Featured Have you watched Blown Away on Netflix?

Netflix has a new series where glass blowers compete for a residency at the Corning Glass Museum and cash. I enjoyed watching it and the many different techniques. Have any of you watched it?

 

Not yet, but I just added it to my list!

 

I hadn't heard of it - thanks. I watched the trailer on YouTube, and it looks interesting at least.

 

Boo hoo, I don't have netflix. Enjoy it!

 

I had no idea! Thanks for sharing! I’ll definitely check it out!

 

I have, my daughter recommended it - i popped it on about 10pm and ended up watching each episode back to back !! Thought it was really interesting and a great education in glass blowing and the art - Enjoy

 

It was fun - it didn't get as detailed/ technical into the glass blowing / creating techniques as I would have liked but that's just my personal opinion. A lot of these contest type shows end up being more about the contestants/personalities than the actual work they are doing - which I think was kind of the case here, but it definitely kept on track with the glass blowing too - all in all very enjoyable!

 

Binge watching, one of the dangers of Netflix.

 

I recently watched all eight seasons of GOT in three weeks!

 

I just watched the Great Hack about how Facebook and Cambridge Analytica abused and still abuses our data. It should be mandatory watching. The laws need to start catching up with technology because none of us that use computers or phones, have privacy. We have absolutely no control over who these tech companies sell the information to and what they sell. Did you know that if you gave them permission on yourself, you opened up the door for them to take the information on everyone in your friend list? It's frightening.

 

How are your eyes?

 

I don't have Netflix, and also try not to watch too many of those types of competition shows. (Just some cooking ones here or there.) But that one does sound interesting! I agree that competition shows are usually edited to focus on the personalities more than on the work they are doing.

 

I watched a couple of episodes last night. I was surprised that it's only a 25-minute show, and I can think of few other shows that are edited at such a quick pace.

I'm still trying to figure out how the long color-rods work (the ones they chop off bits with hammers). All of the other glassmaking videos I've seen show people mixing dry granulated or powdered ingredients, like baking a cake. Is that the way glass is colored now - with premixed batches formed into rods?

 

They still use frit. The frit is picked up on clear glass so the color is not as intense as the solid glass rods that are colored all the way through.

 

I never watch competition or "reality" shows but this caught my attention. I thought it would be interesting to see the different approaches and techniques but, I agree, I could do with a little less of the personality drama.

 

Do they use the rods because they're working in smaller batches, or to save time having to mix raw materials by hand? Or does it have to do with the type of glass they are working?

I saw one of the Blenko documentaries where a mixmaster was shoveling raw materials into a wheelbarrow. He including some cullet of the color they were going for, but I also remember him talking about how many scoops of Mineral-X it took to create Color-Y.

I took some screencaps, below. You can see both the solid rods and jars of frit on the shelves.

 

This page has a description of the different ways the concentrated glass tubes are used. The thinner rods for lamp work or "drawing" designs on the glass. It also describes different techniques that are used when picking up the color with the gathers.

https://mikegigi.com/color.htm

 

Thanks for posting that. I think I understand what is going on. I just remembered the contestants mentioning a color box (or something along those lines), and dropping the chopped rod pieces into a floor cavity with a flip-top lid.

 

That must be the the kiln mentioned in the article that preheats the rods to 800 degrees.