S01.E03: Lighten Up

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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The artists employ techniques like color wrapping, hot sculpting, and creating bubbles with baking soda as they craft eye-popping light fixtures.

Original Canadian air date: 3/6/19
Original U.S. air date: 7/12/19

[Aulty]

Oh Edgar, the writing was on the wall. Sorry to see you go though.

Deborah was right, when she said in the first episode that people either love or hate her. She does interesting stuff, but she is not my cuppa tea. Her creation this week didn't do much for me. Neither did Momoko's who got really defensive about her art. I am not sure whether she should have explained the piece better in her description or if we should expect the judges to know about the cultural references. It was whimsy but too fussy for me.

I will say though, that in glass I really love scandinavian glass. Simple and elegant, and I am really not into these very busy designs. I liked Patrick, Annette, Janusz and Leah's and giving Leah the win was well deserved (and I agree about the colour).

Why is the host of this show judging the pieces too?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was really interested in this challenge because it was the first one where they had to make something practical/functional. I know that realistically they just had to make something that a light bulb could fit in, but still.

Once again, Edgar made something very simple and he finished way before their time was up. I'm not saying that everyone needs to be working until the last second, but when he put his eyeball piece into the annealer, someone yelled the time and there were two hours and forty five minutes left. The had four hours for this challenge, so he used less than half the allotted time. I really didn't like the way he added the red veins. They didn't look very realistic and they didn't fit with the smooth look of the sculpture. They kind of looked like red two-headed sperm. I agreed with Nick when he said it looked like something you'd see in an optometrist's waiting room.

I didn't get the footprint in Leah's night light, but I liked the shade of yellow she used which gave it the perfect glow for a night light. This is the first time that Nick has said something interesting and informative. Keep it up! I don't know if what he said about the wavelength of the color of Himalayan salt lamps being calming is true, but I'm willing to go with it.

The giant light that Janusz made was impressive for its size alone. I liked when he explained that trapping baking soda between two layers of glass gives it a bubbling effect. More info like that, please! The UFO inside looked really cool. The bubbles made it look almost translucent.

I don't know why Deborah thought the judges were going to love her stop sign hand because Edgar already made a hand in the first episode. Deborah's looked very blocky and simplistic.

I liked that Alex already had extra pieces and a backup plan because he knew he was making a risky piece. His chandelier was impressive, but it made me realize that this is the third time he's made a clear piece. It made me hope that he uses color soon.

Momo's night light was a little blobbier than I would have liked, but I liked her use of color.

Patrick's second light was very sleek but simple. I wasn't sure if the judges would love it or hate it.

I was really impressed with Annette's heart. She managed to make it anatomically correct without being overly so.

In the Deborah vs. Annette battle this week, I wondered why North America's largest hot shop only had one torch.

Congratulations to Leah for winning this week's challenge!

I thought that Momo was going home after the judges' comments, so I was surprised that it was Edgar. I don't think it was his lack of experience with lighting that did him in (as he claimed). I think it's that his pieces have been relatively simple and he's finished super early every week, which seems to indicate that he's not pushing hard enough (despite his attempt to back pedal and say that he really struggled with this week's concept).

[GaT]

21 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

In the Deborah vs. Annette battle this week, I wondered why North America's largest hot shop only had one torch.

Exactly what I was wondering. It's like Chopped only having one ice cream maker, they just want to create drama when someone can't use the equipment.

[justmehere]

I really like that we're getting more detail of the processes and hope that continues to increase. We even saw a bit about how they add color, but not how it gets smoothly incorporated. The baking-soda technique was cool.

Not sure why, but I always get a little thrill when they cut the semi-solid glass with scissors. What a thing! I love the shaping tools as well - that heavy pot-holder-ish thing and the long pointed tongs. Feel like a little kid again, entranced by what they're doing. But yeah -- the hot shop really doesn't have all the tools they need if they only have one torch! Stupid drama.

I liked Leah's footprint, and as an actual fixture, it probably was the best. I would have put Patrick's a close second in that area - it really appealed to me. I groaned at first when he started over, but he made a good choice.

Just for appearance, I also really liked Annette's heart.

-Alex absolutely needs to start adding color.
-Janusz is obviously talented and skilled, but he's clearly used to working at a slower pace. I fear the press for time will catch up to him.
-Kind of disappointed in Edgar - after acknowledging that his egg piece was cartoonish, he made another cartoon. He mentioned several times being a sculptor -- so create a beautiful sculpture! 
-Deborah's hand looked kind of cool, but after Edgar did one, I didn't understand the choice. (I could do without her boasting.)

I'm not sure why there was a dispute about color on Momo's piece - why shouldn't she use the colors she wants? - but I didn't really understand her concept, either. That might be on me; I don't remember her initial explanation. I did like her description about the extensions on the back and what they'd do to the light in a dark room.

Edited July 15, 2019 by justmehere
Hit save before I was ready

[joanne3482]

For some reason I was under the impression they each had their own torch and Deborah's broke. 

[jhlipton]

On 7/13/2019 at 12:00 AM, Aulty said:

Neither did Momoko's who got really defensive about her art. I am not sure whether she should have explained the piece better in her description or if we should expect the judges to know about the cultural references. It was whimsy but too fussy for me.

I think that they should have judged the pieces in a dark room first, to how they looked in use, then turned on the lights for a better look.  I gout he impression that the side peices on Momo's lamp looked different once the lights were off.

[chaifan]

On 7/15/2019 at 3:18 PM, jhlipton said:

I think that they should have judged the pieces in a dark room first, to how they looked in use, then turned on the lights for a better look.  I gout he impression that the side peices on Momo's lamp looked different once the lights were off.

Someone - can't remember if it was a judge or contestant - even mentioned how glass can really play with light depending on what's done with it.  But we never got to see that in the big very well lit room.  Especially considering Leah's and Momo's fixtures were specifically night lights, they should have been lit up in a darkened space. 

[aradia22]

Edgar's eyeball looked as cartoon-y as his other stuff but it was a cute concept for a light fixture.

Leah's work is so painfully pretentious and hipster-y. But the footprint did look cool.

Janusz's piece looked like a functional light fixture and not just a piece of art with a lightbulb in it. The color was murky but the texture was cool.

Deborah's hand did not look good. It looked like a fat oven mitt.

Alexander's piece looked like a weird teapot. I think it lacked finesse.

I loved Momoko's piece once they turned on the light.

I don't know enough about glass to know if it's difficult or easy to make Patrick's piece. I like how clean it looked. The perfectly round dome.

Annette made a bad heart. It looked like a pitcher plant. But I kind of loved it anyway. It looked very cool. The color of the glass made me think of sepia tone and vintage scientific/medicinal diagrams and photographs.

Now that they're letting the artists talk more, the pretentiousness and personalities on this show is starting to remind me of those failed Bravo shows in the wake of Project Runway. Anyone else remember Work of Art? Or the one with interior designers?

[aradia22]

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Why is the host of this show judging the pieces too?

LOL, agreed. I know Heidi weighs in on Project Runway and Padma chimes in on Top Chef and so on but when he was going on about salt lamps I was like... this shouldn't have made the edit. Did he get this job through nepotism? Usually on the newer Food Network shows, they keep the host there for intros and transitions and yelling out the time and off the judging panel. Maybe they felt like it was too awkward with one main judge and a new guest judge every week?

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In the Deborah vs. Annette battle this week, I wondered why North America's largest hot shop only had one torch.

Applause. Especially since the show makes a big deal about them having everything they need. Apparently just not enough... so people still need to share.

[ombelico]

Deborah: "my creative genius"

[DrSparkles]

I started watching this today & I’m obsessed! I love anything glass: art, jewelry, mosaics, etc. i love this!

this episode: I particularly liked the dive helmet. Clever. I’m sad about Edgar, but I saw it coming...

 

👁🤣🤣🤣

[Bruinsfan]

I think I liked Annette's heart more than Leah's footprint, but those were the two standouts for me. I'd be thrilled to have either fixture in my home.