A lot of people are requesting new work and commissions. I was very lucky I’ve been able to work continuously throughout the pandemic since I live and work with my partner, Bethany. Kim: What have you been up to since the show launched?Įlliot: Since the show launched, we’ve been working. It’s hard to remember what things were like before Blown Away, since it’s been such an intense change. The other obvious thing that the show has done is sudden global exposure-which is fantastic, but it’s been like a whole other job. A lot of ideas and concepts that I was drafting out on the show, I’ve taken forward when I got home. That sort of ‘enforced creativity’ and the pressure that you’re under to do it to the best of your ability, it’s going to influence everything, I think. I don’t think there will ever be a time again where, within seven weeks, I have to make 10 completely new, random ideas and bring them to life in such a way. Kim: Do you think being on Blown Away influenced your future as an artist?Įlliot: Being on the show has definitely influenced a lot of things in my career and thought processes. which has such a small community working with glass, it was great to meet a whole new bunch of people from all different areas and walks of life. There was a bit of competition, obviously-a healthy sort of pushing of everyone-but I never felt like I was competing. I see it as we were all working together to make the show happen, rather than competing against each other. Kim: What are some of the highlights from your experience on the show?Įlliot: The best thing for me was working with the other contestants. I think it’s a great representation of glass, and they had such a broad variety of perspectives from the different artists and makers. There are only a few people who will ever be a part of that show and that experience. As soon as I was into the application process, I started to get excited about it because it is such a special thing to have been part of. What made you want to apply?Įlliot: I was strong-armed into applying for the show. Kim: Let’s talk about your time on Blown Away. It’s very unpleasant, it’s very risky, and it’s very labor-intensive. A lot of people love the glassmaking process and I do love it-but I also hate it. For me personally, the process is a means to an end. It just has a special something about it that no other material has. I think glass itself-the nature of the material-entraps most people. I was always painting or sculpting things. At school, I was more academic, but there was always art in the background. Kim Thompson: How did you get into glassmaking, and what intrigues you most about the process?Įlliot Walker: I think I was always going to be an artist in some way. I sat down with Elliot to chat with him about his time on the show, the work he made during his residency, and what’s next for him artistically. With borders open, Elliot and his partner Bethany could finally travel to Corning to work in the Amphitheater Hot Shop and complete the residency after nearly two years spent thinking about what direction he’d like to take as an artist, post- Blown Away. It was very, very intense, but completely positive.”įast forward to April 2022. “I could see it all coming from this little thing I was trying to hide from so much of the time. But a buzz of excitement rushed toward Elliot online. was in another wave of lockdowns, which meant no celebrations, watch parties, or travel to America to complete the Blown Away Residency at The Corning Museum of Glass, his prize for winning the show. When Blown Away Season 2 was released in January 2021, the U.K. Elliot and his partner Bethany in Corning, April 2022.
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