Leaning against a brick wall, eyes closed, feeling the warmth on my face and the heat reaching my bones, I knew this was my passage to becoming a “local”. I moaned with satisfaction.

Poetry is visceral. It has it roots in the moans of sun drinkers and robin-seers. The green pushing up from dark soil. The smell of spring or the first hint of warmth on the winter wind. Words cannot capture feelings but isn’t it glorious that we try?

We were walking the neighborhood on a cold afternoon. She squeezed my hand and pointed. “First robin,” I said and she smiled. “Spring.”

Now, doesn’t “First robin. Spring!” sound like a grand start to a poem of renewal? Ahhhhhh, yes. A hint of warmth on the wind, harbinger of green shoots reaching. Someday soon, sun will call me out of hiding and color my pale face.

read Kerri’s blogpost about FIRST ROBIN

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

Filed under: Creativity, Emergence, Gratitude, KS Friday, Language, Metaphor | Tagged: artistry, baby steps, commposer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, growth, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, language, local rituals, musician, poem, poetry, Rainier Maria Rilke, rejuvenate, renewal, right now, rituals, robin, satisfaction, signs, solo piano, spring, story, studio melange, sun, the melange, warmth | Leave a comment »

See The Signs [on KS Friday]

Posted on April 1, 2022 by davidrobinsoncreative

Although it is not quite here, I know spring is coming. How do I know? The blinds are open on one side of the room. They are closed on the other side.

During the winter, the blinds are closed on both sides of the room. During the winter, we turn in. We close out the world. All of the energy goes to the root, beneath the soil, to recharge our lives. Hibernation. And then, one day, though it is still cold, the birds return, we wake to their song, the sun plays hide-and-seek. In the morning, well rested, we open the blinds to the east.

We’re watching the squirrels. They gather the fallen leaves in their mouths and adeptly climb the maples and oaks to high notches, deposit their load, and return to the ground to gather more. Up and down. Over and over. Preparing their nests. The birds are courting. It looks like a hearty game of chase but we know the females are dodging the insistent pesky males.

Life is returning from the deep. Preparation for Persephone’s homecoming. Restless buds appear on branches. It’s close, but not quite yet.

Not quite yet. The third covid springtime. We are not yet past it and are fidgety.

We sat in the car staring at the door to the store. “I’m so goddamn tired of putting on this mask, ” I said as I put it on. We know we’ll be among the few wearing masks as we shop. No matter. It’s not over yet, this long winter of pandemic. As much as we want it to be spring, as much as we can see the signs, it’s not here yet. Not yet. Blinds open on one side of the room. Blinds closed on the other side.

kerri’s albums are available on iTunes and streaming on Pandora

read Kerri’s blog post about BLINDS

Filed under: KS Friday, Metaphor, Seeing, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, covid 19, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, fidget, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, pandemic, Persephone, recharge, rejuvenate, rest, restless, signs, spring, springtime, squirrels, story, studio melange, symbols, the melange, winter | Leave a comment »

Follow The Trail [on KS Friday]

Posted on May 31, 2019 by davidrobinsoncreative

bp box copy

I like the idea of a blueprint for souls. As if each life has an underlying design. As if each day of life was part of the overall construction.

When Kerri and I talk about our story we often talk about design. The impossible sequence of random coincidences that led to our paths crossing. Have you ever played that game: what if I left the house 2 minutes earlier? What if I’d decided not to go?

Lately, many people have been telling us their stories of things-that-were-meant-to-happen. “The pieces just fell into place,” they say. “That’s the sign it was supposed to be.” I’m not the only one who likes the notion of a blueprint. Ease is a sign.

We can only see the connected dots when looking backward. Sense-making is rarely a forward looking affair. Yet, Kerri’s BLUEPRINT FOR MY SOUL is like a popcorn trail through the woods. It is a kernel of hope that leads to another kernel of hope and, if you follow the hope-trail long enough, you come to a place where you can turn around and see with clear eyes the path, the unique life that was designed by you, just for you.