Our exciting Friday Night and Design School

I made dinner and picked the greens from our garden. Were they ever tasty. (Jenn visited us from Richmond on Thursday and she got to taste them first hand. Is there ever a better reason to come visit?)


Anyway, after dinner, Nick and I took turns mowing the lawn. Now, we are watching Fashion Show on Bravo. Will it be as good as Project Runway? My guess is, no. Unfortunately, Project Runway was bought by Oxygen and we don't get the channel.

What I liked most about Project Runway was Tim Gunn. Every Project Runway episode allowed me to relive the first year of design class. Back then, I was averaging 3 hours of sleep a night (much like the designers) and I spent every spare second I had creating crazy projects in our design studio, whether it was an object that felt good in our hands, a stamped relief inspired by a piece of art, or a sculpture inspired by the proportions/patterns/rhythms of the Rotunda, etc.

Tim Gunn reminds me of my first design professor, Paul, and the projects aren't that different from those given first year designers. Tim and Paul are total dopple gangers; gay, open-minded, and absolutely exceptional at helping designers develop their ideas. I think this show won't be as good without Tim Gunn's gentle critiques and design jargon. My first design professor, Paul, had his own set of catch phrases. He'd run around telling us to let the material speak to us. Many of the struggling students considered him nuts, "How in the heck is this piece of wood going to speak to me?." His response, "If it's not speaking to you, you aren't getting it."