Despite the hype, Gossip Girl is suffering from poor ratings in the UK after just one week.

Initial reports were that the audience was strong - 520,000 viewers tuned in to see what Blair, Serena and the gang were up to. But the fashion, music and cast weren’t enough to keep their attention. Fifteen minutes later, the audience was down to 244,000 - many had tuned into ER on another channel.

The plummet was enough to leave Gossip Girl with just 293,000 viewers, far below the average audience for the slot last year (471,000).

What about you? Were you watching?

Eke. Methinks that ITV.com needs some revamping on their website. In preparation for the UK debut of Gossip Girl, the network has devoted a pretty good chunk of its promotional efforts to the publicity for the show.

You can watch previews, read interviews with the cast and make your own playlist on the network’s website. But I’m not exactly sure that the folks who are writing the copy for the site are fans of the show. Consider this explanation of the show’s premise, found here:

Blake Lively stars as resident hot girl Serena van der Woodsen. The hot boy role is filled by Leighton Meester, who plays Blair Waldorf.

A boy? Really? She looks pretty girly to me.

Er, maybe you should watch the show before writing the summary?

While in the UK this week, I have had on and off access to exactly four channels - and never all at once.

It’s been interesting to watch TV - it takes me back to my year abroad here where I, like much of Britain, became a big fan of the soaps like “Eastenders”, “Coronation Street” and Australia’s hugely popular “Neighbors.”

Now, the soaps are a bit different.  The storylines are largely the same but the ethnicities, looks and fashions of the characters have changed.

One show that appears to be quite popular is “Hollyoaks” - a teen soap which relies more on style than substance.  Nonetheless, I couldn’t help but be struck by the differences and similarities between the show and “Gossip Girl” (especially the proliferation of cell phones).  It makes me wonder exactly how popular “Gossip Girl” will be once it hits. 

** squeal! **

One of my readers, Madi, made a video featuring headlines and photos from the blog. It’s fab - thanks Madi!!

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Martha Walker knew from an early age that she was going to be an artist, she just didn’t know where it would take her. She certainly wouldn’t have guessed that her work would end up featured on one of the hottest new shows of 2007.

Martha attended Pratt Institute where she received her Masters Degree. She originally studied drawing and worked in clay and animation. But, she said, “sculpture struck me in the heart.” She took a class in welding because it was required and was immediately drawn to it. She explains that you basically “take a piece of rod and bend it” - in that way, it’s essentially a 3-D drawing.

After graduation, Martha worked in sales to pay the bills. She resisted the urge to do anything commercial, saying that she didn’t want to compromise her art.

During that time, Martha formulated ideas for future projects. She says that, when she began creating her pieces, she had no lack of ideas. There was, she says, no creative block.

Martha describes her style as “abstract expressionist.” She gleans inspiration from science and microbiology, some even saying that it’s oceanic - creating a “visual logic” in her work.

Interestingly, she cites many old school artists as her influences and favorites. She names Rodin first, as an artist that she like “a lot” and refers to Michelangelo as “the God.” Martha also admires - and is thankful to - John Pai, whom she describes as a mentor. Pai is a South Korean artist who shows in the Rodin museum in South Korea. He is also Martha’s professor from years ago.

Martha’s art caught the eye of Gossip Girl producers when fellow artist Eric Pesso, a Brooklyn based artist, referred her. After browsing her web site, the show decided to showcase two pieces. One piece, above, is titled T’kiyyah (Sound Of The Shofar). The other, Hope, was inspired by a quote by Anne Frank:

It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

Hope was purchased recently by a patron and will be placed at the Anne Frank Center (38 Crosby Street, 5th floor, New York, New York 10013).

The appearance on Gossip Girl - in episodes 12 and 13 - has definitely increased Martha’s profile.

So the art world loves her. But what do her kids think? Clearly they now think she’s a rock star. Her daughter is a fan of the show and Martha’s connections meant that she was able to take a tour of the studios and set. Her son wrote a lovely piece about her on Gridskipper, where he is an assistant editor (c’mon, a 23 year old that loves his mother that much? A keeper, for sure!).

Clearly, this isn’t the last you’ll hear of Martha Walker. It’s just the beginning.

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