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The glassblowing reality TV competition, Blown Away returned to Netflix on July 22, 2022. This is the third installment of the series that first aired in 2019. Returning to the show as host is former Big Brother contestant Nick Uhas, resident evaluator, and glass artist Katherine Gray.
The show will open with 10 contestants who will compete for the title, a cash prize of $ 60,000, and a spot in an artist's residency at the Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
This season's contestants include Claire Kelly, Rob Stern, Dan Friday, Grace Whiteside, Madeleine Hughes, Minhi Su, John Moran, John Sharvin, and Trenton.
Blown Away glass artist Claire Kelly strives to spread positivity around her
The 46-year-old Blown Away contestant sees herself as a storyteller and aims to spread positivity around her.
She likes to give back to the environment by donating all sales of her work to support monthly donations to the African Wildlife Foundation, which ensures that wildlife thrives in modern Africa.
Her work is primarily inspired by the relationships humans have with animals. Her work also strives to tell tales of preservation and fragility. She believes that she presents a gentle mirror through which the contradictions of the world can be examined.
Her techniques include the integration of traditional Venetian glassblowing and cold working methods. The Blown Away season 3 glass artist is also drawn towards working with cane and murrine techniques and is intrigued by lines, patterns, and colors.
Her inspirations include mid-century Venetian Masters of Napoleone Martinuzzi, Carlo Scarpo, and contemporary artists such as Dick Marquis and Toots Zynsky.
The Blown Away contestant started her journey with art at Alfred University, where she pursued a bachelor's degree in Fine Arts in 1996, after which she attended different master classes at The Studio at the Corning Museum of Glass, one focused on the integration of cold and hot techniques and the other on traditional Italian blowing techniques.
In 2002, she attended a master's class at the Haystack Mountain School of Arts and Crafts. Over the years, the Blown Away contestant participated in various master classes at the Pittsburgh Glass Center.
She has been an educator and instructor at the Corning Museum of Glass, Penland School of Crafts, Pilchuck Glass School, and many more.
Claire also has experience working with prestigious glass art schools and institutions. She was an Artist in Residence at the Tacoma Glass Museum in 2004 and Pittsburgh Glass Center in 2005.
From 2000 to 2008, she developed designs with cutting glass and unique blown glass sculptures for Schafermayer/Kelly Glass.
From 2000 to 2018, the Blown Away artist worked under her inspiration Tootz Zynsky as an Artist Assistant, where she was responsible for assisting in the production of artwork using the Filet-de-Verre glassworking technique.
In 2019, she was a juror for the Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass Visionary Scholarship Program at the Chrysler Museum and Perry Glass Studio.
The glass artist has over 25 years of experience in the glass industry and has worked with prominent artists in the past, it will be interesting to see how other contestants will react to having such a force in the Hot Shop.
