Blown Away Season 4
Blown Away judge and glass artist Katherine Gray
You can watch Blown Away Season 4 on Netflix.
Studio had a short Q&A with the show’s expert judge, Katherine Gray, about being on the show, her experience in glassblowing and making practices.
Studio: How did you get involved with blown away?
Katherine Gray: They reached out to me as a referral from some other glass blowers and glass artists that they were consulting with initially. At that point, they were looking for a guest judge, somebody that would just be there for one episode. But then the more we were talking, they asked how I am about critiquing artwork. That's what I do all the time in my day job, I'm an art professor. And then I told them I was from Toronto, and my mom lives in Oakville. And I was like, is this the time when being Canadian is really going to play to my favour?
Studio: Wow, that's amazing. There's such a theatricality to glass blowing — can you talk a little bit about that?
Katherine: Years ago, I was a resident at Harbourfront Centre. At that point, I became really aware that people love to watch glassblowing. It was also this great incubator for getting used to working in front of a crowd as well and not being nervous or self-conscious. I think that really helped. I've often been filmed or photographed when I'm blowing glass and so I was very used to that. I was not so used to being filmed when I'm doing a critique, but when we're filming, I'm just talking to other glassblowers. I'm never talking to the camera, so it made it a lot easier. But I also think that now, having to be on Zoom so much and being filmed so much, I'm generally more comfortable in front of the camera, as maybe a lot of people are.
Studio: You’re very dynamic.
Katherine: Some crafts demand more physicality than others. And glass is definitely up there as one that really demands a lot. Even teaching, when you're standing in front of a group, it helps to be animated and active because it does keep people engaged.
Studio: How did you feel about doing the show?
Katherine: I was very nervous in the first season, because I'm not a big fan of reality competition shows. They take so much footage, that they could really skew the show in any direction. But all the drama was in the glassblowing. Generally, I would say most glassblowers are very supportive of each other.
Studio: What in your own career prepared you for this experience?
Katherine: Glassblowing is definitely a performance, for sure. But I would say that as I've gotten older, and you know, don't blow glass as much as I used to, I don't necessarily like being the main event. Part of it too is my work has changed, the kind of work I make now isn’t that spectacular to watch. So it feels a little bit more like I really have to put on a performing hat to blow glass in front of a large group of people. And I'm not comfortable doing that.
Studio: How has your own glassblowing practice changed?
Katherine: I guess it's just evolved in the way a lot of artists’ work evolves over time. When I moved to California, the environment here and the quality of light changed and influenced my work in the ways I started exploring surfaces and colour variations, more than I ever had before. Now I mostly make things that are opaque, maybe translucent. I work with this iridescent coating that shifts as you move around the piece, so the colours really change. And that is a direct influence of seeing sunsets and the tangible qualities of the light here. It makes me realize that the light and space movement starting here in California makes sense.
Studio: That's really interesting. It makes sense, for a glassblower to shift their work in response to a change in the light around them.
Katherine: I moved here from Seattle, so that was also a really big change from grey, rainy, dull days to generally sunny and 70.
Studio: How has the show changed your work?
Katherine: The show hasn't changed my work all that much in terms of the actual physical objects I make. But it has changed my conception of what my work is. I would say now that I incorporate more community outreach or education. I definitely feel like more of an ambassador for the field. People will recognize me on the street and know that I'm a glassblower. That's really thrilling — I would never have foreseen a day like that in my life.
Studio: What’s something that happened in the show that stands out for you?
Katherine: In season one, to my mind, one of the most negative things that I said was that somebody's work looked like it could be found in a gift shop. I don't regret saying that. But people asked me afterwards, why was that a bad thing? And I was like, oh, there is some validation to that. Maybe I was too narrowly focused on what I perceive as what we should be doing with our work.
Studio: What’s one thing that came out of doing the show that you didn’t expect?
Katherine: Just seeing how the show really caught fire on Netflix. Once we wrapped filming, it's months and months and months where they do all the editing, and it just seems like a real distant memory. By the time it is released, you almost forget you did it. I was very thrilled and pleasantly surprised that it rose to the top as quickly as it did. I'm not surprised that people find glassblowing fascinating, because I've always known that, but that so many people were able to find it. And it spread so quickly! That felt really great. That really has nothing to do with me, but a validation of something that I already knew, but just didn't know that it would take off in the way that it did.
Studio: It had ripple effects. Craft became cool. People did take an interest in craft that was felt way, way beyond Blown Away. My last question is, what would you tell aspiring glassblowers?
Katherine: That there is a career out there. You know, I feel that's something that has been a profound change. Last year sometime, I had a student helping me when I was working in the studio. And I asked him, how'd you find yourself here? And he said, oh, because of the show. And it took me a minute, but I was like, wow, I had a feeling that there would be ripple effects but it shocked me that it happened as as quickly as it did.
I would say that there are career options out there. There's something to being skilled at what you do, whether you can make your living making your own ideas, creating your own vision. If you have a modifiable skill, you can really put that to use. If you can make things, and other people might want you to make things for them, maybe that gives you the financial wherewithal to make your work and get it out there. There are so many different ways that you can make your living in the arts or crafts world.
Studio: Thank you so much! Any last words?
Katherine: It's been really, really thrilling seeing the rising of all boats in the glass world. Maybe it's affecting other crafts as well. People are showing an interest, they’re calling up glass studios because they want to take a lesson or they want to see some glassware. They have a greater appreciation for handmade glass — or just handmade objects in general. Seeing that effect out in the culture has been unbelievably rewarding. I never thought that would be something that was in my power, and it’s not just me, but being part of this enterprise that is having that effect feels great. I thought I had a great career before the show, and now I just feel like, oh my god, I could die tomorrow and be happy.
