While most of those taking part in season two are based in the US and Canada, one is from Australia and the other is Britain’s Elliot Walker, who is famous for his highly detailed and technically difficult cut fruit still life series, among a standout body of work.Īsked about why he had applied to take part, Elliot says, “To be perfectly honest, my application to Blown Away Season 2 came very late in the day. The judges (left to right) Katherine Gray, Alexander Rosenberg (guest judge) and Nick Uhas, discuss the blown glass sculptures in Episode 1. Alongside them, different guest judges take part in each episode.
The series is presented by American tv host Nick Uhas, with chief judge Katherine Gray, a Canadian glass artist and professor of art at California State University, San Bernardino. The series is filmed in Canada and offers the winner a prize package worth $60,000, including a residency at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York, and the title ‘Best in Glass’. Ten glassblowers have been selected to take part, each of whom must face a variety of challenges and the verdicts of the judges, as they are eliminated from the contest one by one, over the course of the show. On 22 January 2021, the second season of the international glassblowing competition ‘Blown Away’ launches on Netflix. The exhibition also features the work of Bethany Wood, who has worked with Mr Walker for five years, and work by artist Laura Hart.Glassblowing | 05-01-2021 Elliot Walker in Netflix glassblowing show Mr Layton was impressed with his former student’s win, saying: “For a British guy to go over to America and win that show, it’s like Bake Off.” He said: “Studios like mine have really become the future of the glass industry because we’re more flexible, we’re more interested in glass standing alone as a decorative art medium and we’re less interested in its function.” Mr Layton, who celebrates 45 years of success with London Glass-blowing, has a star-studded clientele which includes Sir Elton John and the Duchess of Kent. He established the London Glass-blowing Studio in 1976. Mr Layton, 85, is the oldest glassblowing artist, having started his career back in 1965. He trained there with the founder, Peter Layton (pictured above). You’re encouraged to spin it.”Īs part of the exhibition, Mr Walker created a new piece in an online demonstration last week at the studio, where he used to work for eight years. “I think as a kid, I’d always been into fighting with and twirling sticks like batons and something about that that just fell into place when I got the iron in my hands. He said: “It’s amazing how quickly you get the taste for it, even if you’re resisting it. Mr Walker was not a fan of glassblowing when he was first introduced to it, having primarily focused on sculptures, but it wasn’t long before he was hooked. It’s something that I really wanted to see actualized because I’d been thinking about it for such a long time and to be honest, it was very much inspired by the show and talking to the other artists on the show.” The 33-year-old said: “For me, the final piece was the best part of the process.
Winner of Netflix’s Blown Away 2, Elliot Walker is showcasing new work as well as a recreated version of his winning piece from the show at the London Glassblowing Studio until October 30. The winner of a glass-blowing TV show is exhibiting his work at a Bermondsey studio until the end of this month, writes Sharin Hussain.