Lightspeed Goddess

Beyond disappointing, particularly with who the winner was. I expected so much more! I appreciate that the show went into the technical aspects of glassblowing and presented a series of challenges that were diverse and required thinking outside the box. I was utterly appalled that the resident judge (Katherine Gray) had the gall to force her puerile opinions and paltry color choices on the artists, and chose to espouse the verbal explanations behind the art rather than the actual criteria of the competition (which was to determine if the art represented the theme effectively). Gray's lack of knowledge, patent and obvious bias, and ignorance of technique were a dissonant contrast to the wide breadth of knowledge and dazzling technical excellence exemplified by all but one contestant (ironically, the "winner"). Furthermore, I was severely disappointed that the eventual so-called "winner" (Deborah Czeresko) won on the verbal explanation of her "art" by tying vague sexist themes to all her pieces (her "feminism" crossed the line into misandry rather than promote true equality between the sexes) and forcing her toxicity and "refusing to be pedestrian" views in everyone's faces the entire show. The criteria for winning the competition were stated as: actual artistic presentation, technical capability, and professionalism, and sadly were all criteria that Czeresko was severely deficient in. Gray and Czeresko are an embarrassment and an insult to us women who strive to make our place in male-dominated fields through excellence in performance, merit and integrity, technical competence, and promoting true equality. I'm sorry to give this show such a low rating, as the other artists and craftsmen/women were a delight to watch, and displayed their amazing span of knowledge, technical excellence, earnestness to create and communicate, and professional courtesy beautifully. But Gray and Czeresko were so needlessly antagonistic and alarmingly toxic that they absolutely ruined this show for me. Don't waste your time on this show - you'll only end up feeling angry and cheated by the end of the last episode.