society6.com/kerrisherwood | The Direction of Intention

Love The Cover [on KS Friday]

Posted on August 31, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

andgoodnight song box copy

What’s in an album cover?

The tiny shoes hang on a door knob just outside of Kerri’s studio. They’re hers! She wore them. Now they hang next to the shoes her babies wore. The soft pastel blanket is downstairs in a safe place. She wrapped her babies in that blanket. And the piano, well, it lives in the room I call Kerri’s studio but once served as the nursery to her children. It is a special room and no wonder so many amazing compositions have been born there. She gave life to this lullaby in that room, sitting at the piano that occupies the space where her rocker once sat next to the cradle.

What’s in this album cover? More life than you can possibly imagine. What’s gave rise to this lullaby? More love than one heart can possibly contain.

AND GOODNIGHT from the album AND GOODNIGHT, available on iTunes & CDBaby

www.kerrianddavid.com

like us on facebook

and goodnight/and goodnight ©️ 2005 kerri sherwood

Filed under: Family, KS Friday, Love, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged: and goodnight, and goodnight album, and goodnight cd, babies, children, cradle, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, lullaby, nursery, rocking chair, society6.com/kerrisherwood, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Take Another Step [on KS Friday]

Posted on August 24, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

in transition song box copy

In the past year I’ve been reading books a few pages at a time. Some days I only read a few paragraphs at a time. I’m not reading to get through a book. I’m reading to ponder. It’s become a form of reading meditation.

A few weeks ago, I began a slow read of my own book, The Seer. I published it nearly five years ago and immediately abandoned it. Today I read this: change never comes from the direction of what you know. It is a prerequisite of learning, growth and change to step away from what is known, from what is comfortable. From what feels safe. Learning and change are always in the direction of the unknown.

Kerri’s IN TRANSITION is a musical mantra for stepping into the unknown. As is true of all transitions, it is a yearning in two directions. Yearning for what was. Yearning for what will be. But more than yearning, it is a river of determination. Take another step. And another. And another. Discover.

If you are in transition, as we are, stand still for a moment and listen to the yearning, steep yourself in the simple encouragement of IN TRANSITION.

IN TRANSITION on the album RELEASED FROM THE HEART available on iTunes & CDBaby. The physical CD is available here.

read Kerri’s blog post about IN TRANSITION

www.kerrianddavid.com

in transition/released from the heart ©️ 1995 kerri sherwood

Filed under: Edges, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: change, comfort, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, determination, discovery, growth, In transition, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, meditation, released from the heart, society6.com/kerrisherwood, studio melange, the melange, The Seer, transition, unknown, yearning | Leave a comment »

Be Kind [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on August 21, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Guitar Jim told me that he doesn’t trust this world littered with aphorisms. Words are so easy to say. Papering the walls with happy sentiments of love, kindness, community, teamwork,…, can mask the absence of those qualities. I translated his adamant adage-doubt into a pithy phrase (just to torture him): actions speak louder than words. His point: if we tell ourselves often enough that it takes a village to raise a child we might just believe this village actually cares for its children. All of its children. Despite abundant evidence to the contrary.

He has a point. Adages are everywhere, placed in stores, office walls, kitchen shelves. Begin anywhere. This life is not a dress rehearsal. Life is short, break the rules. For fun, first take a quick scroll through Facebook. It is an immersion into Gandhi, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King. We’re all in this together. Then, open your news app. Fall from grace. Try your best to be a saint and see how far you’ll fall.

There is another side of this bleak coin. We live in the age of the sound byte. The short attention span. The eCommunity. Sometimes while rushing to the next thing I stop for no apparent reason and stand still on the street. Something divine intervenes and asks me to step out of the play and, for a moment, breathe and simply be the audience. Every time I step out I see more kindness than aggression. I hear more laughter than shouting. I see people wanting a different world but armored against the threat of the moment, the fear of the day. Lost in a story of division. And, so, on the walls and in the subways they (we) post aspirations. Yearnings for more experience of our better nature. Hopw wishes. Possibility mantras.

Beaky’s parting words were always, “Be kind to one another.” It was her maxim and she meant it. This powerhouse woman would look you in the eyes and send this phrase-arrow to the center of your being, “Be kind.” To one another. An action, not an empty sentiment.

“Yes, ma’am.”

this link will take you to the BE KIND large print t-shirt options. scroll down to see the entire line of good stuff.

read Kerri’s blog post on BE KIND

www.kerrianddavid.com

be kind product line ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Possibility, Seeing, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: adage, aphorism, be kind, Beaky, beakysbooks.com, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, maxim, society6.com/kerrisherwood, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, the melange, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

Pull Weeds [on KS Friday]

Posted on August 17, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

pullingweeds song box copy

This piece of Kerri’s could be the soundtrack to the past half decade of my life. Almost five years ago I moved from Seattle, WA to Kenosha, WI, and, during that time, I have been cleaning out, clearing out, paring down, letting go. Pulling weeds.

Some weeds are easy to pull. Others have roots that seem to have no end. They require multiple pulls, daily in some cases. They are great teachers of persistence.

I love PULLING WEEDS because it is gentle, a cycle. In the midst of the weeds it is warm and hopeful. It ambles. It reminds me that there’s no sense trying to control things or to race. There is much pleasure to be found in the tending – and perhaps that is a good rule for a happy life. Let go of the control and tend. Attend.

Feel the sun today and begin by PULLING WEEDS with Kerri.

PULLING WEEDS on the album RIGHT NOW is available on iTunes & CDBaby. Purchase the physical CD’s available here.

read Kerri’s blog post on PULLING WEEDS

www.kerrianddavid.com

like us on facebook

pulling weeds/right now ©️ 2010 kerri sherwood

Filed under: KS Friday, Metaphor, Uncategorized | Tagged: cleaning out, clearing space, control, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerri sherwood music, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life review, paring down, pulling weeds, right now, sisu music productions, society6.com/kerrisherwood, tend | Leave a comment »

Count On You [on KS Friday]

Posted on August 10, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

count on you song box copy

Occasionally we’ve intentionally organized our weekly melange around a theme. Mostly, however, we choose the individual pieces according to a scientific method, a very precise criteria. It’s called ‘Oh, I like this one. Me, too.” And, sometimes our very precise criteria bumbles into a theme that we only notice when building the web page. That was the case this week. This is called the ‘happy accident’ method.

Our happy accident reads like a self-empowerment seminar: unleash the power of your crayon, living without fear, break away from the flock, pray in the field of opposites, and today’s KS selection: count on you. Kerri told me that this song was not her favorite and I reminded her that no artist likes all their work. She scowled at me and nodded her head at the same time.

It is especially difficult for an artist to reach back almost two decades and appreciate, let alone recognize, the work they did at another time, during another era of exploration. I famously look into my archives and grimace. A very few pieces stand out, the connection still strong, the exploration still alive and vital. The rest look foreign like someone else created them.

But this is what Kerri knows and always tells me when I am in full artistic grimace. The pieces serve as markers, important reminders of where you’ve been, reminders of how far you’ve traveled. And, as the artist, it is never my place to decide for others what is best and what is not. It’s the artist’s job to share. And so, in a grand moment of blow-back, I reminded Kerri of her own words when she grimaced at this song.

Blow back has blow back. No one ever accused me of being smart. It is not by intention that I now find myself sharing the crate with dogdog as I introduce to you this song of wise reminders. It’s a marker of Kerri’s past but her message is never dated.

COUNT ON YOU on the album SURE AS THE SUN available on iTunes & CDBaby. You can buy a physical CD here.

read Kerri’s blog post about COUNT ON YOU

www.kerrianddavid.com

count on you/as sure as the sun ©️ kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Creativity, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: archives, artistry, as sure as the sun, count on you, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, happy accident, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, markers in time, reminder, society6.com/kerrisherwood | Leave a comment »

Free Fall in Love [on KS Friday]

Posted on August 3, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

One of the first things I learned and loved about Kerri was her natural impulse to story telling. During rehearsals she is famous for putting her hands on the piano, the choir poised, inhaling to sing the first note, and without warning, she will break into a story. “Did I tell you what happened this week!” We exhale in laughter and confusion, caught off guard (again!) and tumbling into her tale.

Deep down inside my solo-piano-playing-composer-wife harbors a country music singer. She tells me that FREEFALLIN’ IN LOVE is her nod to that part of herself. If I am successful in my intentions I will liberate that honky tonk woman so she can tell us more stories through song. She’s a natural. Just ask the choir. Or the neighbors. Or our friends. Or people we meet on the road. In the grocery store….

FREEFALLIN’ IN LOVE on AS SURE AS THE SUN is available in iTunes & CDBaby

purchase the physical CD here

read Kerri’s blog post about FREEFALLIN’ IN LOVE

www.kerrianddavid.com

freefallin’ in love/as sure as the sun ©️ 2002 kerri sherwood

Filed under: KS Friday, Love, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged: as sure as the sun, country music, country music singer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, freefallin' in love, honky tonk woman, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, society6.com/kerrisherwood, story, storyteller, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Savor Good Moments [on KS Friday]

Posted on July 27, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

When you find yourself wondering what it’s all about, play this game: fill in the blank, “In this life I have….” Fill in the blank again and again and again, searching your memory banks for all the magic, mysterious, and miraculous experiences you’ve enjoyed. The good moments.

I like this game because, inevitably, I arrive at the realization that the good moments are the smallest of moments. Although swimming with whales or seeing the northern lights are miraculous, the really good good moments are first kisses, watching your baby sleep, holding hands after the storm passes. Laughing hysterically with friends just because.

Kerri’s composition, Good Moments, is a musical river of small moments, quiet yearning, tender touches, the smell of autumn leaves. Play the game and begin with Good Moments. It will transport you back. It will unlock the door to your memory bank. It will also help you realize that this moment – this very moment – is a very good moment, indeed.

GOOD MOMENTS on the album THIS PART OF THE JOURNEY available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about GOOD MOMENTS

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Gratitude, KS Friday, Story, Uncategorized | Tagged: appreciation, artistry, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, good moments, Gratitude, inspiration, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, learning, life, memory, music, presence, relationships, small moments, society6.com/kerrisherwood, studio melange, the melange, this part of the journey, truth | Leave a comment »

Imagine Peace [on KS Friday]

Posted on July 20, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

When I first met Kerri I was still pitching ideas to Yaki, a conductor/artistic director of symphonies. We’d created a few projects together. Yaki is a visionary, one of my favorite past-collaborators. He knows that symphonies, like all performing art forms, must reinvent themselves to attract the next generation audiences. Our projects were rooted in both new and traditional compositions. They were multimedia story-tellings, explorations of arts crossing disciplines.

So much of Kerri’s work lends itself to a symphony. Listen to the strings in PEACE! There is a cello line that breaks my heart every time I hear it. I sent PEACE to Yaki with two statements and a question: Listen. Imagine the possibilities. What could we do?

It was a different time then, or, perhaps, it is a different time now. Have we ever needed peace more than now? And so, on KS Friday, I send you this PEACE with the same two questions I asked Yaki but with a much greater imperative: Listen. Imagine the possibilities. What could we do?

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

read Kerri’s blog post on PEACE

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: KS Friday, Possibility, Uncategorized | Tagged: AS IT IS, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, imagine, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, peace, portland chamber orchestra, possibilities, society6.com/kerrisherwood, studio melange, symphony, the melange, walla walla symphony, yaki | Leave a comment »

Touch An Angel [on KS Friday]

Posted on July 13, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Kerri is thready. Important dates are always noticed and honored in our house. She is nearly Balinese in her attention to auspicious dates. Soon we will honor the life and loss of Wayne. Kerri’s brother Wayne passed away many years before I came into her life. I knew immediately about him. She adored him. He is certainly one of her good angels.

Through her stories and those memories warmly told by her family, I feel he is now one of my kindred spirits, too. Every once in a while, when I need a good bit of brotherly advice, I ask him questions – well, one question in particular (“What am I going to do with your sister?!! She’s out of control!”). He has yet to answer me but like all good angels I do hear him howling with laughter at her antics and my utter confusion.

On this KS Friday, reach for your good angels. Let Kerri’s song for Wayne put you on the back of his bike and take a ride into a special place and time with those you’ve loved and lost. Toast them with a good cup of java, as I do Wayne. From what I hear he was nearly as great a coffee lover as I am.

ANGEL YOU ARE on the album AS SURE AS THE SUN available on iTunes & CDBaby

read Kerri’s blog post about ANGEL YOU ARE

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Family, KS Friday, Uncategorized | Tagged: angel, angels, brother, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, family, good coffee, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, memories, society6.com/kerrisherwood, story, studio melange, the melange | Leave a comment »

Split A Second [on KS Friday]

Posted on July 6, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Earlier this week I wrote about our visit to Arches National Park and the paradox of presence: it is only when we recognize how very small we are that we are capable of standing in the immensity of this moment, the present. I called it a joining. In her song, In A Split Second, Kerri calls it, “walking that thin line.”

It is possible to put down the list of to-dos. It is possible to stop dragging along that big bag of the past. It is possible to be here, where you are, in the immensity of this moment of life. Give yourself a gift, be where you are, and let Kerri help you walk that thin line.