Blown Away?

Blown Away Season 2. I will not binge watch the entire thing today. I will not binge watch the entire thing today. I will NOT binge watch the entire thing today. (I can totally hold the finale for tomorrow.) Blown Away is the competitive reality series on Netflix about glassblowers creating works of art in the hot shop, with the ultimate goal of winning a prize package that includes a residency at the Corning Museum of Glass. Living just a few hours’ drive from this magnificent collection of artistry, I have had the honor of getting lost inside the walls there for a day (and need to do so again soon). Glass converted into thousands and thousands of forms. Some practical, some abstract, all amazing. What I do hope most people gain from any museum trip is an appreciation for what can be accomplished with experience, practice, and a willingness to be creative. Those moments are tremendously inspirational to a novice, which is where I am in my glassblowing journey. Pure novice. I’m at the very beginning (a very good place to start) and I need to “follow, follow, follow, follow, follow the yellow brick road”.

When you read, you begin with ABC. When you blow glass, you begin with goggles, heat, and sand. Learning the basics is vital. And you can learn from those with more (or different) experience from you. Since there are some limitations for me to do that in person right now…HELLO INSTAGRAM! My Instagram feed is pleasantly polluted with glassblowers. I enjoy ending my day with a finger stroll down the hallways of my feed just to see what everyone has been up to. What did they work on today?

What I love about glassblowing:

If you tend to run cold…this is the activity for you. The furnace temperatures exceed 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, so the hot shop is very toasty. And sweaty.
It’s completely immersive. There is no time for technology. Just you, the heat, and the molten glass. If your mind is elsewhere, then you are bound to have issues.
You connect with people. My breath can help bring life to someone’s piece. And I will rely on someone else in the same fashion.
It’s humbling to try and fail. And you are rarely alone when failure hits. Also, it’s loud when glass crashes to the floor.
Resilience is key. $#!% breaks. Will you walk away or start over?
You can strive for perfection, but it’s the imperfections that create the most unique pieces.

Things I dislike:

Getting burned. Already happened to me once and let me tell you, it hurts. All it took was one tiny moment, one movement that my body thought was natural. “I’d like to move this…oh right…that metal pipe was just in the 1800-degree gloryhole. Ouch…” But I was with great instructors and all is well.

Glassblowing, like any new skill, is all about the foundational information that you learn in the beginning. Certain steps and movements are key to protecting yourself, and knowing those facts is simply not enough. You need to be reminded of the facts and put them into practice often. Muscle memory increases over time. Neo had all the facts downloaded into him. “I know Jujitsu.” But when challenged by Morpheus, “Show me.”, most of us remember who won. (Not Scott – a viewing of the Matrix was not available when he was working at the movie theater.)

Just because we know something, does not mean we will automatically put it into action. Keep practicing everyone! Off to the hot shop for me.