Life in the interstices

Interstices (in-TER-stih-sees): Intervening spaces, especially small ones.

I first heard this term used in Zentangle to describe those small spaces in patterns between leaves or petals or orbs. I wasn't very comfortable with it, especially with the pronunciation! However, I've gotten more used to it, and actually thought of another application for it during this hectic week.

I woke up one morning thinking of everything I had to do. My "monkey brain" was chattering away with a million items to put on my list. (Monkey brain is what I call my brain when it's swinging from one thing to another, out of control.) I hadn't even had a sip of coffee, and yet I was headed toward that feeling of being behind and overwhelmed. I managed to get a brain dump on paper to at least clear some head space, and then started about my day. Then, the unexpected started happening. My husband was sick and needed some attention. I dropped my list and went to help. My day went back and forth between him and my list, but I soon realized that I was calm. I even took some time to sit on the porch and watch the birds. I went for a walk in the forest. I spent time sky gazing. I started to realize that the interstices of this day, the in-between moments, were as important and fulfilling as the rest. Since they were moments to pause, I had been able to go peacefully and intentionally through the day, crossing off everything on my list. This felt so refreshing and new!

I mention this because I used interstices as a theme for some of my art this week. What lies in between what we focus on? 

A sunset over the mountains behind a screen at the Alhambra?

Actually the back of one drawing (the Alhambra grid) and the front of another (texturing, color).

Project Pack 19 / The 12 Days of Zentangle dropped this week. You can see the videos on YouTube. I didn't purchase the pack of supplies, so I spent Day 1 creating my template.

Then I did the watercolor wash. Today I finally started to draw. I hope to add something every day. I'll show you the results next week. For now, here's what I have:

What do you notice about your in-between moments? What lies behind what you see?