One of the coolest shows on Netflix right now has got to be Blown Away! If you’ve ever seen any type of food competition, it’s like that except you use glass instead. In other words, it’s a competition of style, creativity, and the ability to work in a quick time frame. I never knew this until I watched the show, but when glass has a certain form, it’s because someone created that shape by blowing through a blowpipe with the glass on the other side in a semi-liquid state.
In this show, they start with 10 glassblowers and gradually exempt the contestants that didn’t “blow” the judges away with their project. The whole season consists of ten episodes. Each round gets harder and has a more different objective than the prior round. My favorite is episode 3 “Lighten Up” where the contestants have to create lamps or light fixtures, and it’s so amazing how the lights affect the glass in such a way that enhances its beauty. Look out for “My Night Light” by Momoko Schafer in episode 3. That’s one of my favorites out of the whole show! I would tell you my favorite overall contestant and their work, but I don’t want to give any spoilers!
The winner overall receives $60,000 and a residency at California State University as an artist. The glassblowers that don’t make the cut get the experience and get to show off a little bit of their work on tv. Now they all have the advantage of getting their name out there for future job opportunities. There’s so much that goes into glass blowing such as having the right temperature, trying to keep it from breaking at certain temperatures, and trying to make a sculpture out of it. They have what’s called a “glory hole” for heating the glass and adding other pieces of glass together. Then when they want it to cool they have to take it to the “annealer” which is a small refrigerator-type object that lowers the temperature of the glass at a slow pace so that the glass doesn’t shatter due to the rapid change in the air. I don’t think I would be able to focus and keep myself from getting upset at all the problems that arise throughout the process.
I’m very much an advocate for learning about new things and watching stuff I wouldn’t normally be interested in such as Cobra Kai or How It’s Made, and I enjoyed these shows after giving them a chance. If you have free time and need a new show to watch, I highly recommend this one!