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Blown Away is set to return to Netflix with Season 3 on Friday, July 22, 2022.
Blown Away Season 3 will bring viewers 10 new glassblowing contestants who will compete for the cash prize of $60,000 and a spot in the artist's residency at Corning Museum of Glass in New York.
Each week, the contestants of Blown Away will be given a theme, and their job is to create a unique design by blowing glass. At the end of each week, one design that doesn't live up to the judges' expectations will be eliminated.
Blown Away Season 3 will be hosted by former Big Brother contestant Nick Uhas. Joining Uhas will be the show's resident evaluator, glass artist Katherine Gray.
Each contestant is a master of their trade, and the competition comes with high stakes and tension. One such contestant is 53-year-old Rob Stern, who has over 30 years' worth of experience under his belt.
Blown Away contestant Rob Stern with 30 years worth of experience
Blown Away Season 3's most experienced contestant, 53-year-old Rob Stern, has spent more than three decades working with glass and has worked with the most accomplished and prominent glass artists from all over the world.
While Rob was born in Miami, he was raised in Atlanta, where his mother taught art. His father worked in the film industry and was passionate about photography.
Due to his parents' professions, Rob grew up in a rather creative environment. He attended Northside High School of Performing Arts, where he actively participated in singing, acting, and dancing groups that performed internationally.
Stern was also a sportsman and, along with traditional sports, indulged in rock-climbing, skateboarding, and surfing. His passion and adventurous personality contributed a lot to his career in the glass industry.
His work has been exhibited in many parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, and the United States.
The Blown Away contestant opened his studio, Rob Stern Art Glass Inc., in the Wynwood Arts District of Miami in 2003, where Rob and his team create original sculptures that are commissioned, exhibited, and collected all over the world.
Rob Stern's Artist Statement
In his artist statement on his website, the Blown Away contestant said:
“My aesthetic resides at the crossroads where humans and nature intersect. Between organic and angular, a space, which connects the temporary man-made to the pre-existing and eternal cosmos. Here we begin to measure our perspective and contemplate the perception of our place in the world as it is one that is always changing with the evolution of space, light, and time.”
Stern believes his creative endeavors are stepping stones that further his understanding of life. The correlation between what he senses and does guides his process and daily life decisions.
In his statement, he added:
"My constant observation of details persuades my attention to nuances in an attempt to mimic the complexity of its simplicity."
Education
The Blown Away contestant received a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from San Francisco State University in 1989 and a Master's degree in Fine Arts from the University of Miami in 2003.
For five years, he then worked as an apprentice at an industrial casting facility, John Lewis Glass, in Oakland, where he trained to be a metal fabricator and expert glass caster/cold worker.
He even traveled to Europe for a semester touring glass factories before enrolling in the Pilchuck Glass School in 1990. He continued his journey at Pilchuck as an apprentice and assistant to many masters and artists.
He also worked as a TA for Czech master Petr Novotny and worked in the Czech glass factories Huntig and Ajeto as a designer and glass maker in 1992 for two years.
From apprentice to master
From 1998 to 2004, the Blown Away Season 3 contestant and glass artist Rob Stern held a lecture position at the University of Miami. In his resume, it is also stated that he was a studio manager at the university as well.
In 2010, he acted as an interim professor at the University of Texas, Arlington.
Over the last 30 years, the Blown Away Season 3 contestant has frequented premier glass institutions and has evolved from a student of glass to a master of the same. He has also taught workshops and demonstrations at renowned glass institutions such as Penland School of Crafts, The Glass Furnace, and the Pilchuck Glass School.
The glass artist has also assisted many other artists over the years, including Libenski/Bryctova in 1997, Italo Scanga in 1995, and Bob Carlson in 2000. Other artists he has collaborated with include Dale Chihuly, William Morris, Martik Blank, Richard Royal, Richard Jolly, Dante Marioni, and many others who are recognized as leaders of the contemporary studio glass movement.
