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For a fun dive into "competitive glass-blowing" take a look at Blown Away, two seasons on Netflix. One of my daughter's favorites. It's a good look at artists

For a fun dive into "competitive glass-blowing" take a look at Blown Away, two seasons on Netflix. One of my daughter's favorites. It's a good look at artists, technicians, creativity, and personalities. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9908860/ https://m.imdb.com/title/tt9908860/

moonbug 6y ago
it's fine, but watch it with the sound off.
violetgarden 6y ago
I love watching shows like this! The Great Pottery Throw Down was good too on HBO Max. I love watching creative people work. I find they have a lot more freedom to their process than I do. I’d probably logic myself out of 10 ways to do something, but creatives seem to have an easier time of “I’m gonna try it and see what happens.” Even when they don’t get a result they expect, they might find it lovely anyways and just go with it.
- hutzlibu 6y ago
  "Even when they don’t get a result they expect, they might find it lovely anyways and just go with it." That happens to me in game design, too ... and other areas of computer art, or just UI. But yeah, not what you can do while implementing buisness logic.
- joubert 6y ago
  Same here. You may also like “The Big Flower Fight” on Netflix.
dthul 6y ago
I just finished binging that show! I really liked it but would have wished that each episode were longer. As it stands there was not enough time to really show off the work, especially in the early episodes that had a lot of glass blowers.
hutzlibu 6y ago
Thanks a lot, I just took a dive into it. Edit: I really like the art, but not the format of the show.
ericmcer 6y ago
I loved Great British Bake-off because it made me want to bake. Blown Away totally failed to raise any interest in glass-blowing, you learn almost nothing about the actual practice. After 3 hours I still have no clue how it is done. It could be greatly improved by theming based on styles (i.e. making vessels, making sculptures) and discussions around why each pieces/techniques will be challenging. Instead it is literally the same shots of them rolling hot glass and putting fire on things for 15-20 minutes and then they judge it.
- shaftway 6y ago
  That's a shame. It's kind of a fascinating art that I think is very similar to chess, in that you have to be thinking a dozen moves ahead. I took a series of classes that exposed me to the basics, so I understand the tools and techniques that they are using and some of the why, but I still have trouble seeing the end result and explaining the why of any particular step. I think all of these shows suffer from this same problem. It shows people performing their art in a very superficial way. I would absolutely watch a show where after each episode each of the contestants made a 15 minute YouTube video walking through their video segments explaining what they were doing and why in deep detail.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
    The one exception to this flaw I remember was a restoration show on History channel. I don't remember the name... some guy named Rick that liked sleeveless shirts working in the desert. Anyway, for at least the first two seasons it was great: there was a lot of discussion on how to restore a piece, what it originally looked like, where problems might occur, how to find or make replacement parts, etc., and then showing the actual work in detail. My wife and I both thought it was great. Then it had the fate of all such reality shows about actually making things: not enough drama. So the manufactured drama and "excitement" started and at that point it went downhill rapidly.
- toast0 6y ago

moonbug 6y ago

it's fine, but watch it with the sound off.

violetgarden 6y ago

I love watching shows like this! The Great Pottery Throw Down was good too on HBO Max. I love watching creative people work. I find they have a lot more freedom to their process than I do. I’d probably logic myself out of 10 ways to do something, but creatives seem to have an easier time of “I’m gonna try it and see what happens.” Even when they don’t get a result they expect, they might find it lovely anyways and just go with it.

hutzlibu 6y ago
"Even when they don’t get a result they expect, they might find it lovely anyways and just go with it." That happens to me in game design, too ... and other areas of computer art, or just UI. But yeah, not what you can do while implementing buisness logic.
joubert 6y ago
Same here. You may also like “The Big Flower Fight” on Netflix.

dthul 6y ago

I just finished binging that show! I really liked it but would have wished that each episode were longer. As it stands there was not enough time to really show off the work, especially in the early episodes that had a lot of glass blowers.

hutzlibu 6y ago

Thanks a lot, I just took a dive into it. Edit: I really like the art, but not the format of the show.

ericmcer 6y ago

I loved Great British Bake-off because it made me want to bake. Blown Away totally failed to raise any interest in glass-blowing, you learn almost nothing about the actual practice. After 3 hours I still have no clue how it is done. It could be greatly improved by theming based on styles (i.e. making vessels, making sculptures) and discussions around why each pieces/techniques will be challenging. Instead it is literally the same shots of them rolling hot glass and putting fire on things for 15-20 minutes and then they judge it.

shaftway 6y ago
That's a shame. It's kind of a fascinating art that I think is very similar to chess, in that you have to be thinking a dozen moves ahead. I took a series of classes that exposed me to the basics, so I understand the tools and techniques that they are using and some of the why, but I still have trouble seeing the end result and explaining the why of any particular step. I think all of these shows suffer from this same problem. It shows people performing their art in a very superficial way. I would absolutely watch a show where after each episode each of the contestants made a 15 minute YouTube video walking through their video segments explaining what they were doing and why in deep detail.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- HeyLaughingBoy 6y ago
  The one exception to this flaw I remember was a restoration show on History channel. I don't remember the name... some guy named Rick that liked sleeveless shirts working in the desert. Anyway, for at least the first two seasons it was great: there was a lot of discussion on how to restore a piece, what it originally looked like, where problems might occur, how to find or make replacement parts, etc., and then showing the actual work in detail. My wife and I both thought it was great. Then it had the fate of all such reality shows about actually making things: not enough drama. So the manufactured drama and "excitement" started and at that point it went downhill rapidly.
toast0 6y ago