and our six remaining potters
are making animal table lights.
Now, I am in full wildlife mode.
Check out these two.
These two adult males
are seemingly always eating,
with the elder of the two
chewing particularly loudly.
Now, despite how it may appear,
they are actually
reasonably intelligent,
and capable of making
rudimentary tools out of clay.
But time is up for these two
wizened elder creatures,
because clearly
they are past their prime.
- We can hear you, Ellie.
- Yeah, and we can see you.
They're trying to communicate.
Fascinating.
Welcome to
The Great Pottery Throw Down.
- What's she like?
- I know, I know.
Do you want a biscuit?
Last time...
it was '60s week.
I'm gonna run out of dance
moves. This is all I've got.
And the potters tackled
vintage vessels.
Finding this one
quite stressful.
Jenny's pair of vases...
They hit the brief completely.
...earned her
potter of the week.
But although Lucinda
failed to impress...
If you're gonna do a lip,
make it really come out.
- - ...a blown-out bottom...
- That base going is not great.
...saw Nick become
the sixth potter to leave.
This time it's wildlife week...
Oh, my God!
That is a massive beaver!
...as they swing into action
hand-building
animal table lights...
Sticking suckers
on an octopus,
yet another sentence
I never thought I'd say.
I think I might
chop his neck off.
...and go wild in
a surprise second challenge...
I don't know what I'm doing.
...that sets
their creativity free.
It's easier
when we're told what to do.
Before the judges decide
who will make it through
to the quarter final...
I love
the incising on it.
I love the color of it.
I love you for doing it.
...and who will be
heading home.
I forgot to put a hole in it.
Bother.
It's an early start
for our six remaining potters
as they prepare
for another wild week.
Love animals,
love wildlife.
Particularly intrigued
with interesting animal facts.
My spirit animal's a seal.
I identify quite strongly
with seals.
- A hedgehog.
- Hairy.
- They're quite playful.
- I like swimming.
- They're really cute.
- Eat fish.
I've got all those things.
Did you know that the wombat
does cube-shaped poos
so that it can stack them?
I'm not doing a wombat,
but that was one of my facts.
Hello, potters
and welcome back to the pottery,
where it's wildlife week.
For your main make challenge
this week,
the judges would like you
to hand-build
an animal table light.
Now, this is
a hand-building challenge,
so we want the main
body parts constructed
by pinching, coiling
or sculpting.
Now, we're not giving you
any lampshades,
so really think about
how that animal interacts
with that exposed
light bulb and flex.
We're looking
for realistic animals.
We're expecting that your form
and your decoration
really capture
those key characteristics.
You'll be using the sgraffito
method of scratching back
to create the texture
of your fur, feathers, scales.
This is gonna take patience,
precision and an eye for detail.
Right, you have three hours to
make your animal table lights.
Potters, get potting.
- Whoo.
- Right, go.
To secure a place
in the quarter final,
the potters face their
largest hand-build so far.
Very nervous today. I think just
'cause it's such a big piece.
It's hugely risky.
There's so many things
that can go wrong with it.
they'll bring their animal
table lights to life
using a centuries-old
decoration technique
called sgraffito,
from the Italian "to scratch."
It involves putting color
onto a pot
and then basically
scratching that away
to create pattern,
to create texture.
For things like fur
and scale and feathers,
it's gonna look really nice,
if we can pull it off.
Week seven, Keith,
wildlife week.
Are you gonna be swinging
from the branches?
I might be.
All depends what they do.
I'm really looking forward
to seeing their pinching,
coiling and sculpting skills.
They've really gotta think
about the structure
and how they're gonna
piece these animals together.
I think some of our potters
might be a bit daunted
by the scale of this build,
but also injecting
that character, that realism,
they're gonna be
using sgraffito.
A very simple technique,
but really, really difficult
to get it right.
It's all about emulating
the texture, the fur,
the kind of contours of the body
of their chosen animal.
These things
have to look realistic,
and they have to hold
that light bulb.
Like this, for example,
This ape at the back here.
It's that slight gesture
of the arm
that makes it feel like
he's peering into the darkness.
This is really
gonna shine a light
on their sculpting skills,
isn't it?
- Hi, Jenny.
- Hi.
- Hello, Jenny.
- How you doing?
- Potter of the week.
- I know.
All hail the queen!
Tell us what you're making.
So I'm making an anglerfish,
because of the fact it does
actually have its own light.
- This is a female anglerfish.
- Oh, OK. I kind of knew that.
Yeah, well, the male anglerfish
can be up to
500,000 times smaller...
- 500,000?
- ...than a female.
Yeah, so it's
the biggest difference
between a male
and a female creature
in the animal kingdom.
How does that work?
He bites onto her,
and their bodies fuse together,
and all that's left of him
is his reproductive organ.
- Crikey!
- Isn't nature amazing?
- That's wild!
- Yeah.
Jenny is hoping
to amaze the judges
with more than just her facts.
She'll use sgraffito
to create fish scales,
and the light bulb
will hang from the illicium,
or fishing rod,
just as nature intended.
Are you happy that you'll have
a strong enough rod?
- That was my concern...
- Sure.
...when I was deciding whether
it was a sensible choice.
It's a very big appendage
coming out of there.
I'm making the base of it
slightly wider and hollow
so that it's got more support.
I'm just glad you've not decided
to do the male,
'cause we could have a very
different build on the table.
- There he is.
While Jenny's concerned
about the strength
of her single appendage,
Tom has eight to worry about.
I'm making an octopus.
Ah. I thought it was
the start of an umbrella.
And is it a particular kind
of octopus?
Yeah, I'm going for
the blue-ringed octopus.
Have you had experience
with sgraffito? Is it something
you've done before?
I've never made an octopus,
and I've never done sgraffito.
So all new.
It's all complete guesswork
and hope, really.
I'm making it out of hope.
Tom will scratch back
blue glaze to create
his octopus's distinctive
double-ringed pattern,
and add contrast to every one
of his 240-odd suckers.
And if that's not enough
to impress the judges,
he has a magic trick
up his sleeve too.
I'm hoping to levitate it
off the ground
using nothing
but the eight legs.
- Nice.
- Really?
And you're confident they will
hold the weight of all of this?
No. No, not at all.
You're asking a lot
of the clay.
- Yeah, I'm taking quite a risk.
- You are.
- Is this chat helping you, Tom?
- Oh, loads, loads.
Feels like it's really putting
a pep in your step.
I already knew
I was taking a risk.
Just think about
the weak points.
All of them.
- All eight of them.
- All eight of them.
Hand-building a form this big
relies on the three S's.
- - Size.
- I want the body to be 26.
The head's another 13
on top of that.
The tail's just gonna
swoop around.
Stability.
A smaller version would
support itself a lot better,
whereas this just has a tendency
to just sort of fall apart.
And strength.
We're having to work
against the wetness of the clay.
It is gonna sort of bend
under the weight.
So it's vital the potters
support their structures
during the build.
Quite chuffed with my
hairdresser's curler approach.
- It seems to be working.
- Oh, that... Oh, that's cool.
Are they actually hair curlers?
No. I don't know
how else to do it.
I've got paper inside
to help hold the shape
while I can work with it,
and then it can burn out
in the firing.
I just want a bit more oomph
to the belly.
Anna's crocodile
will be built to bite.
She'll model fearsome-looking
teeth and scaly skin
inspired by the crocs she came
face to face with in Africa.
I used to live on the banks
of Okavango River in Namibia.
Course you did. Classic Anna.
Obviously the river
was full of crocs.
We had a little dog
called Pushkin,
who was the cutest little
white fluffy thing...
- Oh, no.
- ..you've ever seen.
This isn't a happy ending,
is it?
We were asked to adopt
two little black labs,
and Pushkin hated the black labs
with a passion.
Once a day
he would start playing with them
and take them down to the river.
Suddenly
one of them disappeared.
The other one, we actually found
his head was on the sandbank.
The collar was still attached.
And Pushkin never went
near that river again.
- Wow.
- Whaaa!
- My work here is done.
- He was a serial k*ller dog.
Wow.
- Potters, that's one hour gone.
- Ooh.
Which is seven dog hours,
if that helps.
Yeah,
that's quite scary, actually.
The potters
are taking inspiration
from all over the world.
Anna from Africa.
AJ from a little closer
to home.
I'm doing a sea otter.
You get sea otters in Scotland.
And they hold things, like clams
and things, on their bellies,
so I just put a bulb in there.
AJ's Scottish sea otter
will recline on its back
playing with a light bulb.
Pinch pots will form
the circular body,
with sgraffito used to create
the otter's slick fur.
I like this kind of sense
that you've got the full circle
and everything's within that.
That could create
quite a nice dynamic.
Yeah, I think that's gonna be
the struggle today,
is getting
that, like, circular shape,
'cause the clay is so heavy,
it just wants to fall out of it.
Kind of given yourself
quite a challenge, really.
It's gonna be tricky also
to get the face
to be cute and not creepy.
If it ends up looking like
your gnomes, Lord help us all.
While AJ's hoping
cute and cuddly
will win over the judges,
Christine has chosen
a heavyweight
of the animal kingdom.
It's called Nanook, which is
an Inuit word for a polar bear.
I'm working out the neck, 'cause
what I don't want to happen
is when I put the head on,
it just goes bleurgh.
Christine will add texture
and subtle sgraffito
to create the fur
of her majestic polar bear
and mischievous cub,
playfully pulling
the light bulb from mum's mouth
in a nod to mankind's impact
on the planet.
The polar bear's
caught her some food,
but at the same time
it's caught some human element,
which is not what we want.
And then having a cub on
the side trying to play with it,
and Mum's having
nothing to do with it.
What color are you using?
I've chosen black,
obviously because
the clay is white when it fires,
so I'll water the black down
and paint that over the body,
and then scratch back
so that I create the shadows...
Some depth, yeah, OK,
and would you say
this is one of the biggest
things you've hand-built?
It is the biggest thing.
Just scaling it up
is a little bit different,
making sure that I get
the right proportions.
So, yeah, this is a big thing.
- Well, look, yeah, good luck.
- Thank you.
Potters,
you are halfway through.
I'm happy enough
with halfway through.
I want to get this leg attached,
the two arms.
- I feel like I'm on schedule.
- Tentacles are go.
I'm making little bits
to go on the tentacles,
and I've gotta stick 'em on.
And I've gotta make
his little hat.
I'm heading
in the right direction.
I don't hate it.
So that's a win.
The judges have demanded
realistic-looking animals,
so perfecting the proportions
is critical.
I'm a little bit worried
about the head,
'cause I thought it was maybe
a bit too small.
Now it looks too big.
Does it look like an otter?
But manipulating their forms
is risky.
I'm thinking about the animal's
anatomy first and foremost,
the way they move, the way
their musculoskeletal system is.
If the clay becomes too dry,
the potters' creations
could crack.
Ooh. Been stressing
this clay too much.
This is the bit
that I'm most worried about,
getting the shape
and the size of his head.
The first practice I did,
it looked like a deboned turkey.
Lucinda will add textured fur
to every inch of her badger,
and use sgraffito to create
its distinctive markings.
Clasped in its claws is a bulb
designed to attract
a tasty snack.
- Moth to a flame.
- Absolutely. Moth to the flame.
- Come on, little moths.
- Oh, right, I see.
- Tempting them towards him.
- Come to me, babies.
I see, yeah. That's quite scary,
Lucinda, yeah.
Potters, you have one hour left.
So that's how you solve
climate change.
- Oh!
Still feel confident.
Maybe ask me again
in an hour's time,
and then I might feel
quite different.
Get on there, matey boy.
Sticking on suckers
on an octopus,
which is yet another sentence
I never thought I'd say.
Starting
on the lower part of the body,
which hopefully
won't have to defy gravity
quite as much as this has.
This badger,
it looks to me like...
- It's been tagged.
- ...it's tagged.
- It's an ASBO badger.
- It is an ASBO badger.
The biggest threat
their animals face
is the heat of the kiln,
so the potters must ensure
air can flow to every part.
Everywhere is hollow completely,
through the arms, into his legs,
although it's bloomin' fiddly
doing it.
But if any air is trapped,
the kiln's ferocious
thousand-degree heat
could cause it to expand,
with dire consequences.
All of the limbs
are hollow.
Just put a pinhole in each
so that it doesn't explode.
It's hollow
up to sort of about there,
so I'm hoping
that that isn't too thick,
'cause that obviously
would completely
mess the whole thing up
if that exploded in the kiln.
It's suddenly got nothing
to hold its bulb.
I don't wanna ruffle
your feathers,
but you've only got
half an hour left.
30 minutes to stick
all these bloody suckers on.
It doesn't seem like
enough time.
It's taken me about an hour
to put on four legs' worth
of suckers.
- Right.
- And I've not got an hour left.
No, you haven't.
Really gotta start speeding up
the old suckery blobs.
OK, I'll leave you
and your cephalopod.
- I know. Thank you.
- Nice, nice.
This is my little cub.
It looks a bit strange
at the moment,
but, um, it's a basic shape.
Stabby tool.
I've worked out it's gonna be
easier to put teeth in
if I have sockets.
Literally doing tooth implants.
He uses them as a clamp.
It goes into the death roll,
and then it's bye-bye.
Trying to make
all the teeth point inwards,
'cause that's what
anglerfish teeth do,
sort of contain the prey.
It's a bit violent
down this end of the room.
- It is, yes.
- We've got, like, raar!
- And scary fish.
- Yeah.
And then
there's snappy badger,
and then we've got polar bear,
weird octopus,
and then AJ's cuddly otter.
Potters, time for walkies!
My mistake, sorry.
Ten minutes left.
- Ten?
- Ten!
Don't argue with me, Jenny.
I wanna add
quite a lot of texture
by applying slip
through a doily.
God, I haven't done the tail.
Oh! Tail, tail,
tail, tail, tail.
I'm putting a little
bit of detail into the fish.
I think this is gonna work.
Sorry, fish.
This tail's gonna
have to be smaller.
Oh, I'm panicking a little bit.
It just looks ridiculous.
I just looks like a kind of
teddy bear or something.
I just wanna work
on the head now.
They have a lovely wavy mouth,
crocodiles,
which is why they call it
the crocodile smile.
Devil of devils.
Oh, I've got
one more tentacle to do.
Uh, get in there, get in there.
I think I might
chop his neck off.
I know it seems drastic.
Sorry, mate.
There we go.
Look how nicely that's made.
That is five minutes now,
potters.
Remember, you need to get
your stuff in the drying room
by the end of that five minutes.
Whoa.
Nice
score-and-slip join.
I've still got
a leg and a face to do,
so I don't know
if I'll get both of them done.
I've abandoned little bear.
He just doesn't look right.
It's just the big bear's
gonna interact with the light.
Just a couple of minutes
left now, guys.
You really need
to start finishing up.
Fish is going in. Jenny's
going into the drying room.
- Oh, God.
- On you go.
Yeah, you see?
From a teddy bear to a badger.
Snappy's going in with Anna.
One minute, friends, one minute.
Ah, moth.
There we have it, I think.
He really wants to come off,
but he's not going to.
Just don't want him
falling off, that's all.
Nanook's going in.
- Whoa.
- Well done, Lucinda.
Oh, my goodness,
it's so cool-looking.
Just waiting
for you now, AJ.
You're stressing me out.
Five, four, three,
two and one.
That was bonkers.
Well done, everybody.
Right, you bunch of
filthy animals, get out of here.
That was intense.
It took a lot longer to put
little blobby tentacle suckers
on than I thought.
Decided I'm going in
for the k*ll this week.
When you've got a croc, you have
to have a bit of blood and guts.
- How did you get on?
- All right.
Well,
I had to cut its head off
and take an inch off its neck,
'cause it was looking
more like a giraffe.
So, it's looking
a little bit more badger-like.
But I didn't get to finish
doing the face,
which is kind of important.
It looks horrendous.
I've got a lot of things to fix,
a lot of things to adjust,
and then a lot of fur
to sgraffito.
The animal table lights
have been drying
for two and a half hours.
Yeah, got it.
Don't fall over.
Yay. Squid wad.
Needs a name.
The clay is now leather hard,
the perfect consistency
for the potters
to bring their animals to life
using sgraffito.
Potters, welcome back.
Your wildlife table lights
are now ready
for refining and decorating.
Think about those refining tools
that you're going to use.
Think about every mark you make
and how that will affect
your fur and your scales.
We're looking
for form-enhancing decoration
using the sgraffito technique,
so make sure you're precise.
It's gonna be so important
to getting that character
into your finished
animal table lamps.
Right,
you have three hours.
Potters, get refining
and decorating.
Right, you.
The potters will decorate
their pieces before firing.
But first they must make
any final changes
to their animals' forms.
So I'm just trying
to refine it now,
and then I'm going to roughen up
where the fur is gonna be.
Just trying to make it look
a bit more... badger-like.
This leg's too small.
Just gonna have to pretend
he got caught in a snare
when he was young.
I'm gonna try
and take out the back slightly
so that this is more...
it looks like he's got
his shoulders up like this.
So the rod is still in place.
What I need to do
is just not knock it.
See, that's what I've just done.
I've just knocked two teeth.
Oh, Jenny.
While Jenny carries out
dentistry work
on her anglerfish...
Don't think
I've got those teeth
the right way round,
to be honest.
...and Lucinda gives
her badger a manicure...
Don't they look great? It brings
his little hands to life.
...AJ's otter is in need
of a face-lift.
The face looks horrendous,
so I'm cutting it off,
and sticking it back on again.
It's gonna be fine.
As AJ's face takes shape...
- Got tiny ears.
- ...Tom's octopus...
This is the last piece
of modeling.
...requires
more drastic cosmetic surgery.
An integral part is
the balloon-shaped head thing.
I'd rather have
got it on earlier,
but it wasn't strong enough
to hold it.
I know it looks kind of weird.
But octopuses are weird.
Here they are,
all in their natural habitat.
- Yeah.
- Refining. The refine stage.
This is when the animals
could really come alive.
It's funny,
'cause three hours
sounds like a long time,
but it's not.
With sgraffito,
it's all about timing.
They've gotta get those surfaces
beautifully honed, pristine,
and then they've gotta get
that underglaze on,
let it go tacky,
dry off ever so slightly,
and then start working
into the surface.
- There's a lot to do.
- Yeah, it sounds simple.
But to do it really well,
it certainly isn't.
There's no going back.
If you apply the color
and then you find
that the incising effect
that you're doing
hasn't really worked,
you're up the creek, really,
without a paddle.
Yeah.
Oops. That's far too much.
The judges have demanded
realistic-looking
fur, scales and skin.
And although
the potters are using
just a single color
of underglaze...
This is chocolate brown,
but I've been calling it
poopy brown,
'cause I don't really like it.
...how they apply it is crucial
to the quality of
their final sgraffito finish.
So I'm intending to make
different washes of green,
so different strengths of green.
So it's really gonna be
just one color,
but with as many tones,
hopefully, as possible.
I am starting
with the lighter areas
with the underglaze
watered down,
and then I'm gonna build up
to the darker areas,
where I'm gonna paint it
straight on.
There's a lot to do,
but I can do it.
Most of the potters
have chosen bright, bold colors
to create a contrast
when they scratch away
to reveal
the white clay underneath.
I haven't even put one coat yet,
and it's also incredibly fiddly.
And if you've got any
white patches, it looks crap.
But Christine
and her polar bear
are walking a different road.
The clay body itself,
when it fires, is white,
so I'm putting in the black
to create some shadow
and texture, some depth.
So you've done one...
It's not one coat as such.
You've sort of done a bit. It's
not obviously total coverage.
Yeah, I've done a wash on some,
so I've got like grayer areas,
or a lighter shade of black.
And will you do
more layers on this,
or is that it for this bit?
- This will be it.
- OK.
Potters, get your paws,
claws, jaws,
tentacles and fins in order.
- Because that's one hour gone.
- Gosh.
How did that hour
go so fast?
Oh, my Lord.
How much time have I wasted? Oh!
I think both Jenny and I
are realizing scales
may be not the easiest idea.
- We'll still be here tomorrow.
- Yes.
- First bit of glaze. Off we go.
- Going on, yeah.
I was about to come over
and say to you
you haven't started glazing yet
but some people have finished
doing a whole coat.
Have they? I can catch up.
- I believe you.
- It's all right.
If anyone can, Lucinda can.
As Lucinda's badger finally
gets a coat of underglaze...
Ooh...
...AJ is tooling up,
ready to sgraffito away theirs.
So what are you looking for?
Just a pointy one, fat one?
- Yeah.
- Scoopy one?
That scoopy one
looks pretty good,
but maybe it's a little too big.
I think maybe that one.
- Try it on here.
- Oh, wow.
- Oh, that's quite nice.
- Oh, I love it.
But every mark the potters make
is a calculated risk.
If you get the pressure right,
I can make my octopus rings.
Once committed to clay,
there's no going back.
It's really hard
to get a clean finish.
I don't want it to look scruffy,
but I can't work out
how to make it look not scruffy.
Once I've scratched,
that's my decision made, yeah.
I've gotta stick
with that then.
So I'm gonna bring
the suckers to life as well,
which obviously is gonna take
a little while.
In nature
the suckers aren't perfect,
which obviously
helps me out immeasurably.
Potters, you have
30 minutes left.
Oh, my God!
That is a massive beaver!
Oh. Otter.
With so many realistic
animal textures to create...
I'm trying
to get definition
between areas of smaller fur,
and then the larger areas of fur
where it's sort of matted
together with the water.
...and so much surface area
to sgraffito...
I've started doing
all the fine hairs.
You know, I'll be
doing these everywhere.
I keep seeing bits
that I've missed, though.
...the potters
are feeling the strain.
I've got cramp
in my hand.
I'm gonna get
repetitive strain injury.
There's a lot
of scratching to do.
Even where
there isn't the black,
you still need
to create that texture.
It's like that first day
back at school
when you haven't written
all summer holidays.
Why did we do scales, Jenny?
Why did we think
this was a good idea?
Yeah.
Sorry to badger you, everybody,
but you have ten minutes left.
And they are looking
"otterly" brilliant.
Got loads left to do.
Tons, in fact.
I'm a sucker for suckers.
I might end up doing that
with a sponge, though.
I've just got this area to do,
and my fish.
I just need
to keep chipping away.
I've lost a couple
of teeth, which isn't so good,
and the teeth keep on
going down its neck,
so I don't even have
any teeth to stick back.
Hello, mate.
How you going?
Slowly.
I'm wiping back all
my knobbly bobbly tentacle bits.
You've got time to do that.
Looks like it's happening.
It's not happening as well as
I'd like, but it is happening.
The moth's simple
at the moment,
but the sgraffito
will bring that to life.
It's getting there, isn't it?
I'm just making
a little bit of extra texture.
It's a mold of something that
came off a tree in my garden.
Wow. I've just seen AJ's.
That is amazing.
I'm doing this all over the
whole body, apart from the paws.
So the rest of my time is just
gonna be spent just doing this.
Amazing uses
for old tools, eh?
I'm gonna lift it off
in a minute.
That's the terrifying bit.
Oh, OK.
Potters, the wildlife park
closes in five minutes.
I'm just thinning it out
a wee bit,
make sure it doesn't explode.
- Looks so good. Chuffed?
- Yeah, I'm chuffed, yeah.
- Shadow under there.
Getting there,
getting there.
Lucinda's in.
Scary giant fish in.
- And the croc's on the way.
Wow.
So everyone's in now
apart from Tom.
- This is the bit we hate.
- Oh, this is the bit.
- How do you pick it up?
- Do you want help?
Could someone pull the
little thing from underneath?
Do you want us
to hold the paper?
- Yeah.
- Yeah, got that.
- See the metal thing?
- Yeah.
- Just tease that out.
- Really?
No, you don't have to,
but I've only got one hand.
It shouldn't be stuck.
There's paper underneath.
Oh, thank God. All right.
Ah. Ba-da, ba-da. Ta-da!
It appears to not have broken.
Floating.
Tom, you've gotta get it
in the drying room, mate.
Yeah, I'm going, I'm going.
I'm not gonna run, mate.
Well done, friend. Swim away.
And that is it! Well done,
everybody. Time is up.
I really enjoyed that.
More pleasurable than I thought.
Even though I didn't know
what I was doing, it worked.
I got
all the suckers done,
some of them maybe
not to the best quality.
If it comes out the kiln looking
anything like it went in,
I'll be really chuffed.
It went all right. I don't
think I'm feeling confident.
I've done everything that I can,
but looking around the room,
I am shaking in my boots.
For their second challenge,
the potters always face
the unknown.
But this time there's not one
but two unexpected twists.
This is the ultimate
second challenge.
The judges would like you
to quite literally go wild.
You will have a bag of clay,
a selection of tools,
and limited colors.
and with that the judges
would like you to make
a signature set or piece.
But it must tie in with
our theme of the week, wildlife.
You can throw it,
you can hand-build it,
you can do a mix of the two,
but you must try and use
as much of the clay as possible.
Build and design anything you
want in any style or any size.
Just think about showing us
your signature style
and your favorite discipline.
- Now, that's one surprise.
- Oh.
Would you like another surprise?
- Go on.
- Not really.
Please welcome
a very special guest.
- It's Siobhán.
Hello, lovely potters.
Hello, everyone.
It's absolutely lovely
to be back. Look at you.
- Hi. I'm Siobhán.
Thank you so much for letting me
look after the place.
I've heard nothing
but good things about you.
- It's all lies.
- All lies. They were from you.
Right, this is gonna be
judged blind,
so you two can hop off, please.
Good luck.
This is a great chance to show
Siobhán what you're made of.
Come and grab your clay and head
back to your benches, please.
Oh, my God. We have to think.
I wouldn't have a clue
what to do with it.
Isn't it mad? I'd be terrified.
- I'd stick a candle in it.
Potters.
You have one and a half hours
to go wild and free.
Your time starts now.
- Does it feel good?
- Yeah, it feels really good.
This is the first time
the potters have been asked
to create something
completely on the hoof.
- Oh.
- They're stumped.
- They are stumped.
- I don't know what I'm doing.
It's easier when we're told
what to do. It really is.
OK, so, tell me the story.
OK, they're all so talented,
and just, yeah, I think
eyes on the prize a little.
I mean, if you're here
at this stage of the game,
you obviously have something...
Yeah, it's not an accident
if you're here at this stage.
Yeah.
They sound like a great g*ng.
You're gonna flippin' love 'em.
They're my babies.
- And I pass them on to you.
- Oh, thank you.
Thank you for giving me
your babies.
What a strange family
you've got.
I just need to start,
but wh... uh.
How much does
this thing weigh? Loads?
God, that's a lot of clay.
What do you want to be?
I've decided to do nine things.
Anna has quickly
settled on an ambitious plan.
What are you doing here?
I am going to make a beer set.
Four tankards and a beer jug.
And then I'm going to carve
four coasters.
- Beer? Wildlife?
- Wild.
No, no, no, so I'm making
essentially a functional set.
All the wildlife's
carved into it,
and I'm using
things like dragonflies
and bees and stuff like that.
I thought you were suggesting
like beer is an essential
part of nature.
That's what I would say.
And it does create
a lot of wildness, doesn't it?
It does, doesn't it? Yes.
So, I'm gonna do an owl.
My spirit animal.
It's gonna be a jug with a lid,
which is gonna be the head,
hopefully.
And then I'm gonna make
four sort of beakers.
Whilst Anna and Jenny
have decided
to make the most
of the clay by accessorizing...
If I've got time, I will make
a tray for them to stand on.
...Tom is keeping things
simple by going big and bold.
I'm gonna throw
two big earth-like vessels.
And this one's gonna be
kind of blue with white clouds,
and over here I'm gonna have
a brown and red one,
and it's before and after
global warming.
My signature style,
if I had one, would be throwing.
While Tom plays it safe...
I'm trying to pull out
all the stops here.
I'm going to throw four bowls.
They're gonna represent
the four seasons.
...Christine is stepping
out of her comfort zone.
I've not been successful
in throwing challenges,
but I'm not shying away
from throwing.
- Going for the throwing.
- Yeah.
- What you making?
- I don't know.
I'm hoping it'll come...
I'm hoping it'll come to me.
Five of the six potters
have chosen to use the wheel.
I'm going for throwing
because it's quicker.
Everybody else is throwing.
But Lucinda's relying
solely on the power
of her own fair mitts.
I'm gonna hand-build.
I'm going to make one big
elephant walking across a crop.
It's a bit of a statement
about how we as humans
are taking their kind of place.
I just love elephants.
I mean, who doesn't?
Not only is this
a more time-consuming process,
hand building a large form
without drying time
isn't without its risks.
This clay's quite wet.
Not sure how stable it will be
in the time that we've got.
One and a half hours isn't long.
- Potters...
- Potters.
- You are halfway...
- Halfway through!
Halfway through.
Thanks. I've got it.
- Meant to be doing it together.
- Yeah, no, together.
Fight, fight.
With just 45 minutes remaining,
AJ finally has an idea.
I'm gonna throw
three of these,
and then I'm gonna turn them
into animals
of the sea, sky and the earth.
I want them
to be recognizable as a set.
So I'm trying to make them all
the same size.
No matter what the potters
have chosen to make,
Keith and Rich want them to use
as much clay as possible.
I'd never normally throw
something this big.
- It's a ridiculous idea.
- It is a huge lump of clay.
Only halfway through it yet.
I need to be using more of it.
It's not quite right.
He's dumpy.
I will definitely find the time
to improve it if I can.
If this was at home,
then I'd trim
a lot of the weight off,
but I was keeping the weight on
'cause I needed to use
all the clay.
I've revised my plan slightly
because I realized
I was never gonna use
anywhere near all the clay.
So I thought
I'd better make tankards.
And it seems Jenny's upscaling
idea is a popular one.
I'll make tankards.
Tankards. Yes.
In her own bid
to maximize the clay,
Lucinda's increasing
her cast of characters...
This guy is dismayed.
...by making a farmer
to join her elephant.
This just looks so childlike.
Well, if Antony Gormley
can get away with it...
How you doing? That's a nice
big bit of clay you've got.
Yeah, so I'm throwing
two kind of rounded jars.
What other techniques
are you gonna show the judges?
That's a great question,
because that makes it sound
like two isn't enough.
Two is already too many for me,
but you know what they're like.
If I had enough clay, I'd make
lids, but I'm out of clay now,
'cause, like an idiot, I put it
all on the wheel at once.
You don't need a lid.
Lids are just postponing
the moment of opening.
People of the pottery,
you have half an hour left.
With the clock ticking...
Oh, God. There's a lot
of decorating to do.
...the potters need
to make sure their builds have
that all-important
pop of personality
Keith and Rich
will be looking for.
I might have been
a little ambitious
with making nine things.
I'm gonna keep the carving
really simple,
so I think
I should have enough time.
I don't know if I'm gonna get
what I wanted to do done.
I think it's gonna be
fairly rudimentary.
This is my fish.
They're gonna have googly eyes
no matter what.
I'm gonna have to decorate
at some point.
Ten minutes left! Ten minutes
left! Hurry up! Hurry up!
Ten minutes left, Tom!
- Is that from your diaphragm?
- It is actually, yeah, yeah.
- Did you go to drama school?
- Can you tell?
- I can tell.
- Hmm.
Oh, dear. It's going
to be tight, very tight.
What I really want to do
is tidy them up a bit.
What do clouds look like?
It's a big wild thing.
It's used quite a bit of clay.
I haven't really got time
to glaze it,
so I'm going form
over decoration.
I'm not gonna use
any color. I don't have time.
I just put one handle on there,
which is really rough,
'cause it's too soft
to put a handle on.
I was definitely overambitious.
Mere minutes left.
He's getting a bit deflated.
I might have to give him CPR.
I just snogged my frog.
Potters, great news!
One minute left!
Toes.
I'm never normally first.
- Anybody else?
- Christine.
Wonderful, Christine.
It's a weird fish.
And that's it,
time's up! Well done, everybody!
- Congratulations.
- They look great.
- What do you reckon, Siobhán?
- They look fantastic.
Time to get the judges
back in. Keith, Rich!
- Hello.
- Wow.
Crikey. An hour and a half,
no pre-planning.
Brilliant.
Really, really good.
Honestly,
we give you these tasks,
and you've only had an hour
and a half, and it's fantastic.
Echoing the theme
of wildlife week,
the judges want to see
a signature set or piece,
made with flair,
imagination, technical prowess,
and using as much clay
as possible.
There's good continuity
across the whole set.
The forms look reasonably even.
And they've got
some lovely decoration.
Simple but effective.
So we've got the seasons,
by the looks of it.
- Yeah. Autumn.
- Autumn.
Summer, and there's spring.
Spring, lovely,
my favorite time of the year.
They're not
that refined, though, are they?
They're quite thick.
Shall we move on?
Well, you can tell that
you've used a lot of clay here.
I'm really liking the design.
And the adornments
are really great.
They're just really fun,
playful characters.
They seem a good weight
for their size.
Three different designs.
They've got that same injection
of character across the three.
OK, two large vessels.
I mean, whether it's made
the most of the 12 kilos...
There'd be sort of six kilos
in each pot,
which suggests
they're a bit heavy.
I don't know how it felt.
Yeah, it's quite heavy.
And I don't know, is it daytime
and sort of sunset, sunrise?
I don't know whether there's
a strong theme coming through.
- So, moving on.
- A good use of the clay.
Perhaps a bit more time
could have been focused
on the initial set,
rather than going for all of
this as well, it's a bit messy.
I'm not sure
if that handle would stay on
within the firing process.
Moving on. Wow.
Ah!
We're going back
to prehistoric nature, I think.
Is this a kind of a...
an elephant attacking...?
- Is it a mammoth?
- A caveman and a mammoth.
It's certainly the weight of
an elephant in there.
Oh, it is hollow.
It's kind of resting down on
its tummy, a bit squat, perhaps.
I like the use of color. It just
perhaps lacks some finesse.
And last but not least,
I'm just loving this idea here.
This is great. The eyes of
the owl incorporated on the lid.
If they'd had
a little bit more time,
they could have tidied up
the slip decoration on the side.
To use the spout of the jug
for the beak is just inspired.
It's such a great idea.
What's so lovely is that they're
all so completely different.
It's fantastic,
and that's the beauty
of creativity and pottery.
Now Keith and Rich
will rank the signature sets
from worst to best.
In sixth place we have this one.
Whose is this?
Tom. It's not necessarily
the best use of all 12 kilos.
And I'm not entirely sure
whether we got the theme.
Pre global warming
and post global warming.
- Ah, OK.
- In fifth place it's this one.
Who's this?
We love the playful element.
It's an incredible effort.
In fourth place is Anna,
and Christine is third.
So, in second place, we have...
this one.
- Jenny.
- Wow.
Wow. We both loved this one.
Just such a strong theme
coming through.
Good use of the clay.
So that leaves first place, AJ.
Well done, AJ.
The design concept,
it's just typical of your style.
Yeah, it was the one
that we were certain of.
- We were certain.
- We knew who it was.
It's just got your character
written all over it.
- Well done AJ. Fantastic.
- Well done.
They liked my weird
animal fish thing.
Bit bewildered, honestly.
If you're gonna go
for something really simple,
you'd better do it properly,
and I didn't do it properly.
If my main make comes out
the kiln in good condition,
hopefully it'll make up for
my terrible second challenge.
Wait and see.
It's judgment day,
and after a 24-hour firing,
the potters' animal table lamps
are ready to emerge
from the kiln.
- Hello.
- Hello.
- How you feeling?
- Sick.
- Terrified.
- Sick?
I'm feeling apprehensive as ever
about the kiln opening,
hoping that rod's
still in one piece.
Oh, it's on!
- There she is.
- Thank you.
Whoo! Oh, wow. It's in one bit.
I'm going for the top.
You always aim for the top.
You never go in there going,
"I'm going to make the third
best object in the room."
- Oh!
- Look at that.
Either the badger will come out
absolutely spanking fantastic,
or it will come out in bits.
Do you know what?
I forgot to put a hole in it.
I forgot to put a hole
in the tail. Bother.
Before being judged...
I still think downward,
or should it be upward?
...the potters have been given
a variety of light bulbs...
I think it could take
the big one, you know.
I quite like just the absurdity
of the giant light bulb,
- I've gotta admit.
- ...and electrical flex
to make their lamps
fully functional.
I hadn't really thought about
how the flex was going before,
so I might give it,
like, a wrap around the feet.
I'm pleased with the red.
I'm wondering if I can wrap it
round that crack as well.
Yeah, uplight.
Downlight, uplight.
It's more of a... phwew! Yes.
Six animal table lamps
now face the judgment
of Keith and Rich.
- Right behind you.
AJ, could you please bring up
your animal table lamp, please?
Wow.
It's really, really
well constructed.
And I love that shape
you've managed to get.
It's very playful,
it's very characterful,
and you've given this true
representation of an otter.
In terms of sgraffito,
we couldn't have asked
for a better example.
The quality of the surface
where you haven't
scratched through is pristine.
I love the way
you've faded it out to the nose.
It's almost unbelievable
that you've managed
to get that level of detail
with just one color
and a couple of different tools.
It's just brilliant.
So let's see Otto on, shall we?
- Ah.
I mean, you know, the shape
just comes into its own.
The shape lends itself so well
to be lit from the inside.
Because of
the amazing structure,
it looks great
with the light off,
and then because of
that amazing definition
that you've managed to get
with the sgraffito,
it looks great
with the light on.
Genius, beautiful.
I was
really, really concerned
about the amount of texture
you were putting on first
before going through
the process of sgraffito.
Actually, what it's created
is an incredibly complex,
very deep surface.
I mean, it's just got
bags and bags of character.
Yeah, the level of detail
that you've managed to get in
with that decoration,
just one color,
it's incredible isn't it?
And the way the paws are
just holding that light fitting,
there's a sort of
playfulness to it.
The only concern I would have
is obviously the split here.
Yeah.
Let's see how he looks lit up.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, it looks brilliant.
The way
the light shines off his face
just really, really works.
It's a wonderful,
wonderful table lamp.
I love the red flex even more.
That bold color works so nicely
against the black and the white.
Have you dressed
to match your lamp today?
- I might have done.
The general construction
of the polar bear
is just
really, really wonderful.
And I'm loving the paws.
And the detail on that fish
is just really amazing.
But the proportions
are slightly out.
- Bit irregular.
- Yeah.
I was really concerned
about the fact
that you've chosen
a white animal
and we've given you
a white clay.
But actually
you have put the black color
in exactly the right places
to kind of really accentuate
the form.
But there's not masses
and masses of sgraffito on it.
There's a lot
of this kind of incising
which creates a lovely sort of
illustrative kind of quality,
but that makes it feel less real
and more kind of a caricature.
Let's see if the table light
looks as good on as it does off.
Oh.
All of this incising
on the side here
actually really looks beautiful,
you know, under the light.
The texture just pops.
It's great.
I think that works
really, really well.
Thank you.
It's got eight legs,
for a start,
which is a great result.
There's definitely
life in it,
and a sense of energy,
isn't there?
You've managed to get the
fluidity into those tentacles.
The suckers work
really, really well.
You probably sponged those back,
though. Yeah.
Started scraping,
ran out of time.
Yeah, I mean, you know,
the only real sgraffito
we can kind of look for on
this piece is on this main body.
And there is a lovely
quality of line to some of it,
but some of it perhaps feels
a little more rushed.
So, shall we see
Mr Octopus on?
I think the size of the
light bulb works really well.
Maybe the positioning
of the light bulb
may be better in the front
to show his face.
If overall
everything was a bit bigger,
it maybe would have had
a bit more impact.
But, actually, I love the way
that the fitting
is kind of concealed
within one of the tentacles.
It doesn't feel like
the fitting and the bulb
is at odds
to the overall composition.
A brave construction.
Would have loved to have seen
a bit more sgraffito,
but a lovely observation
of an octopus.
This croc can rest easy
with his belly
full of Labradors,
'cause I just think
the level of observation
is just incredible.
Do you know, it feels like
he's really launching himself
off the ground
to catch that bulb.
And the surfaces you've created,
they just feel like
that of a crocodile,
that rough-textured,
gnarly skin.
It's just so complex.
It's beautiful.
Loving the texture. I think the
texture really, really works.
And maybe the observations
of the feet and the arms
are slightly out,
and that proportion,
but there's lovely, lovely
energy not only in the structure
but also in that sgraffito,
which is great.
OK, then,
can we dim the lights?
- Wow.
- Ooh.
It really comes to life,
picks up all of this incising
down the neck
and all the front here.
- Lovely.
- And I'm just...
I'm loving
the energy in that mouth.
That works really, really well.
Brilliant. Thank you very much.
- Great, Anna. Thank you.
- Well done, Anna.
Thanks.
You know what, Jenny?
It's brilliant.
I love it. I absolutely love it.
I love the incising on it.
I love the color of it.
I'm loving the teeth. You've
really thought about the teeth.
I love everything about it.
I love you for doing it.
It's... It's...
It's absolutely fantastic.
I just think it really, really
works as a light.
It is such
a well-thought-out design.
You can really see the amount
of work that's gone into it.
There's a lot
of mark-making here.
I mean, all of this embossing,
and then you've got
this really rough texture
you've created
with your lacework.
And in terms of
the sgraffito process,
you've got that single tone
that's gone
in a very strong, flat way.
And all of that light and shade
picking up
different aspects of the fish
have been done with a tool,
and using that tool
in different ways.
It's a perfect example of that.
And, you know, the whole animal
is just looking
towards the light bulb,
and that really works.
And I kind of almost know
that it's gonna look great
with the light bulb on.
Shall we see
what it looks like?
Jenny.
It's great. It's brilliant.
Who knew
you could get so excited
about a bloody light bulb?
- But it's brilliant.
Honestly,
the last couple of weeks,
you've just really
come into your own.
Don't know what you're drinking.
It just seems to be
really working.
I mean, seriously,
it goes for all of you.
You've improved so much,
and it's just...
it's just wonderful
for me and him to stand here,
and it's a privilege to...
to judge what you give us.
- It's absolutely brilliant.
- Very true. It's very true.
It's a really wonderful
table light.
Thank you.
Keith cried.
It's always amazing
when Keith cries.
You know that he's seen
something in what you've done.
I mean,
I was genuinely gobsmacked.
That went a lot better
than I expected.
I don't think
they said anything negative.
I was kind of standing there
just a bit bewildered, honestly.
I was just
not expecting it at all.
I'm a little bit worried
this week.
There's a clear top three,
I'm not in it,
and there's only six of us.
I feel a bit flat after judging.
I tried my best, but just
looking around the room,
the makes were
really good makes, you know.
I think I could be going home.
Keith and Rich must now decide
who will be potter of the week
and whose time is up.
Well, wildlife week, hey?
Our pride has grown.
- Yay!
- Very good. I like that.
And also the table lights
were absolutely fantastic.
Yeah, amazing.
I've never known it so tight.
At the top and at the bottom.
And who do you think
had one of the best weeks?
For me, Jenny. Her anglerfish
was just amazing.
I mean, first you claimed
that you loved her.
- What have I been missing?
- No, no.
Jenny's attention to detail,
the way the light worked with
her structure, just brilliant.
I thought AJ
had a fantastic week.
The sgraffito
was just beautiful.
I loved the shape, you know.
Once that bulb was illuminated,
it just created
this incredible shadow.
- And what about at the bottom?
- Christine has to be there.
Her polar bear slightly lacked
that realism
that we were looking for.
I thought she did well
to incorporate
that black underglaze
in such a way
that there was still
elements of sgraffito in there.
Yeah, that worked
really, really well for her.
And then we've got Tom
and his octopus.
I was just massively relieved
it was in one piece,
'cause I just didn't think those
tentacles were gonna survive.
For me, the way the light worked
wasn't as well thought out
as some of the other structures.
Just not enough sgraffito,
and that's basically what
the challenge was all about.
Well, it sounds like you have
a very tough decision to make.
I don't envy you.
- Yeah, so, Siobhán...
- So, yeah, anyway...
I wanna talk
about your earrings...
Yeah, you know what...
Potters, thank you so much
for truly brightening up
my last week in the pottery.
I've had
an absolute flipping ball.
But decisions have been made.
I have the nice news.
I get to announce
who potter of the week is.
Now, after much deliberation...
- Much. Sorry, much.
- Yes, a lot of deliberation.
- Blah, blah, blah.
They have finally decided,
so I'm absolutely delighted
to say
that this week's
potter of the week...
is AJ.
- No way!
- Well done.
Thank you.
Now, as I'm the person
leaving the pottery,
it's only right that I announce
the person leaving the pottery.
So it's with much sadness
that the person
leaving us this week is...
Tom.
- We're so sorry, Tom.
- It's all right.
Mate, come here.
- I'm coming for a hug.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Crikey.
- Thanks, mate.
Such a fantastic time.
The people are lovely.
I've learnt so much.
I've challenged myself.
I've learnt new skills.
I thought I was a boring potter,
but it turns out I'm not.
So, yeah, I feel...
I feel proud of myself.
Oh, Tom.
- Keep trucking.
- Ah.
I will miss Tom. I'm shocked.
I was ready for going.
Ellie, potters,
you're dismissed.
Actually, yeah,
Tom, can I get a lift?
- Yeah, sure.
I'll give you some petrol money.
As Tom says goodbye
to the pottery,
AJ's otter table lamp
becomes their second piece
in the Throw Down gallery.
Pccchew!
Uh...
I d... I don't know what to say.
What a confidence boost.
I came into this week
thinking I was going home,
not that I was gonna be
potter of the week.
AJ is firing on all cylinders.
The way the whole form
worked with the light,
and the character
in that face,
it was just really wonderful.
There was that graphic quality
of the sgraffito,
and yet it felt like an otter,
it said otter, it spoke otter.
It just had everything.
I loved it.
It's quarter finals next week.
How did that happen?
It's just so exciting to be
part of this entire process.
It's just... It's wow.
- Next time...
- This is my first week back.
Pressure's on.
- - It's the quarter final.
- Who knows what will happen?
As the potters construct
abstract self-sculptures...
- This is very personal,
- ...and their very own kilns.
- I love it.
- We've got fire.
As well as becoming
off-the-hump
candlestick makers.
Come on!
Who will ensure
self-preservation?
It's brilliant.
And whose departure
will be self-inflicted?
- That's me after a night out.
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05x07 - Wildlife Week and Hand-Built Table Lamps
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In each episode, a group of amateur potters compete to complete two pottery challenges.
In each episode, a group of amateur potters compete to complete two pottery challenges.