Blown Away (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - Clash of the Robots - full transcript
Dream up a robot that a robot expert has never conceived of. Then cast it in glass. In 5 hours.
[Nick Uhas] We've built
North America's biggest hot shop
where ten exceptional glassblowers
push themselves to creative extremes.
If they can survive our fiery competition,
they'll win a life-changing prize package.
Now seven remain,
-battling the clock...
-[glass splinters]
in the sweltering heat
of our furnaces.
[thud]
I'm Nick Uhas and this is Blown Away.
Good morning, glassblowers.
Imagine this. It's 2050.
We all have access
to super-computer robots.
Today in the hot shop,
we want to see you create a robot
that fully embraces the concept
of daily life in the future.
Glassblowing is a centuries-old tradition
that dates from Roman times,
2000 years ago.
How do you want to see what we do
parlayed into the future?
What is your robot going to look like
and what will it do?
Before you get to work,
I want to introduce someone
who analyzes trends
and makes predictions.
Please welcome Jesse Hirsh.
[applause]
As a futurist, I spend a lot of time
thinking about robots.
What I'd really like to see
is something I've never conceived before.
I'd like to see you come up with robots
that are original enough
to maybe change the way we think
about our future with them.
We don't want your robot to kill us.
[laughter]
That would be bad.
[laughter]
[Nick] You've five hours
to design, create and present
an original piece
of blown glass art.
Think outside the box,
think into the future.
[Nick] You'll be evaluated
on technical skill,
how well you follow the creative brief
and how much creative bravery
you show in your artwork.
The future starts...
now.
[laughs]
[chuckles]
[laughs]
I have never made a glass robot before.
[Alex] I want to make something
that would enclose nanotechnology
that would clear air to breathe.
[Patrick] It's a little bit
of a steampunk-style gas mask.
In 2050,
men will be able to have babies...
with the M-BITO robot.
"Man-Bun in the Oven Robot".
I'm drawing blanks.
The other ideas came pretty quickly.
[Deborah] It's called the horror vacuum.
When an artist is given a blank page,
doubt about creativity sets in.
I'm thinking...
I'm going to design a robot
for the... for the home.
[Momo] I'm designing an anonymous face
with a bunch of ears
on the back of its head.
What I do in my day job is actually...
a lot of...
ah... it's data visualization
with data analysis.
Anticipating what is going to be
the next future trend.
A lot of it is tied to the cloud,
so that's my idea,
essentially to do a clear cloud.
This is going to be clear glass.
And inside it,
I'll have another piece of glass,
a different color.
Or maybe not. Maybe it'll be clear.
And the other piece I want to do
is a little bot,
to keep people company
because of loneliness.
[Leah] My current relationship status
is single.
Because online dating is hard.
There's going to be
different kinds of sensors
within the robotic tech
in the middle of these cups,
so that when you go to a singles party,
these different spheres will light up
according to how compatible you are
with somebody.
This actually plugs into the human body,
making like a cyborg.
[Alex] I'm thinking of a future
where air becomes commodified.
[Patrick] Little robot.
Jumping up and down
as it feeds us fresh air to breathe.
It distracts us from reality.
[clock ticking]
[clattering]
Alright. Getting hot in here already.
We've five hours to make this.
I'm making multiple pieces.
[Alex] Here we go!
Out of my way!
[Momo] I need a transparent yellow
and a transparent purple.
[Alex] Special black.
[Annette] Winning would give me
an opportunity to make more work
in my free time,
and make the work that I want to make.
[Deborah] Let's put three pieces
of this R44 in the box.
[Janusz]
Things are starting to come together
in my head, so that's good, because...
I had nothing.
[laughs]
It's time to gather.
It's been elusive for me
to get a challenge win.
I thought I had it with the taco holder.
I was in love with that one.
[Leah] I feel like I'm the underdog
in this competition.
It's a really good group.
A bunch of heavy hitters,
people who have been blowing glass
for 30 years.
I just nicked the surface.
[Janusz] I have an advantage.
I've been making glass for a long time.
If I have an idea,
I'm pretty confident I can do it.
[Momo] The fact that I'm able
to even get this far in this competition,
considering my lack of experience.
Even though it's hard,
I'm really enjoying creating my own path.
[Patrick] It was a tough start,
but now I feel much better
about the competition.
My robot concept
is going to be cool-looking.
First up, make a bubble.
[laughs]
Oh, that is literally the first step,
then I'll to try to inflate it.
I'm making a very simple cloud form,
I want to make sure
that bubble comes out nice and even.
I don't want there to be a thick point
anywhere.
[Alex] I want to start with
the more challenging thing on the list.
I'm going to make
the big vessel part first,
then start making the little components.
[Momo] My approach is always starting
with the small components
that I attach later.
Could get a lot of detail
working off one big bubble,
but I just like the collage effect
of having multiple parts.
[Janusz] I'm making a big cylinder.
I'm going to try and make it
so I can fill it with water.
[Leah] Today I'd like to show a bit more
of my technical side.
I've used what's called an optic twist.
I basically took a hot bubble
and stuck it into a cold mold,
then blow it up
and it keeps the twists in the glass.
I'm gonng to create Venetian glassware.
Venetian glassware's really known
for things that are...
super-light and all assembled in parts.
I'll try not to overheat it.
If you heat it too much,
you'll heat out all the ridges.
I have to pay attention...
screw this up pretty quickly.
Venetian glass is considered
the height of glassblowing
because it's so complex.
It requires such a high skill level.
[Annette] Keep going.
[Nick] It's early on,
but is there anything out on the floor
that maybe looks like
a robot,
a robot flying saucer?
I'm looking at Patrick here.
It looks like
he's making something figurative.
He's using a long, thin stringer
of colored glass,
and with that torch,
just melting that glass onto the surface.
And would the color that goes on
be the same that you get in the end,
or do you anticipate a transformation?
[Katherine] Transformation.
Even black is orange when it's hot.
[Leah] Color's so hard.
It can come out of the annealer
and you're like,
"It looks like unicorn vomit,
I shouldn't have used that color."
This is a pretty challenging piece
for many different reasons.
[blowing]
There'll be
some pretty delicate connection points
with a lot of weight on them.
It's also a sculptural piece,
so it's tricky because of that.
It's like it was made to be there!
Next step is to break it free
and clean up the other side,
So I'm adding water to the jack line.
It tells the glass
where I want it to break.
The next step is to tap the pipe.
That tap sends a shock through the pipe,
breaks the glass at the weakest point.
[tap]
[smash]
[Annette] Ooh! No!
The ideal is to not drop glass
on the ground, but...
it happens.
[laughs]
[spraying sound]
There's lots of steps
where it can go horribly wrong.
Something will break, something will melt,
something will drop off.
[Katherine]
Annette, sorry to see that happen.
It was not ideal.
-[Katherine] What are you making?
-A cloud.
The cloud is a reference to "The Cloud?"
-Yes.
-The idea of a cloud is very abstract.
We always picture
this cartoony rendition of a cloud.
It'll always be that rendition,
because it's theoretical,
and so people need that tangible symbol.
That's why I'm making it clear,
because it is something
you can't see.
-I'm doing other pieces tool.
-Good luck.
-Thank you.
-You look pretty close.
Yes. I'll get there. It's coming back.
I haven't blown glass in four years.
Oh my Lord. Wow!
The appeal in returning to glassblowing
is the opportunity to do something
I absolutely love.
Blow light, super-light.
[Katherine] Today's challenge
is picturing that it's 2050
and you're creating a prototype
for a super-bot...
[Janusz] Ready?
[Katherine] that will do something
in everyday life in the future.
[Deborah]
The most critical moment of any piece
is setting up the proportions
in the very beginning.
You must get the skeleton right.
It's perfect
and then the details fall into place.
-Freaking amazing.
-[scissors clatter]
How's it going, Janusz?
Had a big oversight...
[blows]
-so that clear cylinder I made...
-Aha?
I thought I'd be clever
and not punty it.
I'd just crack it off.
I didn't realize if I crack it,
it won't have a base.
I need a base.
In retrospect, I should have made
a cylinder with a bottom on it.
The cylinder will be filled with water
and I'm making these test tubes
and a rack for them.
Then I also wanna make crystal spheres.
Katherine looked like she was surprised
I was taking on so much.
I wanna make little stands for those too.
[laughs]
-I wish you good luck with all of that.
-Thank you.
Hopefully you'll get it all done.
It sounds ambitious.
-Plenty of time.
-Okay.
I think she kind of liked the idea,
but Katherine can be hard
to read in those situations.
[Momo] Mine'll look like the opposite
of everyone else's.
No muddy colors and organic shapes.
-[Katherine] How are you doing, Momo?
-I'm not making a robot.
I'm making a comment
on how technology will affect
our day-to-day more,
like visual references in real time
or real translations
of the verbal language.
How is this going to manifest itself
in glass?
I'll make an anonymous face shape.
Okay.
To then attach this to,
and then a clear band in front of the face
like a VR set.
There's a lot going on in there,
a lot of technical challenges.
Oh yes, definitely.
Make sure you leave yourself enough time
to make that work.
-We'll see.
-Alright.
[Nick] Another cloud!
Okay, open.
What's going in my eyes?
I'll just go right-eye-only.
[gasps with the heat]
How are you doing, Deborah?
You always get me at the worst moment.
My eyes are burning.
It's like...
What are you working on?
I'm working on something
I call the M-BITO.
"Man-Bun in the Oven Robot".
Ooh!
This is for 2050,
when men can carry a baby full-time,
total liberation of the sexes.
So you strap it on or something?
Under your clothes?
You can take it off to change fluids
or add fluids, if necessary.
I love the fact that you're bringing man
into reproduction.
This is one of the big issues
for humanity.
I'll leave you to it.
-Okay, thank you.
-Good luck.
[Alex] I'm making something
I've never made before
on a larger scale.
Adding color and with adding scale,
there's more to lose
if it doesn't work out.
[Patrick] To make that gas mask,
I'm going to blow the shape
and make some holes for the eyes.
[Annette] That is perfect.
Exactly what I want.
It's not even anywhere near centered.
This is why we'll make a few options.
[Leah] Precise,
Venetian-style goblet techniques
can look kind of sloppy
if you're not really good at it.
I don't make cups often,
so this is a stretch,
but my idea is really good.
What is the future of glass?
The easy prediction
is the scarcity of sand,
due to climate change,
but also due to construction.
It's projected to be in great scarcity,
which kind of suggests
that glass could become really valuable,
and that a glassblower almost becomes
a new kind of goldsmith,
where glass, being so scarce,
you can almost imagine it being
like a currency.
I like the sound of that.
[Deborah] Gotta get something in the box.
We can't play with fire here.
Everything is perfect about this.
I could take more time,
but why risk it?
So I put it away into the annealer.
I played it safe, honestly.
If I make this size,
It should fit inside the lip.
[Annette] Aside from tool marks,
that one's more on center.
-Yeah!
-[apprentice] Perfect!
[water splashes]
[hissing]
[Patrick] I'm dipping the hot mask
in the water
to get some cracks
and texture effects on it.
and get rid of part of it,
As long as it doesn't blow up!
If it goes wrong,
I could lose the whole piece
and I don't have time to do it again.
-Okay.
-Yes.
Like that?
-Like that?
-Yes.
[hissing]
[tapping]
It worked out
as good as I was expecting,
but I decided not to go again
because once was enough.
[Annette] Oh, that is tenuous.
[Momo] We've one hour left!
I'll clean this up,
clean up a couple of things,
then put it away.
Ooh.
-[smash]
-Oh my God!
Not good.
Not good.
My little robot decapitated itself.
We'll start over.
We're gonna make the quickest cloud
ever seen.
Then I'll make the quickest robot.
It'll be awesome.
The biggest thing is time.
That's my biggest worry.
[Patrick] I'm going to make another bubble
of clear glass
and we're going to blow it into that one.
Blowing one bubble into another one
is really challenging.
It's a bit of juggling,
getting the right size
and keeping those two parts hot
at the same time.
-[tap]
-I'm almost ready.
Grab it, set over there. I'll be coming.
Timing is pretty much everything.
Tip it a bit!
-Yes!
-[glass squeaks]
I had to press it in fairly hard
because it was a little too cold.
But at the end, it worked out perfectly.
[Janusz] Super-cool.
Is that a pig with goggles on?
You get nervous,
start doubting your own idea.
Some people are doing complex things
and I'm just making
this minimalistic thing.
And that's about where it needs to be.
Alright.
-[tinkle]
-Oh, what happened?
We'll do that again.
-[Patrick] Yes.
-[tapping]
I finished a little early. We're done!
There's some time left, but I didn't want
to risk flashing the piece
for another half hour
just to put on some extra details.
[Katherine] We have 30 minutes left,
glassblowers!
Start getting those pieces
in the annealer!
I'll do his whole body.
Go ahead and start the white for the eyes.
Don't have much time.
[Deborah] Can you push that down?
What backpack would look like that?
That's stupid.
I'm gonna make another one, so more.
-Something can always go wrong.
-We're good to go!
[splintering glass]
[punty bangs]
As it crumbled in my hand I was like,
"I kind of saw that coming."
I'm able to salvage a couple of the ears.
I'll just use what I have and try to get
the composition that I was going for.
Blow lightly.
My next move is to just make
the clear bands.
-Alright.
-[guy] Fifteen minutes left!
[ting]
[Deborah] Good job.
-[clattering]
-Hands like this and this, sandwich it.
I won't know if I'm happy with the piece
until it comes out of the annealer,
but overall, yes.
I'll glue it on.
[Annette]
The challenge is about the future.
Theoretically it's 2050
and our challenge is to create
a super bot.
[Alex] I hope that the evaluators
are looking for something more
than a model of a toy robot.
[Patrick] I really hope
that they will see the whole story
behind the sculpture
and not just the goofy little robot.
[Momo]
As this challenge was about technology,
I just kind of went for it.
[Leah]
I'm hoping these cups will use technology
to bring people together.
[Deborah] I like my concept.
It's the first piece where I think
it's striking the right balance
between issues, humor and form.
[Janusz] I struggled to find a concept,
but it came eventually,
and I'm happy with it, I think.
[Annette] I never know
how the evaluators will react.
I hope they see the vision that I had
and that that comes across.
[Nick] It's Deborah's.
This is to enable men
to carry a gestating baby.
[Jesse] It's very powerful
in terms of the change it would represent.
She's done a really great job
in the fabrication.
These straps, even the umbilical cord.
It's done really well.
Will we see something like this
in the future?
Absolutely.
[Nick] This is Alex's piece.
It certainly evokes
our fear of the future.
Our fear of climate change.
But my first thought when I look at this
is this is a bong.
[laughs]
[Jesse]
Can we distinguish it a little more
from the objects we already recognize
in our present?
[Nick] This is Patrick's.
[Katherine] I'm just realizing
that he made the exterior of the mask,
and then blew another bubble inside it
to have the clear glass blow out
through the eye holes,
which is challenging.
He's done an amazing job.
[Nick] Momo's.
[Jesse]
It's obviously a heads-up display,
in which this is the new screen.
[Nick] Augmented reality.
Is that the future?
This is a very safe bet.
The question is whether it's gonna be
a display like this
or whether something will integrate
with our biology.
The etching on it is nice,
but the edge up here is very rough still.
The fabrication
is not exceptionally well done.
[Nick] This is Annette's.
The brief was creating something
we'll see in the future.
Isn't this sort of representative of now?
[Jesse] Perhaps not courageous enough.
Didn't really think radically,
in terms of what was possible.
Is this the right artist statement
for this?
Yeah, Janusz.
[Katherine] I'm struggling to reconcile
what he's written with what's here,
but I still love what's here.
[Nick] This is Leah's.
Compatibility cups.
It's interactive glassware
that fosters real human interaction.
[Katherine] The concept is strong.
The execution is a little rudimentary.
[Nick] The cups of the future?
These could be the cups of next week.
-Yes.
-[all laugh]
[Momo] I'm kind of nervous, so we'll see.
[Janusz]
Any one of us could go on this challenge.
One of us will go on this challenge.
And the same with the next one.
[Nick] Welcome back.
I hope you had a chance to cool off.
Deborah.
Can you please tell us
about your robot?
[Deborah] This is an exo-womb.
It's going to allow a man to carry a baby
to full term,
obliterating the gender divide
when it comes to reproducing.
I think we're all impressed
with how convincing it was as an object.
You did a great job
of fabricating the whole thing.
I'm learning a lot through this process.
I appreciate the feedback.
Patrick, if you could tell us
more about your work.
My robot is actually having
a dual function.
One is life support,
and at the same time,
he's entertaining us.
[Jesse] I like how you teased out
the way entertainment
might be our downfall.
The more we focus on the robot,
the more we'll forget about breathing.
[Katherine] Impressed with the risks
that you took in the fabrication.
It was fun.
[Katherine laughs]
-[Nick] Leah.
-Alright. In 2050,
compatibility is programmed into a cup.
When you're at a party,
your cup will light up
as you approach different people
and tell you how compatible you are.
You could walk up to somebody
and be like, "Not compatible."
[laughs]
I really like the concept
of interactive glassware,
and the idea we can create
these hybrid systems
that make the most of digital
but get us back to being human.
[Katherine] Venetian-style goblet-making,
that's a high bar.
As you are responding to the challenges,
make sure that your skill-set matches
what you envision.
[Nick] We've a lot to think about.
Give us a few moments
and we'll talk things over.
[Janusz] The idea will win.
Whoever interprets the challenge the best
is the worthy winner.
[Nick] One of you created
an exceptional piece of glass artwork.
This glassblower delivered
a robot that was technically exquisite.
Overall they took a lot of risk
as well as making
a really powerful political statement.
Today's "Best in Blow" is...
I certainly feel I can win.
Deborah.
[applause]
I put my fist over my heart
and was thankful,
because it's a heartfelt thing.
Finally I nailed it.
I wanted to take that in
for the brief moment I could enjoy it,
because suddenly,
we're going to find out the bad news.
Unfortunately, one of you created
a piece of glass artwork
that didn't look far enough
into the future.
The person leaving
the hot shop today is...
Annette.
Alright. Group hug.
[laughs]
Of course I'm disappointed to leave.
It's been fun!
Everybody wants to make it to the end.
At the same time, everyone that's here
deserves to win.
[laughs]
Please don't use that.
[laughs]
Every challenge you make,
we're getting closer to the prize,
but there is no second prize.
North America's biggest hot shop
where ten exceptional glassblowers
push themselves to creative extremes.
If they can survive our fiery competition,
they'll win a life-changing prize package.
Now seven remain,
-battling the clock...
-[glass splinters]
in the sweltering heat
of our furnaces.
[thud]
I'm Nick Uhas and this is Blown Away.
Good morning, glassblowers.
Imagine this. It's 2050.
We all have access
to super-computer robots.
Today in the hot shop,
we want to see you create a robot
that fully embraces the concept
of daily life in the future.
Glassblowing is a centuries-old tradition
that dates from Roman times,
2000 years ago.
How do you want to see what we do
parlayed into the future?
What is your robot going to look like
and what will it do?
Before you get to work,
I want to introduce someone
who analyzes trends
and makes predictions.
Please welcome Jesse Hirsh.
[applause]
As a futurist, I spend a lot of time
thinking about robots.
What I'd really like to see
is something I've never conceived before.
I'd like to see you come up with robots
that are original enough
to maybe change the way we think
about our future with them.
We don't want your robot to kill us.
[laughter]
That would be bad.
[laughter]
[Nick] You've five hours
to design, create and present
an original piece
of blown glass art.
Think outside the box,
think into the future.
[Nick] You'll be evaluated
on technical skill,
how well you follow the creative brief
and how much creative bravery
you show in your artwork.
The future starts...
now.
[laughs]
[chuckles]
[laughs]
I have never made a glass robot before.
[Alex] I want to make something
that would enclose nanotechnology
that would clear air to breathe.
[Patrick] It's a little bit
of a steampunk-style gas mask.
In 2050,
men will be able to have babies...
with the M-BITO robot.
"Man-Bun in the Oven Robot".
I'm drawing blanks.
The other ideas came pretty quickly.
[Deborah] It's called the horror vacuum.
When an artist is given a blank page,
doubt about creativity sets in.
I'm thinking...
I'm going to design a robot
for the... for the home.
[Momo] I'm designing an anonymous face
with a bunch of ears
on the back of its head.
What I do in my day job is actually...
a lot of...
ah... it's data visualization
with data analysis.
Anticipating what is going to be
the next future trend.
A lot of it is tied to the cloud,
so that's my idea,
essentially to do a clear cloud.
This is going to be clear glass.
And inside it,
I'll have another piece of glass,
a different color.
Or maybe not. Maybe it'll be clear.
And the other piece I want to do
is a little bot,
to keep people company
because of loneliness.
[Leah] My current relationship status
is single.
Because online dating is hard.
There's going to be
different kinds of sensors
within the robotic tech
in the middle of these cups,
so that when you go to a singles party,
these different spheres will light up
according to how compatible you are
with somebody.
This actually plugs into the human body,
making like a cyborg.
[Alex] I'm thinking of a future
where air becomes commodified.
[Patrick] Little robot.
Jumping up and down
as it feeds us fresh air to breathe.
It distracts us from reality.
[clock ticking]
[clattering]
Alright. Getting hot in here already.
We've five hours to make this.
I'm making multiple pieces.
[Alex] Here we go!
Out of my way!
[Momo] I need a transparent yellow
and a transparent purple.
[Alex] Special black.
[Annette] Winning would give me
an opportunity to make more work
in my free time,
and make the work that I want to make.
[Deborah] Let's put three pieces
of this R44 in the box.
[Janusz]
Things are starting to come together
in my head, so that's good, because...
I had nothing.
[laughs]
It's time to gather.
It's been elusive for me
to get a challenge win.
I thought I had it with the taco holder.
I was in love with that one.
[Leah] I feel like I'm the underdog
in this competition.
It's a really good group.
A bunch of heavy hitters,
people who have been blowing glass
for 30 years.
I just nicked the surface.
[Janusz] I have an advantage.
I've been making glass for a long time.
If I have an idea,
I'm pretty confident I can do it.
[Momo] The fact that I'm able
to even get this far in this competition,
considering my lack of experience.
Even though it's hard,
I'm really enjoying creating my own path.
[Patrick] It was a tough start,
but now I feel much better
about the competition.
My robot concept
is going to be cool-looking.
First up, make a bubble.
[laughs]
Oh, that is literally the first step,
then I'll to try to inflate it.
I'm making a very simple cloud form,
I want to make sure
that bubble comes out nice and even.
I don't want there to be a thick point
anywhere.
[Alex] I want to start with
the more challenging thing on the list.
I'm going to make
the big vessel part first,
then start making the little components.
[Momo] My approach is always starting
with the small components
that I attach later.
Could get a lot of detail
working off one big bubble,
but I just like the collage effect
of having multiple parts.
[Janusz] I'm making a big cylinder.
I'm going to try and make it
so I can fill it with water.
[Leah] Today I'd like to show a bit more
of my technical side.
I've used what's called an optic twist.
I basically took a hot bubble
and stuck it into a cold mold,
then blow it up
and it keeps the twists in the glass.
I'm gonng to create Venetian glassware.
Venetian glassware's really known
for things that are...
super-light and all assembled in parts.
I'll try not to overheat it.
If you heat it too much,
you'll heat out all the ridges.
I have to pay attention...
screw this up pretty quickly.
Venetian glass is considered
the height of glassblowing
because it's so complex.
It requires such a high skill level.
[Annette] Keep going.
[Nick] It's early on,
but is there anything out on the floor
that maybe looks like
a robot,
a robot flying saucer?
I'm looking at Patrick here.
It looks like
he's making something figurative.
He's using a long, thin stringer
of colored glass,
and with that torch,
just melting that glass onto the surface.
And would the color that goes on
be the same that you get in the end,
or do you anticipate a transformation?
[Katherine] Transformation.
Even black is orange when it's hot.
[Leah] Color's so hard.
It can come out of the annealer
and you're like,
"It looks like unicorn vomit,
I shouldn't have used that color."
This is a pretty challenging piece
for many different reasons.
[blowing]
There'll be
some pretty delicate connection points
with a lot of weight on them.
It's also a sculptural piece,
so it's tricky because of that.
It's like it was made to be there!
Next step is to break it free
and clean up the other side,
So I'm adding water to the jack line.
It tells the glass
where I want it to break.
The next step is to tap the pipe.
That tap sends a shock through the pipe,
breaks the glass at the weakest point.
[tap]
[smash]
[Annette] Ooh! No!
The ideal is to not drop glass
on the ground, but...
it happens.
[laughs]
[spraying sound]
There's lots of steps
where it can go horribly wrong.
Something will break, something will melt,
something will drop off.
[Katherine]
Annette, sorry to see that happen.
It was not ideal.
-[Katherine] What are you making?
-A cloud.
The cloud is a reference to "The Cloud?"
-Yes.
-The idea of a cloud is very abstract.
We always picture
this cartoony rendition of a cloud.
It'll always be that rendition,
because it's theoretical,
and so people need that tangible symbol.
That's why I'm making it clear,
because it is something
you can't see.
-I'm doing other pieces tool.
-Good luck.
-Thank you.
-You look pretty close.
Yes. I'll get there. It's coming back.
I haven't blown glass in four years.
Oh my Lord. Wow!
The appeal in returning to glassblowing
is the opportunity to do something
I absolutely love.
Blow light, super-light.
[Katherine] Today's challenge
is picturing that it's 2050
and you're creating a prototype
for a super-bot...
[Janusz] Ready?
[Katherine] that will do something
in everyday life in the future.
[Deborah]
The most critical moment of any piece
is setting up the proportions
in the very beginning.
You must get the skeleton right.
It's perfect
and then the details fall into place.
-Freaking amazing.
-[scissors clatter]
How's it going, Janusz?
Had a big oversight...
[blows]
-so that clear cylinder I made...
-Aha?
I thought I'd be clever
and not punty it.
I'd just crack it off.
I didn't realize if I crack it,
it won't have a base.
I need a base.
In retrospect, I should have made
a cylinder with a bottom on it.
The cylinder will be filled with water
and I'm making these test tubes
and a rack for them.
Then I also wanna make crystal spheres.
Katherine looked like she was surprised
I was taking on so much.
I wanna make little stands for those too.
[laughs]
-I wish you good luck with all of that.
-Thank you.
Hopefully you'll get it all done.
It sounds ambitious.
-Plenty of time.
-Okay.
I think she kind of liked the idea,
but Katherine can be hard
to read in those situations.
[Momo] Mine'll look like the opposite
of everyone else's.
No muddy colors and organic shapes.
-[Katherine] How are you doing, Momo?
-I'm not making a robot.
I'm making a comment
on how technology will affect
our day-to-day more,
like visual references in real time
or real translations
of the verbal language.
How is this going to manifest itself
in glass?
I'll make an anonymous face shape.
Okay.
To then attach this to,
and then a clear band in front of the face
like a VR set.
There's a lot going on in there,
a lot of technical challenges.
Oh yes, definitely.
Make sure you leave yourself enough time
to make that work.
-We'll see.
-Alright.
[Nick] Another cloud!
Okay, open.
What's going in my eyes?
I'll just go right-eye-only.
[gasps with the heat]
How are you doing, Deborah?
You always get me at the worst moment.
My eyes are burning.
It's like...
What are you working on?
I'm working on something
I call the M-BITO.
"Man-Bun in the Oven Robot".
Ooh!
This is for 2050,
when men can carry a baby full-time,
total liberation of the sexes.
So you strap it on or something?
Under your clothes?
You can take it off to change fluids
or add fluids, if necessary.
I love the fact that you're bringing man
into reproduction.
This is one of the big issues
for humanity.
I'll leave you to it.
-Okay, thank you.
-Good luck.
[Alex] I'm making something
I've never made before
on a larger scale.
Adding color and with adding scale,
there's more to lose
if it doesn't work out.
[Patrick] To make that gas mask,
I'm going to blow the shape
and make some holes for the eyes.
[Annette] That is perfect.
Exactly what I want.
It's not even anywhere near centered.
This is why we'll make a few options.
[Leah] Precise,
Venetian-style goblet techniques
can look kind of sloppy
if you're not really good at it.
I don't make cups often,
so this is a stretch,
but my idea is really good.
What is the future of glass?
The easy prediction
is the scarcity of sand,
due to climate change,
but also due to construction.
It's projected to be in great scarcity,
which kind of suggests
that glass could become really valuable,
and that a glassblower almost becomes
a new kind of goldsmith,
where glass, being so scarce,
you can almost imagine it being
like a currency.
I like the sound of that.
[Deborah] Gotta get something in the box.
We can't play with fire here.
Everything is perfect about this.
I could take more time,
but why risk it?
So I put it away into the annealer.
I played it safe, honestly.
If I make this size,
It should fit inside the lip.
[Annette] Aside from tool marks,
that one's more on center.
-Yeah!
-[apprentice] Perfect!
[water splashes]
[hissing]
[Patrick] I'm dipping the hot mask
in the water
to get some cracks
and texture effects on it.
and get rid of part of it,
As long as it doesn't blow up!
If it goes wrong,
I could lose the whole piece
and I don't have time to do it again.
-Okay.
-Yes.
Like that?
-Like that?
-Yes.
[hissing]
[tapping]
It worked out
as good as I was expecting,
but I decided not to go again
because once was enough.
[Annette] Oh, that is tenuous.
[Momo] We've one hour left!
I'll clean this up,
clean up a couple of things,
then put it away.
Ooh.
-[smash]
-Oh my God!
Not good.
Not good.
My little robot decapitated itself.
We'll start over.
We're gonna make the quickest cloud
ever seen.
Then I'll make the quickest robot.
It'll be awesome.
The biggest thing is time.
That's my biggest worry.
[Patrick] I'm going to make another bubble
of clear glass
and we're going to blow it into that one.
Blowing one bubble into another one
is really challenging.
It's a bit of juggling,
getting the right size
and keeping those two parts hot
at the same time.
-[tap]
-I'm almost ready.
Grab it, set over there. I'll be coming.
Timing is pretty much everything.
Tip it a bit!
-Yes!
-[glass squeaks]
I had to press it in fairly hard
because it was a little too cold.
But at the end, it worked out perfectly.
[Janusz] Super-cool.
Is that a pig with goggles on?
You get nervous,
start doubting your own idea.
Some people are doing complex things
and I'm just making
this minimalistic thing.
And that's about where it needs to be.
Alright.
-[tinkle]
-Oh, what happened?
We'll do that again.
-[Patrick] Yes.
-[tapping]
I finished a little early. We're done!
There's some time left, but I didn't want
to risk flashing the piece
for another half hour
just to put on some extra details.
[Katherine] We have 30 minutes left,
glassblowers!
Start getting those pieces
in the annealer!
I'll do his whole body.
Go ahead and start the white for the eyes.
Don't have much time.
[Deborah] Can you push that down?
What backpack would look like that?
That's stupid.
I'm gonna make another one, so more.
-Something can always go wrong.
-We're good to go!
[splintering glass]
[punty bangs]
As it crumbled in my hand I was like,
"I kind of saw that coming."
I'm able to salvage a couple of the ears.
I'll just use what I have and try to get
the composition that I was going for.
Blow lightly.
My next move is to just make
the clear bands.
-Alright.
-[guy] Fifteen minutes left!
[ting]
[Deborah] Good job.
-[clattering]
-Hands like this and this, sandwich it.
I won't know if I'm happy with the piece
until it comes out of the annealer,
but overall, yes.
I'll glue it on.
[Annette]
The challenge is about the future.
Theoretically it's 2050
and our challenge is to create
a super bot.
[Alex] I hope that the evaluators
are looking for something more
than a model of a toy robot.
[Patrick] I really hope
that they will see the whole story
behind the sculpture
and not just the goofy little robot.
[Momo]
As this challenge was about technology,
I just kind of went for it.
[Leah]
I'm hoping these cups will use technology
to bring people together.
[Deborah] I like my concept.
It's the first piece where I think
it's striking the right balance
between issues, humor and form.
[Janusz] I struggled to find a concept,
but it came eventually,
and I'm happy with it, I think.
[Annette] I never know
how the evaluators will react.
I hope they see the vision that I had
and that that comes across.
[Nick] It's Deborah's.
This is to enable men
to carry a gestating baby.
[Jesse] It's very powerful
in terms of the change it would represent.
She's done a really great job
in the fabrication.
These straps, even the umbilical cord.
It's done really well.
Will we see something like this
in the future?
Absolutely.
[Nick] This is Alex's piece.
It certainly evokes
our fear of the future.
Our fear of climate change.
But my first thought when I look at this
is this is a bong.
[laughs]
[Jesse]
Can we distinguish it a little more
from the objects we already recognize
in our present?
[Nick] This is Patrick's.
[Katherine] I'm just realizing
that he made the exterior of the mask,
and then blew another bubble inside it
to have the clear glass blow out
through the eye holes,
which is challenging.
He's done an amazing job.
[Nick] Momo's.
[Jesse]
It's obviously a heads-up display,
in which this is the new screen.
[Nick] Augmented reality.
Is that the future?
This is a very safe bet.
The question is whether it's gonna be
a display like this
or whether something will integrate
with our biology.
The etching on it is nice,
but the edge up here is very rough still.
The fabrication
is not exceptionally well done.
[Nick] This is Annette's.
The brief was creating something
we'll see in the future.
Isn't this sort of representative of now?
[Jesse] Perhaps not courageous enough.
Didn't really think radically,
in terms of what was possible.
Is this the right artist statement
for this?
Yeah, Janusz.
[Katherine] I'm struggling to reconcile
what he's written with what's here,
but I still love what's here.
[Nick] This is Leah's.
Compatibility cups.
It's interactive glassware
that fosters real human interaction.
[Katherine] The concept is strong.
The execution is a little rudimentary.
[Nick] The cups of the future?
These could be the cups of next week.
-Yes.
-[all laugh]
[Momo] I'm kind of nervous, so we'll see.
[Janusz]
Any one of us could go on this challenge.
One of us will go on this challenge.
And the same with the next one.
[Nick] Welcome back.
I hope you had a chance to cool off.
Deborah.
Can you please tell us
about your robot?
[Deborah] This is an exo-womb.
It's going to allow a man to carry a baby
to full term,
obliterating the gender divide
when it comes to reproducing.
I think we're all impressed
with how convincing it was as an object.
You did a great job
of fabricating the whole thing.
I'm learning a lot through this process.
I appreciate the feedback.
Patrick, if you could tell us
more about your work.
My robot is actually having
a dual function.
One is life support,
and at the same time,
he's entertaining us.
[Jesse] I like how you teased out
the way entertainment
might be our downfall.
The more we focus on the robot,
the more we'll forget about breathing.
[Katherine] Impressed with the risks
that you took in the fabrication.
It was fun.
[Katherine laughs]
-[Nick] Leah.
-Alright. In 2050,
compatibility is programmed into a cup.
When you're at a party,
your cup will light up
as you approach different people
and tell you how compatible you are.
You could walk up to somebody
and be like, "Not compatible."
[laughs]
I really like the concept
of interactive glassware,
and the idea we can create
these hybrid systems
that make the most of digital
but get us back to being human.
[Katherine] Venetian-style goblet-making,
that's a high bar.
As you are responding to the challenges,
make sure that your skill-set matches
what you envision.
[Nick] We've a lot to think about.
Give us a few moments
and we'll talk things over.
[Janusz] The idea will win.
Whoever interprets the challenge the best
is the worthy winner.
[Nick] One of you created
an exceptional piece of glass artwork.
This glassblower delivered
a robot that was technically exquisite.
Overall they took a lot of risk
as well as making
a really powerful political statement.
Today's "Best in Blow" is...
I certainly feel I can win.
Deborah.
[applause]
I put my fist over my heart
and was thankful,
because it's a heartfelt thing.
Finally I nailed it.
I wanted to take that in
for the brief moment I could enjoy it,
because suddenly,
we're going to find out the bad news.
Unfortunately, one of you created
a piece of glass artwork
that didn't look far enough
into the future.
The person leaving
the hot shop today is...
Annette.
Alright. Group hug.
[laughs]
Of course I'm disappointed to leave.
It's been fun!
Everybody wants to make it to the end.
At the same time, everyone that's here
deserves to win.
[laughs]
Please don't use that.
[laughs]
Every challenge you make,
we're getting closer to the prize,
but there is no second prize.