The Traveling Sherwinters

Karli Sherwinter

Sep 2

Everyone please put your tray tables up, your seat-backs in their full upright positions, and turn your cellphones onto airplane mode to refrain from any texting or calling during this time. KAI IS BACK! (but please save your applause until the end of this post, even though I know how hard that must be for you.) I have been tasked, by my mom, obviously, to tell you about my experiences this summer. And let me tell you, it has certainly been a summer. A summer of soul, a summer of playing skillfully, a summer of Birds by John James Audubon Heitman, a summer of me reading google search results for “A summer of”.

In all seriousness though, I had a pretty good summer. We did a lot, so please allow me to summer-ise (get it?). We began our trip on a plane. Sarit, my dad, and I were able to go to the US while my mom and Reuben had to stay behind because Reuben was in the ER (which honestly kind of puts a damper on the mood here, so, sorry about that). We took a flight that was way too long, but it all ended up being worth it. The Boston airport was the best place I’ve ever been to. The amount of sheer relaxation I felt upon exiting the jetway is indescribable. The unreachable heights of serenity I felt while walking across the entire airport with extreme tiredness and a heavy bag cannot be matched. I felt so at peace with the world and everything in it as I went through security twice because we accidentally went to the wrong place the first time. Wow. What a place. Simply, what a place. 

We made our connection, and got into Atlanta pretty late at night. I spent the car ride to my grandparents' house staring solemnly out the window, gazing at the heavy midnight traffic, and thinking about how much I would miss the Boston airport. 

I’ve been racking my brain for the past two days trying to remember what stuff we did that first week in Atlanta, but I can’t. I guess we must have just not done anything very memorable (no offense to anyone involved in planning the activities I’m sure we did). So I’m just gonna skip straight to camp. My fourth summer at the Jewish sleepaway camp, Ramah in the Rockies, was pretty cool. In all the previous years that I’ve gone, I’ve been in the first session. This year though, because of school, I went for the second session. It was a completely different (and frankly much better) group of people.

Our head counselor was this religious hippie who went everywhere barefoot and read How-To rock climbing books for fun. He was best friends with one of my bunk counselors (named Shalom, but very American) whose favorite song was unironically Puppy for Hanukkah by Daveed Diggs. The two of them ate a bowl of spinach and spicy mayo every morning for breakfast. My other bunk counselor was this 24 year old Israeli guy who had just gotten out of the army and loved pizza more than anything in the world. His music taste consisted of every Disney song ever (especially I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan, which was a very popular song at camp this year. I found the irony of that hilarious) and 7 Rings by Ariana Grande.  

The way this particular camp works is you have a week at camp and then a week on a trip. The trips get cooler and cooler as you get older and older, and as the oldest age group at camp (aside from the CITs), our trips were pretty cool. For the first trip, I chose to go on a six hour drive to a permaculture farm in southern Colorado (about 50 minutes away from the town Aguilar which has a population of probably about 2 people). Permaculture is the idea that trying to introduce more and more different crops into the environment is bad for the soil, and that only growing the same thing in the same place is also bad. So at a permaculture farm, multiple crops that are known to help each other grow are grown together in the same rows, and not too many crops are grown. The 40 acre farm was built completely from scratch using only recycled materials by a woman named Joni. We all got chores to do on the farm, and we slept in a yurt. It was a pretty awesome week. 

My chore was to feed the chickens. Joni had about 30 hens and one evil rooster who got a pen all to himself because he was evil. The way I fed the chickens was by pouring a bucket of their food over the top of their pen so it would land on them and they could eat it off of each other’s backs. Then, I would change their water (which I had to do since they liked to poop in it), and I also fed the cats. The best part of that trip was the henna tattoo I got to remember it by: Dave>2 (I’m not gonna explain it. You can all interpret it however you may choose).

The second trip was backpacking. We went from State Forest State Park to Rocky Mountain National Park. On the second day of the trip we got super lost and had to bushwack up an entire mountain. It ended up being super worth it though since we got to a mountaintop above the tree-line. We also went to two high-altitude snow melt lakes.

I elected myself head chef, and improved at using a dragonfly stove so much that I went from almost causing a forest fire every time I lit it, to people coming to me asking how to turn it on. At the very end of the trip, we ran into this guy on the trail who looked exactly like Ted Bundy. He asked us if we had seen where the lookalike contest was taking place, and we told him it was in a completely different part of the park. Because of how sad he clearly looked about the fact that he wouldn’t make it in time for the judging, we gave him a ride in our van, destroying over 30 miles of state protected flora.

Because of our doing this, everyone in our group was put on a government watchlist, and I had to leave Colorado immediately after returning from the backpacking trip. So I just met the rest of my family back in Atlanta. 

When they saw me, they told me it had been just like I was there in Denver with them because a strange man who looked just like me and said his name was Kai had been staying in my aunt’s closet since he didn’t want to sleep out in the living room. They thought maybe they were being watched by the CIA or something, but he hadn’t followed them to Atlanta. It turned out he was just my aunt’s new French au pair, and the whole looking like me thing was just a coincidence.Some guy who really looks like me at the Butterfly Pavilion with my aunt and cousins

After another five unmemorable days in Atlanta (aside from the fact that somebody might have given birth to a brand new baby or something, it doesn’t really matter), it was time to go home. I, for one, couldn’t wait to board the plane. 2 hours later I was practically running through the jetway back into my favorite place in the world once again: The Boston airport. I could have cried from happiness. I was home. But it was all taken away too quickly. We made our connection and I sadly had to part from that paradise on Earth. I sat on a plane where my ears wouldn’t pop, and my tv screen was broken for 10 hours until I finally got home. 

Overall, I’d rate my summer a 10/11. It was fun, but also pretty tiring, and I got sick near the end of it. That’s all I have to say, so I’m just gonna leave you with some words of wisdom: knowledge, intelligence, sophistication, brains.

Thank you for reading my blog post.  

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INTERVIEW WITH Kai  IN  WINTER  NEWS 2021-2022

As we all age, many people want to sustain the wisdom heart of innocence. I aspire to emphasize sustain, not eliminate. There is a freshness of looking at the world anew and applying wisdom. This season, I am privileged to include a Young Adult Writer to the Young Artist series. My original intent for this section, to introduce young artists, age 5-18, has included younger artists up to this point. This season is a new year, and I could not decide whether to include Kai in this YAS, Young Artist Series, section, or the section for my adult guests. My intention is to hold you, dear readers in a space of inspiration, for support of your own creative endeavors. As you will experience when you read his works, he is mature and has cultivated a maturity in his art. Wisdom and beauty meld in a synthesis of ethereal insight. In addition to the short story below. you can also access Kai's courageous and often times humorous blog on being a teen in Israel on Karli Sherwinter's Blog site: https://travelingsherwinters.wordpress.com/.

Authenticity often takes years of honing, refreshing, and renewing to accomplish. The validity with which Kai writes for, relates to, and engages with listeners is an inspiration. Kai admits Audience is important. Age ranges and “likes and dislikes” of audience affect his style. He listens well and considers his creative writing as art. He likes to paint a picture with words. As an artist, I am very appreciative of this visual reference.

Rarely have I met someone with the confident awareness of process. We can all enhance our lives and learn to Trust our own creative ventures by listening to this young man. For Kai, he says he is good at ferreting out a starting point and move through ideas into the story through intuition. He usually starts with an idea for a story, and then works from the intuition of what arises. When the process is complete, he edits. Sometimes he doesn’t need to edit but sometimes he finds he needs to refocus in the middle, and so edits. 

He shares his insight into the significance of creativity as a value to the world. “Creativity is important in the world ~It would be boring if everything were the same. The sameness would not be a fun world to live in. If something distracts me, then even the distraction brings me back to focus. A distraction can give me a new idea to incorporate, and I get pulled back to the task and am on track.”

Writing is a creative outlet for Kai. This young writer talks about his chronological process. First there was storytelling, then writing and then the storytelling and writing and combined. Storytelling is enjoyable. He reveals that creating a world in his mind and sharing that with others, is fun; and having people enjoy hearing about his inventive and artistic world is a gratifying connection. The supportive atmosphere of this family is evident in the creativity of each member. In Kai’s instance, he related that sometimes the family will give him a word or phrase and then he has to produce a story. 

We all need a reference point to reflect on our progress. Kai recalls that as a child he would line up his dolls and tell each one their stories. In the 3rd grade, he began writing a book. Inspiration came in the form of the show, Daniel Tiger. He developed the chapters and was really proud of it. He recently found it and saw how his writing had improved. He says he saw, “…bad punctuation, bad grammar, but I had a good story. I wrote songs for it. It was going to be a musical.” He reminiscences that once, he had authored a story about the character Moulan. Instead of Moulan, he transcribed the story through the eyes of the General. “I published it online. I don’t like it anymore.” Sometimes he has grown and reflects on his art through the lens of his growth. When asked if he ever gets writer’s block, he responded with, “Yeah…all the time. Stepping back can help. You come back with a clear head. Sometimes a piece just needs to sit for a while.” If he loses motivation, putting it aside can help reinvigorate life into the piece he was working on.

With the blogs, Kai’s aim is for a balanced mix of humor and seriousness. “I write about what is real, with a sense of irony. Sometimes it is hard to gauge what is enough, too little, too much. I’ll overthink it sometimes and think the post is bad. People will read it and say, ‘Wow! This is one of your best ones. I really love this one.’ And I am thinking, ‘Oh, good.’” Sometimes it is just luck of the draw; and he states that a person has to trust that is it good.

In order to check into Trust, he will read it aloud and get a sense of the flow of the words and sentences. In addition, he may ask others to read and reflect on their take on the text. Kai has a deep Inner Trust for his own Voice. “Art is fun because you’re choosing to do it in your own way. I like the freedom of it. I can say whatever I want. There aren’t any rules.”

This individual artist has no special place to serve as a muse, whether in nature or at home. He is an avid hiker, and his active personality finds a lot of interest within Nature. Kai says, “Landscape is sometimes important. We live on a hill.  I can see a lot from a hill: the land, the highway and the sea.”

I encourage all to put your thinking on pause and listen deeply to Kai Sherwinter. You may open and awaken to his (and your own) innate Wisdom.

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Spirit of the Meadow

By Kai Sherwinter

As the morning sun began to rise through the valley, the first thing to stir was the thick blanket of fog that had settled over the grass in the cover of night. It rose from its resting place with the heat of a new day, and left behind only small dewdrops that covered the grass and budding flowers. The clouds began to move with the first gust of wind, casting pink and orange shadows across the valley below. The early morning breeze rustled the petals of the flowers, and the stalks of the grass, waking the critters who lived in the dirt from their nighttime slumber. 

As the early hours of dawn continued, more things began to return to life. The cry of sparrows preparing to leave their nests. The chirping of crickets who had never even slept. The hiss of a snake, and the buzz of insects landing on their flowers. The sun continued to rise until it reached its highest point in the sky and was so bright that to look at it, you would have to shield your eyes. The bugs hid under the grass from the hot rays of sun beating down upon their backs.

In a meadow, everything is moving all the time. The birds move all day, flying from tree to ground collecting food for their young. The bugs move into the shadows in their attempt to hide from the birds. The plants move, the trees move, the flowers move and so does everything else that lives in the meadow. Except for one thing. On a small hill rising above the rest of the meadow stood a small stone statue. 

The statue looked like a young girl wearing a short dress. Her legs were pressed together as if she stood waiting for someone to tell her that she could enter the meadow. Her hands were clasped together behind her back, and a basket swung from her wrists. Though she did not move, her hair looked like it was waving along with the wind. And though she was made of stone, there was a spark of human joy in her eyes. 

Originally, the statue had been built as a shrine to a girl who had died, but the shrine had never been built and the statue remained as the only proof of the young girl’s death.

The statue was chipped from rain and faded from sun. Moss and vines had slowly begun ascending the girl, incorporating her into the surrounding landscape. Though the statue didn’t move, the spirit of the girl portrayed in the stone did. She lived on in silence, spirit tied to the meadow. She picked flowers to weave crowns that she would place on the heads of rabbits and squirrels. She climbed trees all the way to the top and looked down over the meadow and it;s surrounding landscape. She planted seeds in the dirt and watched them grow. The girl loved the meadow, so she gave it the life that she never had. 

Then, one morning as the sun retook its place in the sky, the animals awakened from their slumbers to find that the statue was gone. It had been taken by humans in the dead of night and was to be put on display in a museum. The animals mourned. 

With the spirit of the girl gone, there was no happiness left in the meadow. The girl who had given her life so the meadow could live had left. 

The call of the birds was gone first. The skies stayed empty and silent as they left their nests and never returned. The next things to go were the rabbits and squirrels, their flower crowns wilting as they left the meadow. The insects were next, the chirp of crickets following them out. Then, the flowers and grass began to die, turning from their bright green to a dark brown. They fell off their stems and landed in the dirt, only to be blown away moments later by gusts of wind. The trees fell, landing loudly on the now bare ground. Their leaves were swept away and their branches broke.

The sun rose over the meadow for what seemed like the last time. The fog’s blanket over the bare ground was removed, leaving only mud in its place. The fallen, leafless trees casted long shadows that followed the sun's rays. As the sun crept higher and higher into the sky there was nothing left to break the silence of what had once been the meadow.

 YOUNG ARTIST SERIES: SARIT SHERWINTER

Sometimes inspiration comes from memories echoing in the return visits and nurturing friendships in the present moment. That is the way it is each time I connect with Sarit. During the summer months, I spent a little time with Sarit Sherwinter when she visited Colorado from Israel. She and I met when her mom, Karli, was pregnant with her and we were volunteering at a Boulder Senior Center. A few years later, she was a student in my pre-K, kindergarten and first grade class. I was so fortunate. I got to learn from this highly intelligent, vastly compassionate, and deeply creative thinker. When I look at her drawing of an “eye” I am awed. An eye swims in a field of purples, pinks and blues; I interpret the colors as vision surrounded by deep spiritual awareness, intelligence and love.  Yellow is often a balanced equanimity. If I am projecting that onto her, it is because I have so much respect for this person.

As I began work on my autumn newsletter, I contacted Karli and spoke to Sarit about her ventures into art. I asked her if she considered herself an artist. She paused and considered her words before answering.

Sarit:

 Well, I think I would. I’m good at it; and I am good at a lot of other things. What really affects my art, and my own ideas, are my siblings. Kai is good at drawing; Reuben is good at looking at things in nature or on the internet and making them into a drawing. Because they are good at art, it affects me. I start a drawing and then go into Kai’s room and make them look more real, prettier. We don’t have paints, so we draw and listen to music. Once, Reuben and one of his friends and I went to a painting place in Ramat HaNadiv. We got to draw a lot of stuff. I also learn from books. I got a book on Manga cartoons and learned how to draw those kinds of cartoons. Once, when I was drawing background scenery for a play I was in, I drew a market, the shouk. It was so hard and took me so long to draw!

AAS:

 Sarit’s creative interests are vast. They include and are not limited to baking with colors, ceramics, drawing, painting, glass. I enjoy the family connections and support of this family. There is no pedestal on which to place them, as they have the ups and downs of living. They are authentic in their expressions.  They make the most of their connections and nurture each other and others. Sarit’s heart is always open to others and when I had her as a student, she was always looking for an opportunity to help others. Sarit continues…

Sarit: 

I like ceramics. Our teacher displays the work of other students. We can look at them and get ideas. Right now, I am making a platter with a leaf print in the middle. I pressed a real leaf into the clay and then made the lines easier to see. I am thinking about giving it to my teacher because she likes history and nature. So, I decided on a leaf. I wanted a grape leaf, but didn’t have one, so I just found a leaf from outside. Once I made a bowl with a panda. First, I made a slab, then the walls. I made a little clay “glue” haretzim v derek and attached the head to the back and the arms to the sides. A lot of kids thought it was a good idea and then they made some, too.

I think art is fun because it takes time. It takes effort and with practice, you can begin to get something. It is also a fun thing to do to pass the time. Anyone can do it. It’s not too hard and not too easy. 

AAS: 

I asked if she had a favorite piece and she told me that she really didn’t. She likes doing art because it is fun. “Art is fun. If it wasn’t fun, I couldn’t do it. I’m not looking for praise.” When asked if she had any advice for others, she related the correlation of making art for enjoyment and making art for money.

Sarit: You can sell art, but it is better to do it because you enjoy it. Not do it for greed, but for fun. If you sell it, it is ok, but you did it for fun ~ But making art just to sell isn’t as good as if you make it for fun first …The intention is more on art ~ If you are, like a father with kids and good at art and poor but you don’t have enough money for food…. You make some art. You already did it for fun, so it’s ok to sell it.

AAS:  

Sarit expanded on the art she did for a recent dramatic performance of The Wizard of Oz . She did several drawings that were projected onto the background of the stage. One, of the farm, she didn’t like as much as the others. She drew a scary tree from the enchanted forest and one of Dorothy, the Scarecrow, and Tin Man thinking about the rainbow. She had drawn a cloud over the rainbow with question marks in it. 

Sarit: 

When we did The Wizard of Oz, I drew a scary tree. I got the idea from a game that Reuben plays, so I used it for my scary tree.  I didn’t really like my drawing of the farm.  When I did the drawing for “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” I wanted people to know they were listening to the song, so I put in musical notes. I put question marks over the rainbow because people think there is something better over the rainbow. People say all kinds of things about over the rainbow, but nobody really knows. They can think of all kinds of things they know, or don’t know…. You don’t really know. It could be anything…. or nothing.

AAS:

 Sarit has a comfortable way of relating to my questions. I enjoyed her response to the question about the importance of art.

Sarit:

 Art is important, even for anyone who doesn’t like doing it. They can appreciate it and get new ideas and different views on things. It can mean a lot and people can grow. Sometimes when I am drawing, I am focused on drawing and then my mind drifts away. I start thinking about a book I am reading, like Harry Potter. I’m still drawing, but my mind is doing it through me. I am trying to think of what I am wanting in my picture, but I am thinking about the book. Then I say, “Ooooo! I remember what I am wanting to draw!” So, if you do something creative or artistic, it helps your mind get a better picture. Your memory can always draw it better in your art place.

AAS: 

I enjoy listening to Sarit’s perspective. When I asked what she would give as advice to someone who came to her, she answered with her unique maturity and wisdom.

Sarit:

 It would depend on what kind of art they are wanting advice about. Were they wanting to know how to paint a face better? I wouldn’t know what they were painting. I would say, “Tell me more about what you are talking about.” I would also want to know more about the person and what they like and what they like doing.”

Sarit concluded our interview with teaching me how to make “melty beads” and returning to comment on her ceramics. “Sometimes things turn out the way I want. Like the dragon. I added more glaze on the nose area. Now, I can rub it and it feels really good.”

  As parents and teachers, we want to nurture the creative impulses of our children. The rewards last lifetimes! Thank you, Sherwinters Family for our continued nurturing friendship ~ It is a constant celebration of what it means to be alive and growing and sharing in our creative journeys!