Who is Brenna Baker from Netflix’s Blown Away? Season 3 contestant’s glass artist career began at the age of 14
Netflix's Blown Away is set to return this Friday, July 22, 2022, with its third season.
The first ever glass-blowing reality TV competition will again pit 10 contestants against each other for a cash prize of $60,000 and a spot at an artist's residency at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
Each week, host Nick Uhas and resident evaluator Katherine Gray will come up with a theme, and the contestants will have to deliver unique designs made out of glass, following which, weekly, a glass artist will be eliminated.
One of the 10 contestants in Blown Away season 3 is the founder and director of Hollywood Hot Glass, Brenna Baker, who started her career as a glass artist at 14. Her fascination with glass, however, began when she was 3 years old.
Blown Away season 3's Brenna Baker has traveled across the world to showcase her work
The Blown Away contestant had enrolled in a glass-blowing class at the Corning Museum of Glass in Corning, New York. This is where she learned the basics of the technical and the aesthetic aspects of creating functional yet stunning glass art. For a year, she worked as an apprentice for one of the world's finest glass sculptors, Pino Signoretto, in Murano, Italy.
The Blown Away glass artist traveled worldwide, demonstrating her skills and the art of glass-blowing along with the Hot Glass Show at the Corning Museum of Glass on Celebrity Solstice class ships.
She spent the next few years working under many talented glass artists all over the United States of America while also getting a business degree.
She then became the youngest Master Gaffer (glass blower) and the second female gaffer employed by Steuben Glass.
Steuben Glass is an American fine glass and crystal brand founded in 1903 by renowned glass master Federick Carder. The brand became a part of Corning Class Works in 1918 and came to be known as Corning Incorporated.
The Blown Away contestant also gained a lot of knowledge and insight teaching classes at The Studio of the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
Brenna Baker's Hollywood Hot Glass
After working for 16 years in the glass industry, in June 2013, the Blown Away contestant took her first steps toward fulfilling her dream of becoming an independent glass artist and opening her own studio, the Hollywood Hot Glass, in South Florida.
To begin with, they first launched on Groupon to do live demonstrations, however, over the years, the studio has received so much traction that it is usually at capacity. The studio has also received a lot of exposure through local news channels, notably National Geographic, which has helped speed things up.
For Baker, the best part is being able to share her love of glass-blowing with the world. In an interview with Parkbench, she said:
"I think it's just always rewarding because it never gets old that so many people enjoy it. That's the most rewarding part, is that so many people are happy from experiencing the glass making process. It's such an honor to have the opportunity to share it with them. I think every person that says "this is the best experience of my life," you know in the reviews, I'm like oh my god, it's such an honor to hear that."
Other glass artists to appear on Blown Away season 3 include Trenton Quicho, John Sharvin, Dan Friday, John Moran, Grace, Maddy, Claire Kelly, Rob Stern, and Minhi.
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