Belated Birthday Gifts and a Work of Art

Before I get into anything else, I must first make sure to acknowledge my friend Taiya, whose birthday was June 24.  It's not really that I haven't acknowledged her birthday, it's just that I am terribly late in making her birthday gift.  Seeing as how she's probably my biggest and bestest fan (aside from my hubby) and my best marketing tool (read: brag book) I have to make sure that her presents are always special.  So after more than a month of brainstorming, You Tube-ing, and driving my husband crazy with indecision, I finally came up with the perfect idea for her present.  Only I haven't had the time to make it yet.  The foundation has been laid (hint-there are three envelopes glued together), but so far schoolwork and studying has kept me out of the studio.  So I've decided on a new tactic.  I will leave clues as I get a step completed.  This way by the time it is finally complete and it arrives in the mail she can't help but be excited to see it.  Sounds like a good plan to me.  :-)

The other topic I wanted to cover during this blog update has also been pushed aside due to studying.  Has anyone else been watching Bravo TV's Work of Art?  Think Project Runway meets the art world.  I think it is Bravo's attempt to reclaim some its glory since losing Project Runway this past year.  The show's not half bad, though I never would have known about it if I hadn't been watching something else on Bravo.  It didn't help either that the series premier came on at 11pm.  The show as settled into it's regular schedule of Wednesday nights at 10:00 est.  As I said earlier, it's not half bad, but it certainly leaves some things to be desired.

If we're considering Work of Art to be a Project Runway replacement, I think a simple comparison between the two is the best place to start.  And when you think of Project Runway the first person you think of when you think of is Heidi Klum.  Work of Art's answer to Heidi is China Chow and Heidi Klum she is not.  I don't blame China, it's more the fault of the writers.  China has the attitude, but she lacks the catch phrases that Heidi is known for.  As a result it leaves her looking meek.  No "You're out."  Instead it's "You're work didn't work for us."  What's that supposed to be?  And while we're on the subject of tag lines, they didn't do much better for Simon de Pury, the Tim Gunn of Work of Art.  There is no "Make it work."  There is no anything.  He speaks and the artists don't even realize he's leaving the room.

There is a good side to Work of Art.  You get to see works of art in progress.  With Project Runway everyone is sewing.  Great.  It's the finished product you're looking to see.  With Work of Art you actually get to see it being made.  You get to see the thought process and the design process of the different artists, all of whom work in different ways.  My only complaint about that is that there is not nearly enough time to explore them all and really get an in depth look at what they're doing.  I'm sure as the number of artists is whittled down we'll get to see more.  For now what we'll have to do with what we get.

Despite its faults, I do enjoy Work of Art and would recommend it to others.  It's a bright, creative spot on the summer line-up.  And we can always enjoy some creative television.

~Jennifer Gayle