![]() ![]() Having beaten hundreds of many hugely talented hopefuls (artists for the first time selected from around the globe) to appear as one of the 10 contestants, Walker captivated with his sharp focus, wry humour, expansive imagination and relentless dedication throughout, making him the clear winner from the start. Most notably, Walker won the 2nd series of the Netflix programme Blown Away, being named "The Best in Glass” for 2021. He has exhibited extensively within the UK with his work represented within the Broadfield House Museum collections. In many ways his initial studies have remained a constant and continue to inform his artworks each being aesthetically sensitive, crafted with exceptional skill and brought to life with a novelist’s ability for storytelling.Īfter gaining a Masters Degree in Applied Arts from Wolverhampton University, Walker was awarded the Frederic Stuart Memorial Fund by the Worshipful Company of Glass Sellers. The pieces are not cast, carved or ground into shape, but modelled from a cooling liquid so that until the very last second the sculpture is a moving living entity, frozen in time as the glass sets”Īs a psychology graduate, Walker approaches his making from many unorthodox directions, it is this ability to defy convention, to purposefully twist the viewer's perception, that has made his works so truly unique, instantly recognisable and highly sought after. “The process of coaxing a complex form out of the liquid glass is unlike working with any other material. Walker finds his medium captivating and challenging in equal measure its immediacy and the intense relationship of working with it in its fluid state. Having said that, Blown Away’s simple but effective tone coupled with some educational content around the whole process of creating glass sculptures helps to make this a reality show well worth checking out. As one of a handful of glassblowers in the world to focus solely on a technique called ‘Massello’, it takes extreme dexterity, speed and precise temperature control to sculpt and master the molten glass. Blown Away doesn’t reinvent the wheel and sticks closely to the usual structure you’d expect from this genre. With its vast spectrum of colour, texture and ability to mimic other materials, glass provides the ultimate palette for Walker to create his three-dimensional compositions and sculptures. After graduating in psychology from Bangor University, a daring decision saw Walker decide to pursue his creative interests instead. All adornments are sculpted directly from molten glass resulting in every element being unique.Įlliot Walker is one of the UK’s finest glass artists and in his relatively short glass blowing career, has already become one of the most active and inspiring artists of his generation. The various flowers and foliage are attached via hidden magnets behind the back sheet of black glass (mounted on a lacquered MDF board) allowing them to be removed for cleaning and transportation. The artwork features hand-sculpted iridescent flowers with a bisected black vase that is bonded to the back. ![]() The winner was no surprise what so ever and was obvious before half way through.Irradiant Bloom III is an oval sculptural wall mounted artwork by the British artist and Blown Away II series winner, Elliot Walker. Blown Away: Christmas: With Bobby Berk, Cat Burns, Katherine Gray, Nao Yamamoto. I don't think I've ever seen a such judging bias or a more blatantly rigged competition. ![]() Meanwhile, the runner up created a piece that filled their space standing 7-8' tall with portions conforming to impact points and surfaces spread out across most of the width and depth of the space. What was done, was mostly flat on the floor. The ‘winner' barely used 10-15% of the assigned gallery space in the finale rehashing a theme from a prior challenge. A piece that one minute was deemed to be hard to read, confusing, or miss the brief, suddenly turns out to win "best in glass" for that day.Įpisode after episode, it became more and more obvious that this seasons winner was already decided before the season even started. The judging was inconsistent yet consistent in that it usually went in direct opposition to previous comments made about how a good or bad a piece was. There were many beautiful and creative pieces that ended up getting the artist sent home. The competitors this year were a nice mix of seasoned artist with decades of glass blowing behind them and younger artist with half as much experience. After the Christmas mini-season I was really looking forward to Season 3. ![]()
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