9.00 am: A threat of torpor follows us through life. Often, it descends in the period between the end of one project, or phase of life, and the beginning of another. At such times, one’s efforts towards forward movement must be redoubled. After a period of postgraduate admin I made ready for a walk to the School to conduct a PhD fine art tutorial at 10.30 am. The weather lurched from nice day to monsoon in minutes.

12.15 pm: Back at homebase, I began addressing correspondence related to the forthcoming CD, the book, and the SteelWorks project. At times, I feel like a circus plate spinner, moving from one plate to another in order to ensure that all are rotating at the same speed and that none topple from their poles. I’m owed a number of email responses related to several projects. A little nudge of the correspondents was in order. Silence isn’t always golden; sometimes its a cause for concern.

After lunch, I oscillated between practical manoeuvres in the studio and correspondence in the study. Conducting two distinct and contrasting activities in parallel can be more productive than pursuing either of them singularly:

The large white table was set in order: monitor speakers installed, connections to the mixer established and test oscillators attached. A simple sine wave, to begin:

The syllabus of tests undertaken in the late afternoon and evening:

1. Double oscillators into 2 × mono inputs on mixer, monitored via sub-outputs to monitors (L&R).
2. Double oscillators into 2 × mono inputs on mixer, monitored via PA speakers and subwoofer (L&R).
3. Adjust subwoofer and recheck PA speakers’ parameters.
4. Insert isolation mats beneath large white table monitors.
5. Confirm the consistency of the stereo path from mixer > EQ > Gate/Compressor > Monitors/PA&Sub.

Some principles and observations derived from today’s engagements:

• The wise are often those who’ve made the most mistakes, and learned from them. The wisest are often those who’ve made the greatest mistakes, and learned from them.
• Students sometimes need to be taught less in order to have the opportunity to find out more things for themselves, by experience.
• You can work in a fog without anxiety, so long as you believe that there’s something to be found within it.
• The skills and practice of communication, negotiation, compromise, planning, consultation, and meeting are as much a part of an artwork’s development as the making of it. These activities need to be engaged creatively, qualitatively, and determinately, as one would the artwork.
• The more you explain your work to others the better you understand it yourself. Talking to yourself about your own work is also productive.
• Always work as though your deadline was at the end of the day.
• Don’t let your equipment and tools frighten you. Understand them. Master them. Bend them to your will. But, above all, respect them.