reverse threading

the path back is the path forward


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which way? [two artists tuesday]

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the moment i saw this trailmarker it made me laugh.  i was feeling exactlyyy this way, so this lightened my mood.  (yes, yes, i understand that the marker made sense, but if you flatten it out (as opposed to three-dimensional) it is admittedly funny and a little confusing.)

middle age (ohmygosh, yes, middle age) seems like a time of arrows every which way.  where we’ve been, where we are, where we are going…these questions are all different now…different from the striding times even a decade ago.  time is starting to mean something else; i recognize the scarcity of time-limitlessness.

i lost one of my very best friends from elementary school, junior high and high school last week.  kenny was brilliant and funny and courageous and a really good person.  together with his twin richard and i, we were often thought of as “triplets” in school, mostly because we were all platinum blond kids growing up.  i haven’t seen kenny for many years.  the last time i can remember was having coffee with him at the atlanta airport; he was an airline captain and based there so we met when i flew through with a tad bit of a layover.  he was thrilled to catch me up about his beautiful wife and son and he joked about how long it took him to find her.  even though i saw him rarely, there was something about knowing he was in the world that was comforting…a piece of my long-ago-past that i could still talk to or text with, maybe see from time to time, who knew me when i was little, when i was a preteen, when i was a teenager, when i loved calculus.  i tried to explain this to d…when certain people who connect me way back to my roots are no longer present on this earth, it is as if i can feel the earth tilt on its axis; it wobbles.  and nothing will ever be the same.  i can’t get to ken’s service, but i hope to carry with me – always – a piece of kenny and our growing-up history.  i hope to honor him somehow.

and the next time i wonder “which way” in angst, i hope to stand still, right where i am.  time is not unlimited.  i don’t want to waste it.

click here (or on product box above) for WHICH WAY products

TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

 which way products ©️ 2018 kerri sherwood & david robinson

 


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enjoy the puddles. [chicken marsala monday]

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dogdog doesn’t like the rain much.  he pretty much avoids the puddles in the backyard…that is, until one neighbor or the other lets their dogs out.  then?  then he doesn’t care; all inhibitions are off and he runs like a maniac, his long aussie hair first flying, then clumping and muddy, joy joy joy on his face.

that’s probably a good lesson for all of us…inhibitions off and joy joy joy. despite the messy puddles and the bad hair day.  my sweet momma used to sign off her letters with “enjoy, enjoy!”  yes.  enjoy, enjoy.

click here (or on product box above) for ENJOY! ENJOY! products

CHICKEN MARSALA MONDAY – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this CHICKEN NUGGET

enjoy the puddles nugget & designs ©️ 2016 & 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood

 


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let me take you back [ks friday]

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LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from the album AS IT IS

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one of my treasured concert memories is a concert where The Boy played with me.  i loved all the laughter leading up to it as he wailed on his tenor in my studio.  we had so much fun.  this song LET ME TAKE YOU BACK (listen below) makes me think of him.  originally a solo piano piece and the title track for a pair of albums LET ME TAKE YOU BACK Volumes 1 & 2 (my solo piano arrangements of 60’s and 70’s songs), the infamous ken orchestrated it for the album AS IT IS with saxophone and thereafter, in live performance, it belonged to craig.  let me take you back totally takes me back to those days.

have a cup of coffee (or, if it is later in the day, a glass of wine) and sit back with me.  and, since the LET ME TAKE YOU BACK albums are no longer available, maybe dig out your old 45’s of john denver, dan fogelberg, pete seeger, gordon lightfoot, bread, bob dylan, loggins and messina, jim croce, carole king, joni mitchell, carly simon…well, you get the picture…and play them on a record player.

TAKE ME BACK products (click here or on product bar above)

click here to download LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from AS IT IS on iTunes

click here to download LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from AS IT IS on CDBaby.com

KS FRIDAY (KERRI SHERWOOD FRIDAY) – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this KS FRIDAY

LET ME TAKE YOU BACK from AS IT IS & TAKE ME BACK products ©️ 2004 & 2018 kerri sherwood

 


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prayer [dr thursday]

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i have a lot of conversations with God.  they aren’t really formal; instead we just chat.  well, i chat.  or implore.  or express gratitude.  or cry.  or ask questions.  sometimes my head is bowed and my hands are folded, but other times i am driving or playing the piano or walking or eyes-wide-open.  for me, prayer is not just that thing i do at church or before a meal or at night before i go to sleep.  it’s just an anytime, everyday way of being, with this magnificent higher power watching over the universe.

anne lamott’s book Help, Thanks, Wow is a gorgeous primer for anyone wondering how to pray, a beautiful reinforcement of the internal power of prayer, an outline of simple spiritual praying.  i have read it many times, nodding my head and struggling to always remember, remember, remember the important stuff.

this painting PRAYER reminds me of the quiet, the steady rock, the essentiality of praying.

PRAYER products on society6.com (or click on the product bar above)

click here to view the original painting PRAYER

DR THURSDAY (DAVID ROBINSON THURSDAY) – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this DR THURSDAY

PRAYER painting & PRAY products ©️ 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood


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oopsies! [flawed cartoon wednesday]

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mama dear (my grandmother) used to sew with her lips pursed, straight pins held between them for quick access.  as a little kid, i thought that you had to spit on pins in order to sew; as i grew up i realized that this was a falsehood (i’m sure you are thinking, “wow. what an enlightenment!”)

mama dear was the person who taught me how to sew.  with an old-fashioned singer, a red pincushion, a blue sewing box and good sewing scissors, she set me on a course of many projects through my life…outfits in the 70s, curtains and shutter screens for the nursery, jumpers that matched The Girl’s when she was little in the 90s, pillows and stuffed animals, mending jobs, craft projects.  my sewing machine is set up again, adjacent to d’s studio where he says he likes to hear me talk to myself or hum as i sew, and i love spending time at my machine, dreaming up things to make.

one thing i am proud of these days – that hanging around me (sewing or doing whatever i am doing) david has picked up some of the vernacular that comes out of my mouth….like “oopsies!!!”

SEWING OOPSIES products

OOPSIES products

FLAWED CARTOON WEDNESDAY – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this FLAWED CARTOON WEDNESDAY

sewing oopsies & oopsies ©️ 2016 & 2018 david robinson & kerri sherwood


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in beauty i walk [two artists tuesday]

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today is The Girl’s birthday.  kirsten turns 28 today and i can hardly believe it.  where does the time go?  i am wishing i could spend time with her today (well, like every day)… make her dinner or a decadent gluten-free cake, have a glass of wine with her.  what i would really love to do is take a walk with her.  in her world.  like most moms, sharing space and time with my children is precious; taking a walk outside, breathing in air and talking together is something yearn-worthy.

the best part about visiting The Girl and The Boy is that then – and really only then – i can picture their lives…the place they live, their home, where they buy their groceries, the roads they travel, what they see when they look out their windows, the way the air feels, the angle of the sun, their favorite places to hang out or places that have been in stories they have told me or pictures they have sent.  it’s all vital for me.

The Girl lives in stunning surroundings.  her mountains are massive and grand and the terrain is white with snow or green green with leaves of aspens and needles of pines.  she walks in beauty.  she sees it.  she recognizes it.

today my wish for her is to find that every day of her life.  no matter where she is or what her surroundings.  she doesn’t just walk in beauty.  she is beauty.

in beauty i walk PRODUCTS

daisy, daisy PRODUCTS

TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

in beauty i walk & daisy, daisy ©️ 2018 kerri sherwood & david robinson

 


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find your poetry tree. [chicken marsala monday]

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if my sweet momma couldn’t find me in the house, she knew to go outside, round the house to the maple tree just beyond my growing-up-window and look up.  there i would be, sitting in a crook, notebook and pencil in hand.  it was a place of inspiration for me, a perch for penning thoughts, reflections, poems, stories, lyrics.

i think we all have one…a poetry tree.  it may be the kitchen table, an adirondack chair on a porch, a blanket on the beach, a desk tucked away in a quiet spot of the house.  or a time that gives us more room to think;  for me, it can be walking, blowing my hair dry or those moments that brilliant (or not-so-brilliant) ideas strike in the shower.  we have a spot that helps us think, sort, dream, create, rest.  a spot that fills us with creative juju.  mine was a tree, just like chicken’s.

click here (or on product bar above) for POETRY TREE/CREATE products

chicken marsala monday – on our site

read DAVID’S thoughts on this chicken marsala monday

find your poetry tree ©️ 2016 david robinson & kerri sherwood

 


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a recap of the week [the melange]

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several people lately have asked us what we meant by “products”…the “products” we were designing to go along with our blog post images.  many of you may have noticed these product bars on our blogs each day.  we understand that not everyone has seen these or understood our intent.  we have been seeking the easiest way to present these products as options and so we listen to each suggestion we get.

there is sure a lot of fodder in our studios:  paintings, music, cartoons, graphic images, photographs, writings…a melange of our work.  it’s fun (and necessary) for us to turn all of this into a line of things that are purchase-able:  wall art, tote bags, mugs, leggings, throw pillows, home accessories. i love the design work and have learned so much in the process!

we thank each of you who have taken a look at the sites where these are available (we have five storefronts on society6.com.)  we have been told and have seen firsthand that our designed products that society6.com ship are of good quality and they stand behind them if you are not pleased.  if you have any questions, please let us know.  we appreciate you so much.

this week’s product line links are right below.  the link brings you to one of the products in that line on society6.com.  if you scroll down the page a little, it will say “also available as” so you can see the image in its varying iterations.

ROOT IN LOVE PRODUCT LINE (chicken marsala monday)

SHINE PRODUCT LINE (two artists tuesday)

SO MUCH POSSIBILITY PRODUCT LINE (flawed cartoon wednesday)

CLOSELY I WILL HOLD YOU PRODUCT LINE (david robinson thursday)

FISTFUL OF DANDELIONS PRODUCT LINE ( kerri sherwood friday)

and our blog sites:

my blog site: www.reversethreading.wordpress.com

david’s blog site: www.thedirectionofintention.com


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a fistful of dandelions. [ks friday]

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we walked The Girl to kindergarten.  it was spring and sunny and warm.  dandelions were everywhere.  on the way home, The Boy dropped my hand to toddler-zigzag around a yard where dandelions > grass by far (kind of like ours.)  he bent down and picked yellow flower upon yellow flower.  until he came running back to me.  he held up his sweaty-dirty-little-boy fist, full of bright yellow and green dandelions and said, “woses for momma.”

better than roses.  what more could a momma want?

that is the moment this song was born.

happy mother’s day.

click here (or on product bar above) for FISTFUL OF DANDELIONS products

click here to download FISTFUL OF DANDELIONS on iTUNES

click here to download FISTFUL OF DANDELIONS on CDBaby

click here to purchase FISTFUL OF DANDELIONS physical SINGLE CD

FISTFUL OF DANDELIONS – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on FISTFUL OF DANDELIONS

*beautiful yellow dandelion art by The Boy*

fistful of dandelions ©️ 1999 kerri sherwood

 


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closely i will hold you. [dr thursday]

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the quiet and not-so-quiet moments of comforting.  your child.  your friend.  your partner.  when they see the storm coming and you are there.  when the storm is raging around them and you are there.  when the eye of the storm gives false pause and you are there.  when the tides pull back and regain momentum and you are there.  when the storm has finally passed, the debris is fierce and you are there.  when the rebuilding starts and you are there.  the storm – physical or emotional – does not have to be endured alone.

this is CLOSELY I WILL HOLD YOU IN THE STORM, a closer-up morsel of the original painting I WILL HOLD YOU IN THE STORM.   paintings that are achingly and sweetly intimate and make me weep.

CLOSELY I WILL HOLD YOU product box BAR copy

click here (or on the product bar above) for CLOSELY I WILL HOLD YOU products

click here for the original painting I WILL HOLD YOU IN THE STORM

DR THURSDAY (DAVID ROBINSON THURSDAY) – ON OUR SITE

read DAVID’S thoughts on this DR THURSDAY

closely i will hold you & i will hold you in the storm ©️ 2018 & 2017 david robinson