Interview with Julie from “mental tesserae”

“mental tesserae”

http://mentaltesserae.blogspot.com

I didn?t even realize how badly I needed a creative outlet until I started my blog a few months ago and then, whoosh, all of these thoughts came pouring out. I take a notebook with me now wherever I go because when I get an idea for a post, I have to write it down or it will drive me nuts rattling around in my brain.

I?ve studied a lot of art and teach Humanities courses at a university, so I tend to anchor my thoughts with images. I try to include at least one painting with each post and tie it in with the events of my day. But mostly I write about being a mom to four children and my attempts to find humor amid the chaos that is my life .

I have a handful that I read faithfully every day: Scribbit, The Lazy Organizer, and Daring Young Mom. I like blogs that both amuse me and leave a lasting impact ? something to think about during the rest of my day.

I am not usually a morning person. But ever since I started blogging, I?ve been waking up early with ideas that won?t let me sleep. I try to get them typed and posted before I need to take the kids to school. That said, I usually spend WAY too much time trying to get every word to sound perfect. I need to get more efficient because I don?t want the ?writing about being a mother? to get in the way of actually being a mother.

One day I was surfing the internet, looking for something to read while nursing my baby and I came across my first few mom blogs. The familiar tone and sincerity of the writing pulled me in. I really think blogs are a showcase for some of the best writing out there.

Sometimes a painting will get me thinking ? like one by Berthe Morisot of a mother by a cradle which inspired me to write about why I like to stare at my sleeping children. Sometimes my kids will do something that inspires a post ? like when my 4 year old showed textbook signs of sibling rivalry. I also tend to connect current events with art. The week of the school shooting in Pennsylvania, I was struggling to make sense of it all so I wrote about it in my blog. I?m actually quite proud of that post because in the process of writing it, I figured out some answers to questions that had been bothering me for a long time. Blogging can be quite cathartic.