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- #BLOWN AWAY SEASON 2 CONTESTANTS TV#
It's kind of like when they say "Best in blow!" I, like, can't help but laugh because it's just so funny. That set! What's the big deal about building "North America's biggest hot shop"?īG: (laughs) I can't help but laugh every time they say it. JU: It wasn't a show about the BEST GLASSBLOWER IN THE WORLD! It was really a show about the glass. Like even something as simple as shielding, manipulating the glass to keep the heat away, they did a good job of capturing those things in a super HD way that makes it seem more extreme. JL: I think they did a good job of capturing glassblowing and dramatizing things that, for us - as glassblowers - become kind of pedestrian. It wasn't just a bunch of like beefy hot shop gaffers showing off. JU: The first episode was such a relief - to see artists from all different backgrounds, all different experience levels, and they all had their own story with the material. (laughs)īG: I think the glass community in general is a very supportive community and is very kind and loving and everyone works together.I think they did a good job of showing our community. And at worst, maybe it'd be a terribly dramatic, overly produced piece of entertainment that pits people from our community against each other. JU: At best I thought it would be an interesting peek into our world for people who'd appreciate it. I know how intense it can be, working in front of cameras while talking.
#BLOWN AWAY SEASON 2 CONTESTANTS TV#
Jared Last: I kind of avoid reality TV as much as I possibly can, so I was worried about it. And then I kind of came out of it going, "Oh, mom - you should watch it." It's like juggling chainsaws.īG: Going into it, I felt like I was going to hate it. Minna Koistinen: I was excited that this was happening, but at the same time I was a bit nervous because I've done TV work and I know how intense it can be, working in front of cameras while talking. Jade Usackas: I didn't ever think it would be something designed for glass people. Everyone was wondering, "How is the show going to go? Should we apply for it, should we not apply for it?" Here we blow! (Netflix) Let's talk first impressions.īrianna Gluszak: The glass community is so small.
#BLOWN AWAY SEASON 2 CONTESTANTS SERIES#
I haven't even mentioned the "glory holes" - which are not what you think they are, unless you already know loads about glass - and beyond introducing some industry terminology, the series tries to be a bit of a primer on the craft. Technically, the series first aired on Makeful, but on the mega-streamer, this refreshingly tight competition format (binge it in four hours!) is now reaching that sweet, sweet, global audience - and it features artists from Canada and the United States who fight for the title of "Best in Blow." Things like shooting fire bubbles out of a pipe.Įarlier this month, Netflix quietly dropped Blown Away, the world's first show about glassblowing.
#BLOWN AWAY SEASON 2 CONTESTANTS SKIN#
There are shows about body-painting ( Skin Wars), shepherds ( Flockstars), Australian Airbnb hosts ( Instant Hotel), mini golf ( Holey Moley) - an entire subgenre of programming exclusively dedicated to cake.Īnd yet, somehow, there are still things we've never seen before. “It’s a performance-based art more than other arts, and with performativity comes an audience.Somewhere along the line, our TV-devouring culture decided a reality series can be about pretty much anything. “Glass work is like a sport,” says Rosenberg, who came in third in season 1 and was a guest evaluator on season 2. Plus, there’s an athleticism-almost a choreography-to glassmaking that makes it hard to look away. The craft has built-in drama (fires blazing! glass twirling and crinkling! artists rushing to and from their own personal glory hole!), suspense (will the glass break on the way to the annealer?), tragedy (the glass broke on the way to the annealer!), and characters you care about. In retrospect, glass-art-as-must-see-TV is a no-brainer.
“It turned out that a lot of thought that, and a lot of us were wrong.” “On paper, glass reality TV didn’t sound like a good idea,” says Philadelphia-based glass artist Alex Rosenberg, a contestant on season 1. When season 1 of Netflix’s glass blowing competition show Blown Away became a surprise hit in 2019, even some of the contestants were, well, blown away. Photo by David Leyes, courtesy of marblemedia. American Craft Council American Craft Council Main navigation