February 28, 2018

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction (Isa. 48.10).

The ore in which silver is found contains other less precious metals besides, such as lead, copper, and antimony. In ancient times, one of the processes by which the silver was separated was cupellation. This involved heating the ore in a fierce fire until the silver liquified. Substances such as nitric acid were added, in order to dissolve the silver into silver chloride, along with sodium carbonate, to separate off the dross and leave the silver in its most pure state. This operation, or something like it, is frequently used in the Bible to illustrate the way in which God refines his people. They are impure. But he is committed to removing the dregs and rubbish that would otherwise contaminate their lives: those things which are unworthy, inconsistent, unhelpful, distracting, debilitating, and sometimes downright dangerous. Usually this process takes places constantly, progressively, and in the background, like the action of an anti-virus software (to switch metaphors). But there are also particular times of intense heat when especially recalcitrant refuse is burnt-off. Affliction (be that bad health, dire circumstances, crippling disappointment, inconsolable loss, unremitting persecution, or appalling injustice) sometimes serves as the purgatorial fire. While the ordeal is profoundly unpleasant, the fruit is salutary and long lasting. The suffering is not senseless.

8.00 am: A communion. 8.30 am: Off to School into a blistering cold that nevertheless enlivened. 9.00 am: A PhD Fine Art Skype tutorial. My students always look far better than do I in this medium:

We discussed the possibility of developing a hypothetical art history module based upon the student’s research. In seeking to explain a complex idea to others, we’re better able comprehend it for ourselves. 10.00 am: What?!:

Could I reinvent myself? Could I pull off a paper on chemical engineering? As of today, I know a little more about refining, smelting, and calcining. I’ve received emails like this ever since my sons began studying science at university.

On with postgraduate admin before and after conducting an undergraduate dissertation advisory session. (The second year students are touting for potential supervisors.) 12.00 pm: A further PhD Fine Art Skype tutorial:

1.00 am: Home for lunch. 1.45 pm: The frost had embedded itself into the tarmac, and produced a curious crystalline pattern:

2.00 pm: Against expectation, an MA inquirer had braved the journey from London to Aberystwyth by train and got here on time. ‘Well done them!’ My ‘interrogation’ of applicant was entirely benign. What’s to be gained from unseating them? Quite apart from the quality of the work, I was curious to know about their ambitions beyond the period of the MA, and why they want to undertake the degree now, of all times in their life.

2.45 pm: Homebase and admin catch up before taking up the cables where I’d left off last night in the studio:

I began the session with the two accounts of two blind men from Matthew’s gospel (one on each vinyl), and proceeded to mix between them, using the stop/start and slider mechanisms. It was a hit or miss operation. So many attempts were necessary in order to secure something worthwhile.

7.15 pm: Studiology. I was prepared to generate a great deal of obvious turntablist tosh before achieving something even barely passable. The night was young. Two-handed manipulation was next on the tables. Better.

Previous Post
February 27, 2018
Next Post
March 1, 2018