Blown Away (2019–…): Season 2, Episode 2 - Think Inside the Box - full transcript

[Nick Uhas] We've built
North America's biggest hot shop,

where ten exceptional glassblowers...

[blowing]

...push themselves to creative extremes.

Because if they can survive
our fiery competition...

[gasps]

...they'll win
a life-changing prize package.

That's, like, the ultimate dream.

[Nick] Now, nine remain.

-[gasps]
-[grunts]

Battling the clock
and the sweltering heat of our furnaces.



I'm Nick Uhas, and you're about to be...

Blown Away.

Good morning, glassblowers,
and welcome back to the hot shop.

This feels like home.
I like it here. [chuckles]

Having finished so strongly
on this last challenge,

I feel really confident
going into the next one.

I want redemption.
You know, I know I could do better

than the first challenge,
and I want to prove myself.

There are nine of you left,

and there just so happens
to be nine boxes up here.

So come on up and grab one.

Now, don't open your boxes just yet.

[Nao] Oh, my God.

My heart is pumping like crazy.



In addition to our resident evaluator,
Katherine Gray,

I'd like to introduce you
to our guest evaluator, Benjamin Wright.

Not only is Benjamin the artistic director
of the prestigious Pilchuck Glass School,

he's also an award-winning artist
in his own right.

[applause]

[Cat] I love Ben Wright

because he makes glass installations
in a completely different way than most,

so I value his opinion.

[Chris] Benjamin Wright
was one of my students

back at Rhode Island School of Design.

I'm really regretting
the grade I gave him now.

[Benjamin] As artists, we're all used
to thinking outside the box.

But today, things are gonna be
a little bit different.

In this challenge, you'll each be tasked

with creating
a different functional household item.

Wanna find out what you'll be making?

-Yeah.
-[Cat] Yeah.

Go ahead and open up your boxes.

[exhales sharply]

Pitcher. Pitchers have handles.

I don't do handles.

Candy dish... with lid.

I got a cookie jar. Yes!

Vessel making is... is my jam.

Platter. Yes!

Cake stand.

Candelabra.

It's going to be tricky,
but I'm not freaking out.

It's a goblet.

It's a freaking bowl.

Uh...

A vase.

Uh... sure.

Now you must make these items
using only the bar and frit

provided to you by Hot Glass Color.

You must use the three colors in your box.

Nothing more. Nothing less.

[Mike] I got Delicate Old Gold,

Dutch Blue and Rose Red.

Three colors I've never used before,

so I'm totally thrown off track
by the colors.

What we want to see from you
with this challenge

is that, with limitations placed on you,

your style, your personality,

your creativity are limitless.

[Benjamin] In other words, 
you need to own your design,

your decisions and your art.

[Nick] You'll have just four hours

to create an original piece
of hot glass art.

Your work will be evaluated on design,

technical ability, creativity
and overall presentation.

You'll need to blow us away.

If you don't,
we'll ask you to leave the hot shop.

Your time starts... now.

[Mike] Okay, a vase, a vase, a vase.

There's a million different vases.

[Chris] I'm not going to do anything

that is cliché and expected.

I'm thinking about making a goblet

that could be used from cradle to grave.

A very sophisticated cup and foot,

and then on top
would be a plastic sippy cup top.

What I've been hearing is, like,
sugar is the new tobacco.

So, I've decided on a candy dish

with, like, a piece of candy in the stem,

and then the lid
is actually going to be an ashtray

with a little glass cigarette.

[Andi] My colors are red, blue and yellow.

I'm thinking something kind of pop-y

and with really simple forms

like circles,
and having them kind of nest together.

I think that'll look really cool
with the color palette.

Hm... Okay...

[Brad] Neat little handle...

I'm doing a cake stand.

And the colors are,
like, kind of low-energy colors,

where I'm trying to make
a high-energy piece, but...

seeing if I can make it happen. I have to.

[Andi] So we got our tools.
We got our paper. Okay, here we go.

Right now, I'm putting color in
and... getting excited.

-It's gonna be fun.
-[whistles]

[Nick] Katherine, they were asked

to use bars and frit.
What's the difference?

The bar is a concentrated color glass

that you usually have to preheat,
and then you overlay it over clear glass.

It makes the whole thing
look like it's that color.

The frit comes from a color bar
originally, but it's just crushed up.

But you can just roll
the hot glass in that.

So it's a little more immediate.
It's a lot faster.

Rather than doing,
like, one giant, crazy bowl,

they're supposed to be for sharing.

[Elliot] Okay, so, first of all,

can we get two small boards
and one big one?

-Two small...
-Uh, paddles.

-Paddles.
-Yeah. Thank you.

We begin.

[furnace crackling]

Katherine, how hard is
this challenge, really?

[Katherine] It sounds simple,
but you know,

they might be using colors
they don't like or aren't familiar with.

Just like in their real lives,
when people commission them

to make something
that might not be your aesthetic

or use colors that you don't like,
sometimes you have to adapt.

So, Emma, like, I'm colorblind,
so do you see much purple or...

No purple to me.

As a maximalist, I'm kind of lucky
in that I love all colors

and like to mix them all together,

but I suspect
that some people were not so happy

when they opened that box this morning.

[all laugh]

[Mike] This is gonna be a vase
that is a mountain

with a tree mounted on the side of it.

Even though
it has no connection to my colors,

this piece is about representing
my personal pathway

as a glass maker and the comparison
to climbing a mountain.

I feel like I'm running out of time
with glass making.

After 21 years of doing this,
my body has taken a toll.

I have tendinitis,

and I've recently been getting
Charley horses in my ribs,

so I'm burnt out.

I'm going to try to do like a little
optic twist with it.

I know that Elliot and Chris
are very technical. Jason, too.

So I'm just gonna give everything I got.

The first thing I'm making
is the stand part

in which the plate will sit on top of.

[fire crackling]

Coming through!

After Elliot won the first challenge,
I realized I am very competitive.

So I'm gonna do what I do best.
I'm gonna blow glass.

[Elliot] I think the way Chris approaches
each brief is mischievous,

and I find that intimidating.

I think Chris will be coming out
with some really interesting work.

[Nao] Oh, this yellow's so stiff.

It's not going anywhere.

Yeah, I think this gray is stiff.

So this is a difficult process

because the...
each color has different stiffness,

and the yellow is a lot harder than blue.

The minute... When I heat it up,

the blue goes crazy
when yellow is still cold,

so I have to take a baby heat.

Kind of adjust the temperature.

-[Chris] Go ahead.
-[Nick] Ben, do artists typically have,

like, favorite colors
that they're drawn to often?

[Benjamin] I would say, yeah.
Or the opposite.

Colors that they avoid at all costs.

I know Chris Taylor quite well.

I'm not sure
I've ever seen him use colors.

But he once taught a class called,
"Making a Hard Thing Harder,"

-so you never know with Chris.
-[both laugh]

[Chris] I'm making a goblet

with the 17th century technique
of cane pulling.

[Brad] I'm glad I didn't get the goblet.

That's one of the hardest things
you can do in the hot shop.

[Andi] All right, let's blow.
Blow your heart out.

-Pretty.
-[Cat] Running. Running.

With the idea of sharing
and making a lot out of a little,

I start pulling stringers
of this iris gold.

Just as many stringers
as I can possibly get out of this frit.

This entire design is formulated
around the bowl of spaghetti

as a kind of ode to my mom

for all the years that I complained on

the fourth night
of having spaghetti leftovers.

And not really realizing
that she struggled really hard

just to get that spaghetti.

I think I learned how to be a poor,
starving artist

because that's kind of how we grew up.

I want my mom to be able
to look at this piece

and see that I recognize

all of the struggle
that she went through for us.

-Beautiful. Magical. I love you.
-[assistant] You, too.

One down.

[Andi] Okay, blow light.

Stop.

[classical piano music playing]

Traditional Japanese housing
uses screens to divide the rooms,

so my candelabra includes a rondelle,

which is a flat plate of glass,
so I use that as a screen.

All right. Go ahead, flash. That was easy.

[Elliot] ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪

[Jason] ♪ Glory, glory, hallelujah ♪

[Elliot] ♪ Glory, glory, come united ♪

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!

I like how you're making me sweat.

[both laugh]

[Katherine] The energy is different today.

I think, sort of,
the first day jitters are gone.

-There's a little less kind of frenzy.
-Yeah.

Yeah, it's interesting. Collectively,
we have a scene of total chaos,

-but each pocket is really very calm.
-[Katherine] Yeah.

Nobody's really freaking out
at this point.

-Not yet. We'll see what...
-Yeah. [laughs]

[Elliot] Just stay there. Stay there.

I naturally work nice and calm.

-Okay, in. In, in, in, in.
-[May] Stay here?

-In? Sorry.
-[Elliot] In, yeah.

But this competition
is just very stressful.

-And stop. Stop.
-[May] Oh, sorry, sorry.

[Elliot] It's really hard
building up a rapport

each time you go in with a new assistant.

[grunts]

-[May] Sorry.
-It's not you. It's me.

It's just a bit of a...

It's a trial, you know.

What was the problem?

Mostly because
I don't have my girlfriend, Bethany,

with me, who's my assistant, as well.

She's the reason I'm here.

She convinced me to apply,
and she's always pushing me forward.

She's like a muse, as well, for me.

Now, does the hook not fit?

-Fit where?
-On... On here.

My assistant has to deal
with a lot of crap from me.

I feel quite contradictory
a lot of the times.

All right, matey, another bit on this.

Just a small... Just a small one
to make an avolio, then we'll punt...

Oh, no, we're puntying it.
Yeah, we'll punty it. We'll punty it.

-So just a punty now?
-Just a punty and a bit iron.

[rolls tongue, buzzes lips]

[Andi] I'm just trying to get the frit
right on the edge

so it looks like a blow-through.

[fire crackling]

[air blowing]

[Nao] So my rondelle, like, so far,
the color's great. It's all even.

It's exactly how I want it.
It's better than I imagined.

And I'm in love with it.

-[gasps]
-[glass breaking]

All right, everyone,
this is your last hour.

You have one hour left.

Okay. [exhales heavily]

-[Cat] I'm sorry, baby.
-I know.

[Nao] That was perfect.

But I'm just gonna start making cups

so I can take my mind off of the...
From the rondelle.

Time is ticking, though.

[clock ticking]

This little stuff needs a lot of attention
back and forth,

so the struggle is the timing.

I don't think
that I'm everybody's favorite.

-May I?
-[Brad] No, it's mine.

-I'm not allowed to help you.
-That's right. [laughs]

People think that I'm arrogant, but...

I don't want acceptance
from the other competitors.

I'm very happy to provoke them.

[grunts]

[moans]

-Okay. Oh, hi, Katherine. Hi.
-Hi, Mike. How you doing?

-Doing good.
-[Katherine] Yeah?

[Mike] This is my unique approach
to a vase.

[Katherine] Oh, okay.

[Mike] I've been making a mountain

plus a shard leaf tree element.

I once got to see
Pino Signoretto make a tree.

And then grab clumps of shards
and add them into the branches.

Pino Signoretto is
my favorite glass sculptor,

so I'm going to be making
the tree component as an homage to him.

[Katherine] You think you'll be able to do
all of this with three colors

-and three colors only?
-[Mike] Yes.

-Props to Pino. Rest in peace.
-Good luck.

-How's it going today, Jason?
-Well, I'm making a cookie jar

-in some pastel colors...
-Oh.

...which isn't really my palette.

-But they're really beautiful colors.
-[Katherine] Yeah.

They're soft as butter,
so they're really easy to work with.

It's nice to have buttery colors
for, like, buttery cookies.

-[Jason] Oh!
-Oh.

[Jason] I definitely have a sweet tooth.
I enjoy baking.

One of my favorite things to do,
if I'm trying to be nice,

is make sure there are some cookies

when my partner comes home.

This'll be the finial that goes on top.

[Katherine] Well, good luck.

-Can't wait to see it. Okay.
-[Jason] Thank you.

[glass crunching]

For the finial, I'm looking for symmetry,
and I'll make it until I get it right.

We'll make one more of these.
I'm not super happy with the twist.

That's the way
the cookie crumbles. [laughs]

[Elliot] I'll tell you what we'll do.
If you can find a blank page

of my sketchbook.

-Put it on the floor.
-[May] Yeah.

To measure your vessel
that you want to lid,

you can mess about
with the little claw calipers,

but sometimes they're a bit cold,

and you can touch a piece
and it can crack it.

So, the paper technique
is absolutely fantastic.

This is the measurement
we're going to use to get the lid.

Burning the profile of the piece
into the paper

gives you an exact reference

of measuring the opening of a vessel.

My sweat on it.

[exhales heavily]

Right now I'm trying to make the lid
for my cake plate.

A lot of times
I go big by accident. [chuckles]

Blow. Give it all you got.

So this giant bubble

is going to be basically cut in half,

and that's going to be the lid
for the cake stand. [laughs]

I hope.

[Andi] I'm way too hot.

[Mike] Even though I had to make a vase,

as a sculptor, I use the torch a lot.

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

[Ben] That fire guy is not messing around.

[Mike] I know what my strengths are,
and I have to use them

to make the best pieces possible.

That's the only way to win.

[Elliot] Where the hell are the shears?

Oh, there they are.

We're kicking it.

[Elliot] Lovely. Okay.

My piece is looking fantastic,

and everything is going well,
and then all of a sudden...

Oh, damn it.

It's got a crack.

That is obviously a bad thing.

I'm just in shock, really.

Ah! Bollocks.

[glass crashing]

I'm ready to leave at... At this point.

I can't blow another one of those.
I'm too knackered.

Damn it.

-[May] You sure? We have time.
-Have we got time?

Glass blowers, you have 15 minutes left.

Oh, yeah, all right. Go on.

Okay, come on. Come on.

I'm starting
one of the most important parts,

which is the sippy cup lid.

And I'm not a sculptor.

And the lid needs a lot of sculpture.

[sighs] Okay.

[groans]

Oh, gosh.

-[metal clanks]
-[Cat] Nice.

Okay.

I've done the shape.
I've done the pitcher. Spout's in.

Last thing I gotta do is the handle.

Deep breath. Hope for the best.

If the glass cools down too much,
it's not going to stick to the glass.

You just get one shot,

and you get it right or you don't.

[Katherine] All right, everyone, it's time
to get your pieces into the annealers.

Time's running out.

[Ben] Being in the competition
is causing a lot of, like, stress

that I'm not used to.

Don't stop, though.
Even if it gets off center, don't stop.

All I can do is just keep going.

Let's go. We gotta run.

I think we're done.

[Nao] This is so stressful.

Nice.

Good job. Boom.

Flip.

-[Andi] Beautiful.
-[Elliot] May, that was cool. [laughs]

Well done.

[Mike] I'm going to get this trunk set up,
and then it's time to go.

I'm the slowest one here.

We got 30 seconds.

If I don't finish the piece,
I'm in danger of going home.

Just knock it off in there.

Woo!

That's how we call it down to the wire.

[slow piano music playing]

[Nick] The challenge is to make
a functional household item

using three colors
that have been selected for you.

[Andi] I just wanted to make something
undeniably functional,

beautiful and elevated
as far as what you think of platters.

[Ben] I'm not sure
if I came out with something great.

I'm never satisfied.
I always want to do better.

[Mike] This piece is about representing
my personal pathway as a glass maker,

and the comparison to climbing a mountain.

[Brad] I'm happy with the design.
I'm happy with the form.

I think the evaluators will notice
subtle details and considerations.

[Nao] I really focused
on the design of this piece.

I hope they can see that I tried

to create something
that is not really common.

[Cat] I think most glassblowers would have
tried to go really big.

I hope the evaluators
don't knock me for staying small.

[Chris] It was the opportunity
that I could take to showcase

my kind of humor

in an object that could be really funny
and really sophisticated at once.

[Jason] So, any time that you're working
very thin and very precise,

there's a zero margin for error.

I think the evaluators
will give me points for

trying difficult techniques.

[upbeat strings playing]

[Nick] Well, this is certainly
one of our more colorful galleries.

It looks like people really rose
to the challenge.

[Nick] So this piece is called
"Blue Moon," by Nao.

[Benjamin] When I have a vision
of a candelabra in my head,

this doesn't enter the picture,

so it's a truly original take
on that form.

[Katherine] And this kind of has options
of which is the front, which is the back.

-I dig it.
-Yeah.

[Nick] This is Ben's cake stand.

He created the lid.
He could have just gone with just this.

[Katherine] On some level, it adds
bonus points that he took this extra step.

But this connection could have been
a little bit nicer.

This cut edge is really, really rough.

[Nick] This is Chris's "Dignity Goblet."

It's awesome. It's a sippy cup,
but it's like, a wine glass.

I mean, this sippy cup top is amazing.

I actually really thought
it was a plastic sippy cup top.

[Benjamin] His art practice is
about trickery and humor.

[Katherine] The cane work on here,
these very thin lines.

He did a really beautiful job there.

[Nick] This is Cat's "Nesting Bowls."

The visual of this is awesome.

This looks like a trippy cactus,
and like, it's just so cool.

[Benjamin] It was kind of
an unusual technique, but I actually like

the looseness of it
and the way that it plays down the pile.

[Nick] This is Mike Shelbo's
"Old Gold Mountain."

-The texture is really cool.
-[Benjamin] The texture is very cool.

[Nick] The Tree of Souls
shard foliage technique

is inspired by the best sculptor
of glass, Maestro Pino Signoretto.

Well...

There are some good things about this,
but I feel like Pino's gotta be...

twisting in his grave a little bit.

[Benjamin] I'm not sure
I would interpret this as a tree.

[Katherine] The colors don't help,
but I feel like

he wanted to make this.

-It didn't matter what colors he had.
-Yeah.

[Nick] This is Andi's modular platter set

with a nod to '70s Danish modern design.

I like it. There's something really nice
about the fluidity of that design.

But this, to me,
is like a major oversight.

Maybe she ran out of time
and didn't have time to make another one.

[Benjamin] I think this design
would really start to sing

when you actually start
displaying food on it,

because it has a really nice topography.

[Nick] So this is Brad's pitcher.

[Katherine] He's got
this half round of solid glass

kind of mirrored in the base
and the pitcher,

which is just a really nice touch.

-[Benjamin] He's done a gentle fade.
-[Katherine] Yeah.

I think that's just a really nice design.

[Benjamin] But the small handle
low on the pitcher,

functionally, I would say
that might be a drawback.

[Nick] Jason's Venetian-inspired
cookie jar.

This is a tricky little element.

[Benjamin] All of the joints
are really beautifully executed.

It's a nicely designed piece of glass.

[Nick] This is Elliot's candy dish,

and the title of work is
"What's Your Poison?"

[Katherine] I think this is really great.
I love the humor in it.

It's this kind of one-stop shopping
for the things that are gonna kill you.

I also noticed,
he used the same color combination

for the cigarette as for the candy.

-[Katherine] He didn't have any choice.
-He didn't.

[both laugh]

[Katherine] I feel like people
really rose to the challenge on this,

both in their use of the color,

but also in their interpretation
of the object.

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jason] I want to be Best in Blow.

I'm not comfortable
being middle of the pack.

[Andi] I'm gonna go all the way.

I'm very competitive,
so I've gotta be the one winning.

[Cat] I'm not scared of anything
in this competition.

This is my world.

[Benjamin] As we look at the gallery,
we see a lot

of really innovative responses
to the prompts.

Many of you put your own voice into that.

That's really what we were looking for.

-Brad.
-When I saw you putting that handle on

in the hot shop, I was like,

"That's a big pitcher.
The tiny handle on... What is he doing?"

[Brad] That little handle
isn't actually in mistake.

It's actually there to influence
the behavior in which it's used.

So with two hands,

used with sort of reverence
and respect for the object.

You know, the water within it
and the person you're sharing it with.

Thanks, Brad.

Elliot, tell us about the candy dish
you made.

I basically wanted to make a visual joke

about how sugar is becoming
the new tobacco.

Tobacco is not as bad for you as sugar.

I think tobacco's still bad
for you. Sorry.

No, it's fine. Everything's fine.

-Ben.
-[Katherine] You might think,

from a distance,
the cake plate looks pretty enticing.

For me, personally, it kind of fell apart
on closer inspection.

Just seeing some of the connections
that could have been more refined.

I think if I had more time,
I would be able to refine it

and go back
and do things a little differently.

-Nao.
-[Katherine] We appreciated

the unusualness of the design.

It was not anything any of us
have really seen before for a candelabra,

so that I think was great.

[Benjamin] The actual function
needs a lot of tightening up,

-but it's a cool object.
-Thank you so much for the input.

All right. Chris. Our goblet maker.

The cane work in the filigrana pattern
was really exquisitely done,

-as was the sippy cup.
-Yeah, I like that.

[Katherine laughs]

[Benjamin] It's a wonderful piece of glass

because it's just absurd
in a wonderful way.

Thank you.

Thank you, artists.
We just need a few minutes to discuss.

[Mike] I'm feeling really nervous.

I have so much more to try and prove here.

All I know is, like,
I gave it my best shot.

This is gonna be hard.

I want to win again. [chuckles]

At the end of this competition
is a $60,000 prize package

that includes a residency
at the world-renowned

Corning Museum of Glass.

One of you is one step closer
to that prize.

Today's Best in Blow goes to...

[suspense music playing]

-Chris.
-Woo!

[Nick] Congratulations.

[Chris] It feels great to have a win
under my belt,

but I will probably win
a few more challenges.

Now, unfortunately, there's one of you
that did not blow us away.

And that is...

[Mike] Nick's looking at the each of us

and when his eyes are staring into mine...

fear.

-Ben.
-[sighs]

Well, it was a great experience,
and I'm super happy I was here.

And I wish everybody the best of luck.

I came in here thinking, like,

I don't need to make friends.
I just want to focus and do my thing.

But it turned out
that the other contestants

were the best part of it.

[Cat] Ben, brother.

[Ben] Cool people,
some really talented people.

I learned a lot from them
in just seeing what they made

just in two challenges.

Good luck, guys.

That's what it's about.
It's all about learning.

[instrumental music playing]