order | reverse threading

July 2, 2026
by kerrisherwood11 Leave a comment

cosmos. [kerri’s blog on d.r. thursday]

cosmos. this incredible flower is a cosmos. it is flawlessly beautiful.

each time we have passed these in the ‘hood i have stopped and just stared – their whimsical look is enchanting. i have said – more than once – that we should consider potting this and enjoying it ourselves. i’ve been thinking maybe one of these hot days we will go to the garden center and see about it.

and then i read that cosmos flowers “symbolize order, harmony, balance, peace and tranquility” which moved the needle from ‘maybe’ to ‘definitely’ because we sure could use some order, harmony, balance, peace and tranquility.

matter of fact, it wouldn’t hurt to have the cosmos as the new national flower (now that the rose garden – and its roses – are destroyed in vulgar favor of cement and patio umbrellas).

gifting cosmos to others – is, apparently, a gesture of deep appreciation, conveying the message, “your presence brings peace to my life“. i can’t imagine how much it might mean to our allies around the world if we gave them all cosmos and stood behind that message.

clearly an idealist.

marc-in-high-school used to accuse me of being the rainbows/bubbles/sunrise girl and i suppose he was – is? – right.

but what if?

what if order and harmony and balance and peace and tranquility were valued more than money? more than power? more than control? more than carrying an elite attitude of ethnocentrism? of supremacy? of nationalism? of xenophobia? of privilege?

what if we could all live under this great big sun, this great big universe, with love for one another in our hearts, with care and concern and compassion and an unwillingness to caste – or cast away, for that matter – anyone?

what if?

reading further i see that cosmos are also widely seen as symbols of resilience and healing.

wow. damned if i can think of a better flower for right now.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this D.R. THURSDAY

CHASING BUBBLES mixed media 33.25″ x 48″ (available for purchase)

like. share. subscribe. support. comment. – thank you. xoxo

buymeacoffee is a website where you may directly support an artist whose work directly impacts you.

May 26, 2026
by kerrisherwood11 Leave a comment

the beach helps. [kerri’s blog on two artists tuesday]

yes. there is something about it, isn’t there?

the crisply-combed perfect-sand beach. just waiting for feet, for flip-flops, for a wrangly dog, for a gleeful child overladen with pails and shovels to burst onto its clean canvas and send sand flying.

but in the meanwhile, pristine, ordered.

walking along our lake we come upon the freshly-manicured beach. the orderliness makes us stop, stare, breathe.

just ahhh…

because there is nothing orderly in the world right now.

and so, the beach helps.

it reminds us that – yes, indeedy – things CAN be orderly, things can be measured, things can be cleaned up and returned to a center of discipline, tidy, with a sense of equilibrium.

in the case of the beach, there is a big tractor that restores it, a big rake pulled along behind, grooming it to almost perfection. the rake can sift out the garbage, bits and pieces of life that people have left behind, trinkets or detritus strewn about sans conscience. the sand is sifted, loosened, de-debris-ed, flattened and smoothed. when it is finished – this amazing transformation reveals the even look of a perfect beach, waiting for its next sunny days, its people, laughter in its waves, love-filled picnics under beach umbrellas, serene naps on beach blankets, life.

i wonder what could possibly serve as the beach cleaner of our times…what could possibly sift out the hubris, the corruption, the cruelty, the bigotry, what could possibly restore the sanity of this nation, what could possibly transform this country back to order, to the wethepeople it was meant to be, waiting for its next sunny days, its people, its laughter, its love, its serenity, its life.

*****

read DAVID’s thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

like. subscribe. share. support. comment. – thank you. xoxo

June 4, 2019
by kerrisherwood11 Leave a comment

ducks in a row. [two artists tuesday]

i am a list-maker. i come from a long line of list-makers so dna is definitely involved. with the layer-cake of jobs that comes with being an artist – performing, visual, any kind of artist – lists are a necessity. i use paper calendars, old spiral notebooks with kirsten or craig scrawl on them, pa pads that my sweet poppo made, composition books. sticky notes, pencils, highlighters and sharpies rule my office-supply world. i am analog. and i love having all my ducks in a row.

we were on our way to hike late one afternoon when we encountered these ducks. walking the crack in the street, all in a row, i heard in my ever-present-soundtrack-mind, “quack, quack, waddle, waddle, quack, quack, waddle, waddle (from an 80’s mcdonald’s commercial – watch for 0:54).” they seemed unperturbed by our approach. we stopped to let them pass and get safely to the side of the road. i’m positive i saw the last one carrying an office max bag.

read DAVID’S thoughts this TWO ARTISTS TUESDAY

April 27, 2018
by kerrisherwood11 Leave a comment

that morning someday [ks friday]

when i wrote and recorded THAT MORNING SOMEDAY (you can hear it below) it was wistfully about any beginning…any beautiful or cloud-striated sunrise…any hopefulness…any new day. my big brother had died and i was yearning for the peace of understanding, a feeling of being ok in the world, a wish to wake up to something that had given order to chaos.

many many years later, i can’t honestly say that i always have the peace of understanding or a feeling of being ok in the world and i often wish to wake up to something that has given order to chaos. someday is still out there.

only now, a little older and the tiniest smidge wiser, i realize someday is waiting too long. someday is right now and i am sitting right in it, with lots of time behind me and, hopefully, lots of time in front of me. the only thing that really counts right now is right now.

i yearn to make it more peaceful than my last moment. i step in the world, ok or not. i try to help create order out of chaos. maybe someday it will all come together. but in the meanwhile, i will do the best i can in right now.