The Challenge

I am an accused and a self admitted reality tv show addict...I will watch almost any television program that is thinly veiled as "reality"...I especially like those shows like Project Runway, Work of Art, Top Chef...What draws me in are the open-ended challenges that contestants are faced with: design an outfit from supplies found at the hardware store, make a piece of art from recycled electronics, create a tasty dish using duck testicles...I love to see each participant take the challenge and feed it into the machine that is their internal creative process and see what comes out the other side...I love that both the processes and end products can be so vastly varied from person to person and from what I would have dreamed up had I been given the challenge...oh and I must admit that I also enjoy the guilty pleasure of voyeuristically watching the group dynamics of when creative processes and personalities clash...

I walked into the Microsoft store tonight to meet my Art Meets Fashion project group and immediately felt like I was embarking on my own reality tv show challenge...the room was milling with creative types, inspiring people...The challenge: to create a multi-dimensional visual presentation consisting of works of art, apparel, lesson plans, and a documentary of the whole process...all encompassed under the umbrella of one, unifying theme...aimed at engaging at-risk youth into the arts and fashion design (and it would be great if we could incorporate science and technology)...to be showcased at no less than two venues, the San Diego International Airport and Mosaic Gallery at Mosaic Wine Bar...

The cast of characters in my reality tv show: Stacie Taylor (fashion designer), Cathy Breslaw (artist), Jan Janus (educator) and me, Melissa Au (photographer/documenter)...I cannot wait to see how our group dynamics unfold...to see how our creative processes mesh, or if they do clash, how we will choose to resolve...to see the unknown and undoubtedly amazing creations that we, working separately but also in collaboration, will produce...I am so excited to take part in this journey...though I must admit that I am ever so grateful that the timeline is nine months, rather than 24 hours...and that there will be no camera following me around (that's my job--to follow my teammates around with my own camera!)

And guess what? Two seats to my right, sat a real-live reality tv show star from a past season of Project Runway...this is gonna be fun!

Crossroads

Crossroads:
Pronunciation: \ˈkrȯs-ˌrōd also -ˈrōd\

Function: noun

Date: 1686;

1 usually plural but singular or plural in construction
a : the place of intersection of two or more roads
b (1) : a small community located at such a crossroads, a group of people living in a particular local area-the team is drawn from all parts of the community (2) : a central meeting place
c : a crucial point especially where a decision must be made
d: a representation of common ground between theories or phenomena