8.00 am. An administrative prune before a walk to the School, now entering its Mary Celeste period. Other than a presence of a few Life-Long Learning courses, special events, postgraduates, secretaries, technicians, an ever-watchful porter, and peregrinating academics, the building will be largely void of life and activity for the next few months. 9.00 am. The first MA fine art tutorial of the morning with a student who’s moving towards their second exhibition, in September. Trumping the first exhibition is not an objective declared in the module outline, but it’s always the determination of the conscientious art student. Tali’s chair:
10.00 am. A PhD fine art tutorial. Beginning a practice-based PhD requires considerable courage, self confidence, and an ability to trust that the process will take care of you. It’s a time to be brazen, for daring to do, defying one’s own expectations, and bungee-jumping without a wire (as it were). Sarah’s workspace:
11.00 am. Mr Croft and I interviewed a prospective MA Fine Art student. Mature applicants bring a wealth of life experience to the table. 12.00 pm. A reunion with a student, currently on temporary withdrawal, after nearly a year’s absence. They’ve endured trials that would make most of us buckle under and throw in the towel. This one’s made of sterner stuff. 1.00 pm. The second MA fine art tutorial of the day. We had a sober discussion about the relationship of the artwork to the space it occupies. The context of display is rarely ideal. But it’s the manner in which the artist negotiates the compromise — in such a way as to secure an outcome that is better than their anticipated ideal — which proves their metal. Problems are prompts to betterment.
2.00 pm. An afternoon of various postgraduate admin task. 3.30 pm. A break/a difference: I resolved the ergonomic problem that I’d set myself yesterday, using an existing stand. Now the modulation touchpads are within easy reach. The decks, also, have been rotated in order to keep the tone arm away from my hand movements. (This is a common practice among DJs.):
3.45 pm. Back to it. An end is in sight. Postgraduate reports are almost there.
6.20 pm. Practise session 1. 7.30 pm. On with it. Queries, reminders, and beseeching pour from my outbox. Words like ‘stone’ and ‘blood’ come to mind when trying to extract reports from folk. 9.00 pm. Time for a little more work on the modulation touchpads and an integrated sampler/looper. Immediately, on testing the system, something remarkable emerged.