God is on the Runway

I am hooked on Project Runway. It's a reality TV show produced by Heidi Klum showcasing fashion designers competing their clothing designs against each other.

The show's fascinating to watch because it's all about creative manifestation in action. All the designers have to start with is just a concept and raw materials like fabric and buttons. Everything else comes from thin air!

Amazing. The competition is more of a test of mental strength more than anything else. Can someone be creative in a highly-stressed environment? Can they keep their cool and keep on working despite the clock is ticking? Of course, tempers flare, some break down, some cry. There's a lot of drama going on. But in the midst of it, they are all very talented designers, creators, manifestors.

It motivates me. It reminds me a lot of my archi days as well, where it's similarly that way: we get a concept, and the end product of which would a house, apartment or office is literally whipped out of thin air. And of course time is always, always a factor.

It also reminds me how designs are always fluid and the only constant about it is change. No one can tell what would come out of each of those ream of fabrics. No one can control the design. The potential is there, the creative energy is there - but whether it really meets the mark is another different story. There's no formula. It's all co-creativity. All these designers are catalysts and vehicles for that greater intelligence to bring forth a creative form. In the end, God is in the details.