chaos?

There is nothing like the deadline of a submission to either douse or ignite creativity. Fortunately, the latter visited me when I found out the deadline for a juried exhibition had been extended, giving me time to finish a second piece (in a series of I don’t know how many that address issues affecting women) for consideration. 

I’m not used to working with a specific theme when creating my goddess or paper doll collages (see my gallery). I sit down to the table and either nothing happens and I get up OR they show up to guide me in the creative process until a figure with her message is complete. I wondered if this new creation would seem contrived since it felt like the cart before the horse choosing a topic for a piece beforehand. It was a slow go at the start. I constantly looked at the first piece, comparing, figuring if it should somehow be in conversation with what I was working on until I realized the link was established when I decided to use black and white as the backdrop for each piece and because these images are about women’s issues. Immediately the spell that has always visited me when the time is right to create inhabited my being, taking me to that place of divine focus; the image forming beneath my fingers knew how she wanted to look in order to convey her message. As I worked, a third piece began speaking (see a section of her above; the actual piece is much larger). While flipping through magazines to do what I call a “pull” to find more pictures to work into the collages, I spotted a page that sparked an idea for another issue to address, then conceptualized and have almost finished a fourth image. 

I’m in creative clutter and chaos meaning tiny pieces of cuttings are all over the floor along with magazines and torn out pages. With this state comes a glowing flow which releases worry about anything and makes me more productive in my other day-to-day dealings. I’m truly in my element doing what is intended and let me say, there is only true bliss found here, so as I continue…

keep your peepers open!®

#flowandglow #creativechaos  #creativity #creativespark #collage #collageart #womensissues #submission # deadlines #blogher #wearewomenwriting #inspiration #motivation #bliss #keepyourpeepersopen #peepthis

cake by the ocean

Well actually it was cake and cupcakes by the bay on Friday when my niece got married and became #newlyschezz and I gained a nephew in law!

Planning a wedding, like any event, is a series of conversations that involve many people and a multitude of decisions; conversations sparked with emotions that run a spectrum of the extremes; conversations marked with changes, disagreements and compromises; conversations that all share the same vision...a most perfect wedding day for two people who have chosen to join hands and walk a path together. And the planning, right up to the day of, for this wedding was no different.

However, whatever didn't go right before the I do's was long forgotten this past Friday evening when all in attendance and those who couldn't be there surrounded two people in love with love as they indeed joined hands to begin the next path on their life journeys. As I watched and listened, tears in check because this is the aunt with a camera in hand, for a fleeting moment I saw a baby in her diaper sporting the red high top Converse sneakers I had sent after she was born; time passes way too quickly.

Wishing the newly wedded a lifetime filled with #schezzmoments of #schezzblissandlove!

keep your peepers open!®

#keepyourpeepersopen #peepthis #theygotmarried #thinkimarriedyou #schezzlove #faithisaschezz #weddingplanning #marriage #wedding

second slumber

There are mornings when I wish I was a late sleeper and this is one of those mornings! 

I do so love that I’m an early riser, that I’m awake and aware before the masses begin disturbing that sacred peace that is pre-dawn stillness. However, every now and then, particularly when I wake up at 2:30AM and don’t doze off again until 4:30AM or on the rare occasion when I’m out until a wee hour of the morning, I long to sleep straight through until the church bell in the distance rings in an hour when the sun is high in the sky. Today is one of those days; mind and body are up, don’t wish to be just yet and are warning me that if I don’t snuggle back into my pillow for a second slumber, it will feel like I'm climbing up a steep flight of stairs for the rest of the day!

So as that church bell in the distance sounds off the 8:00 hour, down I go to snooze until it’s Sunday afternoon... at least that's what I hope. Until then…

keep your peepers open!®

#whattimeisit #sundaymorningsnooze #secondslumber #weehours #keepyourpeepersopen #peepthis #tinascottlassiter #wearewomenwriting #blogher

dare you

“If you had one word to describe yourself what would it be?” 

How often have you been asked or read that question? I don’t know about you but, I am multidimensional. There is way too much to me to fit into one word and it has nothing to do with my voluptuous figure! You see, I’ve never been a girl who fits into one box though I’ve tried to many times in order to fit in; it is beyond uncomfortable wiggling around in a space crowded with so much limitation. More often than not, I’ve chosen to architect a path of my own design as I moved through life which can be lonely at times. Somewhere inside me is a guiding belief that it’s okay to have my own ideas, see things differently, to sometimes walk alone, though admittedly there have been moments when I questioned that belief. Thank goodness for the people I know who step in to remind me…it’s okay to be different.

So here’s a thought -- if you find you just have to answer that question in one word get creative and make up a one word description of you composed of many, (think supercalifragilisticexpialidocious...yes, it’s in the dictionary) which will require some planning, so get to it! Dare to be different and…

keep your peepers open!®

#keepyourpeepersopen #peepthis #daretobedifferent #doyou #wearewomenwriting #blogher #dare

the buzz

With all the buzz about the movie Wonder Woman, it’s no wonder that I came across something I wrote in a journal several years ago. Part of a series of poems entitled wild women, I present…

wild women #3…ode to the super sHero

wild women

wear scars like badges

as they fight the hard fight…with love

defend and protect…with no restrictions

ignore the norm.

bucking tradition

they dive into perpetually changing rivers

and surface with childlike wonder and glee.

bare breasted, no breasts

they shiver with shock sensuality

during uninhibited frolic.

dance, climb, drum, play with abandon

are ready for action, regardless,

mounting challenges (and their lovers)

with equal dexterity

sassy vixens not sex victims.

SNAP! CRACKLE! They SIZZLE!

age less with time

are ageless wonders

who are brave beyond the wild pink yonder.

faster than a whirling dervish

the can     

leap tall buildings in peep toe shoes

rock a jean jacket more skillfully than a cape

catch warm moonbeams with their more than capable bare hands.

a halo across their chests,

they soar like powerhouse queens

over risk free metropolis meadows sHeros telling Herstories

never in disguise.

wild women are strong

yet tender warriors.

they demand their rights

are calculatingly cleaver

using their affluence to influence.

investing in the present moment

they are never afraid of what will be what has been what is

don’t need to be told what to do.

and they do wear red.

Inspired by my participation in the Women’s March this past January, I am currently working on a series of collages that honor the super woman and speak to women’s issues. To hear a little about the series and my creative process, click www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3LrabKPWUo&sns=em to view a video produced by Art Life/Life Art and… 

keep your peepers open!®

#peepthis #keepyourpeepersopen #youtube

#tinascottlassiter #wonderwoman #wildwomenwearred #wildwomen #women #womensmarch #poems #photography #artlifelifeart #collage #amsterdamart #shero #herstory #thebuzz

about facebook

I read an article about Facebook’s ability to influence our opinion of ourselves as we view and read posts that may cause us to question our choices, what we're doing, who we know.  It’s human to wonder about our own lives when we see folks going to exotic places, grinning from ear to ear with people we may or may not know at a gathering we’ve not been a part of, read congratulatory posts for fabulous accomplishments, etc. 

Let’s face it, all pun intended, FB can not only be an influencer, it can also be addictive! Add that to working for yourself plus those days when you work at home -- you’ve potentially got the makings for a non productive day. I speak from what I know and what I know is an entire day passed without me realizing the clock was ticking until I looked up and it was 6:00PM. I couldn’t remember if I’d eaten anything or even gone to the bathroom! I’d gotten so distracted by whatever was happening on FB, that I failed to finish what I started at 10:00AM.

Facebook has its merits, this is coming from someone who did an about face, no pun intended, less than a year ago and finally chose to get connected. I've had the pleasure of reconnecting with so many people from my past, folks that meant something to me even though we had lost touch. I’ve actually dined, met for drinks or attended parties with some of them and let me say, a real face-to-face hug beats an emoji any day! That said, and this really is the take-away for today, we’re all where we're supposed to be. If we don't like our current situation, we have the power to change it and spending too much time on FB takes time away from focusing on that change. 

A photograph on Facebook is a snapshot of just one moment, it does not begin to tell the life story of the person(s) looking into the camera. Trust and believe, each and every one of us has experienced the dualities of life destined to appear on our path, only some will choose to post their down moments. So see you when I see you and until then…

keep your peepers open!®

ps…as if I didn’t have enough to keep up with, you can also follow me on twitter and instagram @myeclecticeye

#FB #facebook #keepyourpeepersopen 

let's celebrate?

As the city prepares to celebrate the 4th of July, I'm reminded of something I wrote a little over a month ago...different holiday, same sentiment. 

memorial day

i walked early before hectic woke

remembering DC, the Hill as it was

viewed from a backseat of wide eyed marvel

eyes landmarking a childhood 

looking sadly now at 

a city in lock down for celebration… 

       a necessity 

                a declaration

                      a contradiction.

my city, like many 

imprisoned by circumstance

penalized with watched corners

subjected to searches

barricaded with silver and stone precaution

strategically placed…just in case.

we celebrate 

praying not now

we celebrate

with cautionary eyes

we celebrate

because life continues no matter,

because our city is 

in lock down for celebration.

Enjoy the food, fireworks and festivities and as you do…

keep your peepers open!®

#keepyourpeepersopen #celebration #july #fireworks #spokenword #holiday