society6.com/twoartists | The Direction of Intention

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 »

Live Without Fear [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on August 7, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Last week we met my niece and her husband in Lake Geneva for a glass of wine. They’ve been living overseas and were gobsmacked at the recent changes in our nation. “How do you have conversations?” she asked, adding, “Everyone is so angry. It’s impossible to talk about anything important. It’s impossible to discuss or debate ideas or points of view.”

“It’s a minefield,” I said, not really knowing what else to say. There is so much anger which can only mean there is so much fear. The only thing that makes sense to me is that our nation, an ongoing experiment, is cutting through the weeds of our central question: can people of diverse backgrounds come together and live united in a single narrative? If the past two years was your only evidence the answer would be a resounding NO. Thankfully, there is a broader sample. We are a work in progress.

No one can see clearly the times in which they live. And, since the conversation last week has been much on my mind, and an answer to the pervasive fear is no where to be found [and would be a ruse at best], for insight I can only offer A Two Artist Tuesday Quote Collision:

“The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that aren’t so.” ~ Mark Twain

“The idea of a causal universe and a social order built on universal moral laws is toppled by the uncertainty principle. The absolute is replaced by the relative…. Reality becomes a matter of highly variable conventions, rather than a set of fixed and eternal facts.” ~Jamake Highwater [Jamake gets the award for consecutive quotes. He also made an appearance yesterday!]

“A lot of lip service gets paid to being honest, but no one really wants to hear it unless what’s being said is the party line.”~ Colin Quinn

It is not an accident that our science, our art, and our politics are roiling in relativity. It IS our current common narrative. Contemporary art, like modern science, began with breaking down the idea of absolutes. Politics and public opinion do not lead but they follow.

The experiment is no longer confined to our shores: in a global economy, in the age of 24 hour news cycles, Facebook, Twitter and Google, in our age-and-stage of relativity, can people of diverse backgrounds come together and live united in a single narrative called relativity? Can we transcend our fear of otherness and step outside of our echo chambers? Can we listen as passionately as we proclaim? It seems that it will require a great deal of respect for otherness with a high degree of empathy and low investment in self-righteousness.

Well, we’ll see.

read Kerri’s blog post about LIVING WITHOUT FEAR

www.kerrianddavid.com

living without fear ©️ 2006/2018 kerri sherwood & david robinson

Filed under: Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: absolutes, Colin Quinn, common narrative, contemporary art, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Diversity, empathy, Facebook, global economy, Google, inclusion, Jamake Highwater, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, Mark Twain, otherness, relativity, shared narrative, society6.com/twoartists, Twitter, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncertainty Principle | 2 Comments »

Read The Back [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on July 31, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Nothing I paint on the front side of this canvas will be as interesting, as vital, as curious, as the note that Duke scrawled on the back. It’s a mystery story. Duke has been gone for a few years now and his son, our dear 20, brought Duke’s canvases to me. Treasure upon treasure. For some reason, one day, Duke dipped a brush into black paint, flipped his canvas around and left us a note. An impulsive celebratory act on New Years Eve? Or, perhaps, in a moment of disbelief of world events, he scribbled his note in sarcasm?

Of course, there’s another possibility- and this is my bet – ‘Welcome to the 21st Century’ was the name he gave to his painting, the image that he created on the front side. He didn’t like it so he painted over it. He returned the canvas to white space, opened it to new possibilities.

That leads to an even greater mystery. After scrubbing the image, he flipped the canvas around, dipped his brush one last time into the white paint, scrubbed the date (3/93) but left the title. And in quick broad strokes for emphasis, framed his title, transforming it into a note. The back of the canvas becomes the front. A title transformed into a message.

I feel as if I’m having a conversation with Duke. The painting I created on the front side, on the white-space-possibility that he reopened, is one of my Earth Interrupted series, number 7. It is ironic or, perhaps, poignant? Put his title and my title together: Welcome to the 21st Century: Earth Interrupted. Apt, yes?

earth interrupted VII, 36 x 48IN

read Kerri’s blog post about WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY

www.kerrianddavid.com

welcome to the 21st century/earth interrupted ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Gratitude, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: 21st century, art, artistry, artists, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Duke Kruse, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, legacy, mystery, painting, possibilities, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, the melange, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

Follow Your Feet Home [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on July 24, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

I’m not sure how it happened. At some point, early on in our life together, we began documenting our travels with photos of our feet. Feet in snow, on sand, on brick, tile, carpet, turf, and tundra. Our favorite wedding photo features our feet (red carpet, Frye boots). When pet sitting DogDog and BabyCat, 20 regularly receives photos of our feet on the dashboard. “Stop sending me pictures of your feet!” he rants, though I know he secretly appreciates being included in the foot photo loop.

It’s become a ritual and like most rituals no words are necessary. We just know what to do. On the subway Kerri will glance my way, the camera emerges and we raise our feet. In the museum, I point to the floor and we stand together. Click. At a wedding, Kerri raises her eyebrows and our dressed-up-feet know just what to do. In the forest, without notice, our boots come together. Click.

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy clicks her heels together, chanting, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.” I think of Dorothy and her ruby red shoes every time our feet enter their ritual photo mode, every time we are in a new and strange place and the camera comes out as our feet come together. I think, “Home is here. Home is right now, right where our feet have found themselves. Home.” Click.

read Kerri’s blog post about FEET

www.kerrianddavid.com

feet collage image and products ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

Filed under: Random, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Dorothy, feet, home, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, ritual, ruby red slippers, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, the melange, the wizard of oz, There's no place like home, travels, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

Raise A Cup To Unka John [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on July 17, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

We are fortunate. When we travel Unka John (aka 20) takes care of DogDog and BabyCat. Not only are our pets in excellent hands but they generally can’t wait for us to leave so they can have some Unka John time. They love their Unka John. We suspect that the party rages from the moment we exit the city limits until the moment we return. DogDog and BabyCat sleep for days after time with Unka John.

As parting advice, Unka John always tells us to “get some coffee! And make it espresso so you don’t have to stop a thousand times.” Sage advice for the over 50 traveler. It is our custom with each espresso stop to snap a photo and text it to him, “Cheers from Nashville. Missing you!” Or, “A double shot to get across Kansas! Want a cup?” If we’re ever lost, Unka John will be able to tell the authorities our location based on our last known coffee stop.

On this Two Artists Tuesday, raise a glass (cup) to those special people, your Unka Johns, who have your back, who cover your base, who worry about you, who care for your beloved DogDog and BabyCat, those precious guardians, givers of care.

read Kerri’s blog post about Espresso Cheers!

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Gratitude, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: 20, BabyCat, caregivers, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Dog-Dog, espresso, Gratitude, guardians, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, society6.com/twoartists, starbucks coffee, Two Artists Tuesday, unka john | Leave a comment »

Trust [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on July 10, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

When Kerri spontaneously smacked out this design, it was a case of process/design alignment. She simply trusted where she was going. “Hmmm,” she said, and moved on.

In improvisational theatre, it’s called ‘yes, and.’ Say yes to what you are given. Deal with what is there, not what you’ve decided should be there. Spontaneity, the freedom of movement and expression, is born of the kind of trust that ‘yes, and’ engenders. In trust, just as in ‘yes, and,’ there is no resistance. Artistry is pure relationship and requires giving up the illusions of control.

The word trust always brings me to the caterpillar (metaphors permeate my noggin). In cocooning, going to mush to be reborn as something utterly brilliant and unrecognizable, there is inevitability. In emerging from the cocoon, discovering wings, stepping to the edge of the branch, and leaping for the first time, there is trust.

read Kerri’s blog post about TRUST WHERE YOU’RE GOING

www.kerrianddavid.com

trust where you’re going ©️ 2016 kerri sherwood & david robinson

Filed under: Art, Creativity, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: artistry, butterfly, caterpillar, control, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, improv, improvisational theatre, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, metaphor, non resitance, rebirth, society6.com/twoartists, spontaneity, studio melange, the melange, trust, Two Artists Tuesday, yes and | Leave a comment »

Be Small [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on July 3, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

Arches copy

On a crisp fall day, watching the waves roll in at Pismo Beach, Jim told me that people come to the beach to touch their mortality. “The waves were here long before we were born. They’ll be here long after we are gone.”

It is only in the moments when we recognize how infinitesimally small we really are that we ‘re also capable of grasping how glorious, how profound, how immense are our fleeting few moments of life. It’s a paradox. It is a joining. Watching the waves, standing on the mountaintop, feeling the sunrise, holding your newborn. Boundaries blend with beauty so vast it makes you ache.

While in Colorado, we jumped the border into Utah for a day and visited Arches National Park. It is one of those places. I felt so incredibly small. I grabbed Kerri’s hand and the paradox door swung open. For a few moments, we were part of the monument, life burned so keenly, so intensely, we joined the timeless, and laughed at the utter impossibility of it all.

read Kerri’s blog post about Arches

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Awakening, Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: arches national park, beauty, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, life, mortality, society6.com/twoartists, timeless, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

See The World How? [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on June 26, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

see the same thing on Kerri’s blog post

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Seeing, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, perception, perspective, seeing, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, the melange, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

Find Love Everywhere [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on June 19, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

In a former life I had an office and on the wall of the office was a poster with the English alphabet as found on butterfly wings. Sometimes I think our only real purpose on this earth is to appreciate the utter beauty of it all. We do a shoddy job of it mostly but everyone has their moments of recognition. A sunset. A mountain top. The color of a cardinal. I loved my poster and put it on the wall to remind me that nature is infinitely more beautiful, expansive and powerful than I can contain. My job is to open my eyes. To see. When I needed a reminder of natural order in the midst of my square-taupe-office-with-grey-metal-desk, I’d look at those glorious wings.

Kerri and I walk almost every day. We find peace in walking and have favorite trails, some for the morning walks and some for the end of the day. When we travel to new places, we always find and explore the trails. We have been known to walk late at night. We have ventured into the silence of a midnight snow. On our walks, Kerri is famous for finding treasures. My job is to tote them home. Most of the treasures are hearts. Heart rocks, heart leaves, heart shaped knots, or, like this treasure, the heart found in an acorn. Our house is filled with heart-treasure. Each, like the wings, is a reminder to open my eyes and see the wonder, the love of it all.

read Kerri’s blog post on FIND LOVE EVERYWHERE

www.kerrianddavid.com

Filed under: Love, Two Artists Tuesday, Uncategorized | Tagged: david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, heart, inner peace, Kerri Sherwood, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, love, nature, peace, society6.com/twoartists, studio melange, symbol, the melange, the power of nature, Two Artists Tuesday | Leave a comment »

Be A Dandy [on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on June 12, 2018 by davidrobinsoncreative

I’ve noticed that my son, Craig, uses old fashioned words in his texts like, “indeed” and “certainly.” I delight in his collision of proper usage in a medium that regularly slays grammar and reduces communication to pre-written-language symbol (now known as an emoji).

Recently, Craig surprised me with a new pair of walking shoes. When they arrived on our doorstep I was painting so was wearing my paint-splattered-worn-to-death-grubby clothes when I tried on my cool new shoes. They immediately elevated my status and felt really good, too! I told Kerri that I was a dandy from the ankles down. “Don’t get carried away,” she said. She has grown accustomed to my usual unmade-bed style of dress.

I wrote Craig telling him that I loved my shoes. “Truly!” I added as a nod to his parlance.