Right now in class we're doing exercises in "negative space". For example, on Thursday I had everyone draw a chair--except that we weren't allowed to draw the chair. Instead, we had to draw the space around the chair. My drawings came out very well, but they were really difficult for me. I think I used the eraser more than the pencil (oh, I guess that's technically not possible...but whatevah). That brain switch is still hard for me to achieve when I'm in school teaching.
Tonight I took a crack at Act I of Nutcracker and noticed that the idea of negative space is also affecting how I play the violin these days: thinking about the motion between notes makes the notes themselves sound better with less work. Standing in rest position, turning on the metronome, and feeling my fingers (and whole body posture) while I read through a difficult section focuses me so completely that I end up only having to practice a section a few times before it's right. I'm starting to feel like the times when I'm not playing are more important than the times I am playing.
All of this work is making me really intense in almost all areas of my life now that I've experienced it in drawing and violin. Kind of a scary thought, since I'm way intense already.