two artists | The Direction of Intention

Strut Your Flannel [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on December 16, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

As I’ve written before, we are a scintillating couple riding high on the cutting edge of fashion. Not. Black t-shirts. Black thermals. Jeans. That’s about it. Though (make sure you are seated for this next shocking bit-o-information): I have a few new flannel shirts. Two are green. One is black. Stand back! There’s some green in the house!

In other regions of flannel interest, there are sheets (it’s winter and cotton is an ice-cold-night-time-plunge that I avoid) and, at holiday time, the buffalo-plaid-flannel pjs make an appearance. I’d strut-my-flannel on the way to the coffeemaker in the morning but tis the season to be humble so fa-la-la-la-lah, la-la-la-la!

Truth? I couldn’t strut in the morning no matter what I was wearing. Buffalo-plaid helps hide the shuffle.

read Kerri’s blogpost about FLANNEL

like. share. support. comment. and do it any and all in flannel!

buymeacoffee is a warm flannel heart-wrap capable of inspiring support for the continued work of the shuffling artists that you appreciate.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, aging, aging together, artistry, buffalo plaid, cartoon, cartoon about middle age, cats meow, clothes, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, flannel, haute couture, holiday wear, humble, jolly, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, middle age, pajamas, shuffle, smack-dab, story, strut, studio melange, the melange, two artists, vogue, winter pjs | 3 Comments »

Start There [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on December 9, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

It’s a simple math equation relative to years-on-the-planet. The numbers go up so the choices go down. Or, perhaps, the choices become more refined. We are, after all, high performance machines (a metaphor a-la la Mettrie) and, over time, require a finer food-tuning. A raised consciousness of how interrelated I am, we are, to all things – like the food we eat: what’s in it, where it came from, and what happened to it before it was packaged, transported and plated.

Mostly, in the midst of raising my consciousness relative to my/our numbers-on-the-chart, it’s really really good to have another day of life. It’s really really good to have another day of life with Kerri. I’ll start there.

read Kerri’s rant about NUMBERS-IN-HEALTHCARE

like it. share it. comment on it. support it. think about it. we appreciate it.

buymeacoffee is an ancient calculating device similar to an abacus but requiring electricity and computer technology to make the beads move this way or that.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aging, appreciation, artistry, bloggers, blood test, cartoonists, choice, composer, consciousness, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, diet, food, food chain, food sources, healthcare, interconnected, interrelated, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, la Mettrie, life, metaphor, middle age, middle age cartoon, mychart, painter, smack-dab, story, studio melange, the melange, two artists | 1 Comment »

Come Around [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on December 2, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Kerri and I walk arm-in-arm. We have since the moment we met, held hands, and skipped out of the airport. While walking in our neighborhood people regularly stop us to say how much they enjoy seeing us walk by. We appreciate their kindness. We do not take for granted the great gift of our second chance in life.

Appreciation takes time. We rarely fast-walk a trail. As a rule, we slow walk so we can see and appreciate what is all around us. Arm-in-arm, we take it in. The color. The smells. The feel. The sounds.The critters. The movement. The changes. We often walk the same trails yet they are never the same.

Filled with so much appreciation for the trees, we can only imagine that the trees feel the same way about us. We believe life is like that. As MoonJuice Hikes likes to say, “What goes around, comes around.”

read Kerri’s blog about THE TREES

like. support. share. comment. we appreciate any and all.

buymeacoffee is a walk of appreciation. nothing more. nothing less.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, appreciation, artistry, cartoon about middle age, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, hikes, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kind, kindness, middle age romance, moonjuice hikes, musician, painter, presence, second chances, senses, slow walk, story, studio melange, the melange, the woods, two artists | 3 Comments »

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 »

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 »

Discover The Miracle [David’s blog on Two Artists Tuesday]

Posted on November 14, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

The wide strip dividing the parking areas hosted a vast colony of Shaggy Mane mushrooms. From a distance they looked like an epic creation of Andy Goldsworthy. There were so many, made stark white in the sun, that they begged a closer look. “What is that?” she asked. I had no idea.

We’ve all seen pop-up memorials, a sea of markers or flags placed in a field to represent the number of people lost. From far away the colony appeared to be one of those. Human made. A tiny-yet-vast shrine. A passing car stopped abruptly. The driver jumped out with his camera. We were not alone in our curiosity.

They did not come into focus until we were right on top of them. “Mushrooms” she gasped and reached for her camera. My head spun. Not human but nature made! The shock of realization made me laugh. I was almost relieved that, in these times, we’d discovered a miracle of abundant life and not a memorial to unimaginable loss.

The thought gave me pause.

I turned to face the sun and closed my eyes. I listened to the rustling leaves and her care-full excitement at capturing images without damaging the colony. I smelled the crisp air and wished to be nowhere else. Miracles of abundant life.

read Kerri’s blogpost about MUSHROOMS

like. share. support. comment. face the sun. smell the crisp air.

buymeacoffee is a shock of realization capable of making your head spin and support the continued work of the artists that remind you to stop and smell the roses.

Filed under: Gratitude, Metaphor, Perspective, Two Artists Tuesday | Tagged: abundance, abundant life, Andy Goldsworthy, artistry, bloggers, composer, curiosity, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, loss, memorials, miracle, miracles, mushrooms, painter, photographer, presence, present, realization, shaggy mane mushrooms, shrine, story, studio melange, the melange, two artists, writers | 2 Comments »

Forever Bring [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab]

Posted on November 11, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

If ever there was a Smack-Dab that captured the essence of our conversations, it is this. I am forever asking Kerri unanswerable esoteric questions. She is forever bringing my feet back to the ground. I am forever expounding on recondite yada-yada. She is forever bringing me back to the tangible moment, to what is right in front of my eyes.

There is only one thing that I am entirely sure of: we are a perfect match.

read Kerri’s blogpost about CHICKEN SOUP

share. like. support. comment. ignore. eye roll. chicken dance. many thanks!

buymeacoffee is an abstruse, arcane, obscure land where people toss spare change at artistic hyper-mouths to get them to please-be-quiet and, thus, to keep the peace.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, balance, bloggers, cartoon, certainty, chicken soup, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, detail, esoteric, fate, Karma, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, kismet, logic, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, painter, perfect match, reason, recondite, saturday morning smack-dab, smack-dab, story, studio melange, synchronicity, the melange, two artists, uncertainty, yada yada | 3 Comments »

Mind The List [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on October 28, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Today is one of those days. There’s not much I can add to illuminate the wisdom of the comic strip. Rest easy knowing that my brain is putty and I am off to take a nap. Somehow, “nap” floated to the tippy-top of the we-do list and I always do what’s on the list.

read Kerri’s blogpost about HELLUVA WEEK

like it. share it. support it. comment on it. then take a nice rest. we will, too.

buymeacoffee is an online “tip jar” providing well deserved nap opportunities for the artists you value and who are beginning to look haggard.

Filed under: smack-dab | Tagged: aarp, artistry, bloggers, cartoonists, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, exhaustion, honey do list, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, middle age cartoon, middle age romance, nap, napping, painter, second chances, smack-dab, story, studio melange, the list, the melange, to do list, two artists, we do list, writers | 4 Comments »

Feel The Sound [David’s blog on KS Friday]

Posted on October 20, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

Far into the sleepless night, the cold night air driving me deeper beneath the quilt, I heard the low song of the chimes and whispered a gratitude to Guy. There are few things in life that bring me an immediate sense of peace and well-being like the chimes.

A few months ago Kerri and I wrote of our yearning for chimes. Our “someday” wish. We wrote of the many times we’ve stood in stores, sounding the chimes-on-display, feeling and then discussing the tones. Guy read our post. His life is rapidly changing. He wanted to find a new home for his beloved chimes. Would we like them? Yes! Double-Yes!

They are magic. I feel the sound to my core. In the few weeks since we hung them from our spruce tree, more than once I’ve stood near when the breezes begin to blow, and closed my eyes so I can feel the full ripple of sound resonate through my being. It’s like a giant Tibetan prayer bowl. Instant calm. Instant presence.

Were I in charge of this contentious world, every person would begin each day with chimes. Eyes closed, resonating with the wind and their neighbors. But, since I am not in charge, I will drink in the peace and each time whisper my deepest thanks to Guy.

[this may be my favorite of Kerri’s compositions]

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

read Kerri’s blogpost about CHIMES

like it. share it. support it. comment on it. we thank you for all of it.

buymeacoffee is a “tip jar” where you might support the inner peace and continued creativity of the artists you appreciate.

Filed under: Gratitude, KS Friday | Tagged: artistry, AS IT IS, calm, chimes, composer, david robinson, davidrobinsoncreative.com, dreams, gifts, Gratitude, healing, Kerri Sherwood, kerri sherwood itunes, kerrianddavid.com, kerrisherwood.com, peace, pianist, prayer bowl, presence, resonance, resonate, sound, story, studio melange, thanks, the melange, two artists, wish, wishes, yearning | 3 Comments »

Follow The Rules [David’s blog on saturday morning smack-dab.]

Posted on October 7, 2023 by davidrobinsoncreative

“Do you remember when you used to stand up without sound effects?” she asked. We burst out laughing at the truth of her question. A gathering of friends comparing the aches and pains of simple movement.

Kerri and I have initiated a few new roadtrip travel rules. First, we stop before the sun goes down. The days of seventeen hour long-hauls are over. Diminished night-sight made that rule necessary. Next, we stop every few hours to stretch our legs. We’ve found that if we don’t stop, the only way out of the car is to roll off the seat and crawl to the curb. Social grace and the aesthetics of aging made the stop-every-few-hours-rule essential. People at rest areas get nervous when our car door opens and I fall groaning to the ground, crawl with my elbows around the car, reach up to open Kerri’s door, and pull her moaning to the pavement.

Let’s face it. It’s not pretty. It’s always a better idea to stop while there’s still some feeling in our legs.

read Kerri’s blogpost about LONG DRIVES

like. support. share. comment. we thank you.