07x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

Oh, Raku!

Raku, I never quite understood
you, to be honest.

Oh, Raku.

Oh!

It's the dream
again.

The goggles.

Oh, God, it seems dangerous.

Raku, oh! Ooh!

It's so hot. It's glowing.

Careful, careful.

Oh, Raku!

Noooo!

Ah, it must be raku week
because the dream's returned.

Welcome to The Great Pottery Throw
Down.

Rose, the raku dream's come back.
Do you want to hear all about it?

No, thanks.

Oh.

Last time, the potters slaved
over slabs...

A good bash is very good
for the spirit.

..to produce twin Staffordshire
flatbacks.

I don't understand what
Staffordshire flatbacks are.

Nor do I!

And while Donna's pristine pair
secured potter of the week,

Shani's slabs buckled under the
pressure...

I got a massive crack.

..and she became the latest potter
to leave the competition.

This time...

...it's back to nature...

...with a
farmyard animal sculpting challenge.

Twit twoo.

There's a popular bird
in the spot test...

I've done a robin.
Anyone else doing a robin?

Me. Me. Yeah.

..and the potters take on an ancient
art. Raku-man!

But who will triumph? Woo!

And whose hopes of staying
will go up in flames?

Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

People have their uses

Our nine remaining potters are back for the
week they've all been looking forward to

and dreading in equal measure.

Raku week, innit?

Fire, fun and, I dunno, panic.

Fire, fire and danger.

It's just going to be great, innit?

It should be fun.
There's a lot of risk involved.

There's a lot of opportunities for things
to pop off or crack or, sort of, snap off.

It's obviously crossed my
mind that it might explode.

But, yeah, I think it's going
to be so exciting.

Totally terrified.
But you know what?

We're going to give it a go.

Welcome back, potters, to the pottery
and to raku week.

The judges would like you to make
an animal bust.

The animals should be an animal
found around the farm

and should be a realistic
interpretation.

Keith, any advice for our farmers?

I mean potters.

We want you to slab-make
your farmyard animals.

We're really looking
for realism here.

Think about how you're going to create
those textures of wool, fur and feathers.

Great, you have been given five hours
to make and refine your animal busts

and your time starts now.

Raku week starting.
Lovely, bring it on.

Nervously excited, yes.

Sculpting, I'm looking forward to
it.

I want to make it as real
as it can be.

So, Rich.
Yes.

Raku week.
Yes.

I mean, what's not to love
about raku?

Fire, smoke, spontaneous results.

And the unpredictability.
Definitely.

So, we've asked them to make an
animal that you would find on a farm.

We're looking for that realism
in them.

If they choose a ram or a cow, it's those
different appendages that are quite fragile.

They need to just make sure
they're really well joined,

because that's going to be a
potential weak spot

when it comes to the
rigours of the raku firing process.

Yeah, it's such a violent process.
Definitely.

It's going to be really interesting how they
incorporate different textures within this raku process.

Yeah, they just need to have a really careful,
measured approach to the whole of this process.

It's a trial by fire, quite
literally.

Hello, lovey. Hello.
Hi, Sophie. Hello.

So, tell us about your design.

So, I'm doing a donkey.

Aw! Um... Is that you on the donkey?
Yeah, that's me on a donkey.

So, we always used to go down to,
like, Weston at summer

and always had the donkey
rides, which I always loved.

And then that's my dad's donkey.

When he grew up, he had a little
donkey in the field

next to his house.

And does your donkey have a name?

Anita. So that was the name of my
dad ...Anita. ..My dad's donkey.

So, yeah.
Brilliant.

Sophie plans to give Anita depth

using underglazes, crackle glaze
and oxides,

but the raku firing will be a step
into the unknown for her.

Bit nervous for today. I think, all
new things I've never done before.

You've never done any raku before at
all? No, never done raku.

Well, that's great, because
you might get beginner's luck.

Hopefully.
Honestly.

All of the potters
are using formers...

Underneath there's a ball of
wrapped-up newspaper.

..to provide temporary support
until the clay is firm enough

to maintain its own form.

When it comes to getting it out,
that's when the stress will kick in.

And while most have opted
for something fairly basic...

There's no detail.
It's just a lump on a stick.

..others have taken a more
sophisticated approach.

Dave's is like this amazing
piece of carpentry.

The former actually takes apart
into five bits,

so that I can remove it a bit at a
time without having to

alter the shape
and that's where cracks will occur.

While Dave's designed a former
that's easy to extract...

It'll be good. It'll be good.

..Steven's will require some surgery.

Because I'm building it on top
of a mould,

I'm going to be cutting it off at
the end,

so I'm going to be cutting it in two
and then reconnecting it.

I'm making a cow.

It's based off of a pet cow that my
father-in-law used to have.

It's called Demi MOO-er, farmyard
classic, you know.

Steven will portray Demi
with her tongue up her nose.

He'll achieve her monochrome

colouring by contrasting matte black

with shiny white crackle glaze.

But before that, she must
go under the knife.

Just keep an eye when you
split the whole thing in half.

Because that join, that's going to
be quite fragile. Yeah.

Straight up. Perfect, thank you.

But Steven's not the only one
taking a risk with his former.

I want to start moulding
it from the inside.

So, I've decided to take
the former out pretty early.

I'm making a barn owl. I think they
look kind of cool, y'know?

A little mysterious, a little
inquisitive.

So, I thought, with a posture
change with the tilted head,

that that would add a bit
of character.

Along with its characteristic head
tilt, heart shaped face

and piercing black eyes,

Daniel will use underglazes
and oxides to highlight

the subtle beauty of this enigmatic
creature.

I love owls. Yeah?
Yeah. They're a little mysterious.

There's a bit of mystique there. People
have described me as owl like.

I'm just curious because they're quite
sleek, quite plain, quite pared back.

How will that work with the raku
process?

Yeah, so I'm hoping to add some
texture with these sprig moulds.

OK. And what I'm going to do is
essentially kind of press into it

from the inside. Right, OK.

Yeah, so that's going to be tricky
timing isn't it

because if it's too dry it'll just
crack. Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, thanks, Daniel.
Cheers.Thank you. SIOBHAN HOOTS.

But Daniel's barn owl won't be
flying solo in the pottery today.

I'm doing a red kite.

You know, they're really useful
round the farm.

They eat rodents. They're
an important part of our ecosystem.

Hi, yeah, I'm a red kite, I rock.

Cadi's keeping things simple when it
comes to the sculpting side

of the challenge,

relying instead
on her decorating ability

and the effects of the raku to bring
out the beauty in her favourite

bird of prey's distinctive plumage.

I am worried.

Because it's quite a simplistic
form,

it's really important that it is
as realistic as I can get it.

It needs that character
to really bring it to life.

And Cadi isn't the only
one feeling the pressure.

I've only ever done human sculpting
and that's not gone too well for me,

so I'm definitely out of my comfort
zone here.

I'm doing a fox.

Most of the childhood stories that I
really enjoyed have elements of like a fox.

Even the movie Fantastic Mr Fox, I
remember watching and just being like,

"That was really, really great."

Coupled with her happy memories,

Princess is drawn to the geometric
form

and lustrous coat of the fox,

and she's taken a unique approach
to the build.

The bust is on like a cylinder.

So, there's this... Oh, wow. Oh, I
see, right, right.

..that I'll be cutting down a bit.

Fantastic. And so, it's going to sit
on the neck. OK. OK.

The only thing I need to make sure
of, it has to be nicely sealed...

Yes. Yes. ..So that it doesn't
create a weak point and cracks.

Hopefully, it all goes well.

It's like sculpting the
skeleton, first of all.

The bone structure
is what makes it look realistic.

Keith and Rich will be looking
for busts that are

anatomically correct and intricately
detailed.

The muscles are quite tight
in the cow's head,

so I'm going to try and really
accentuate those areas.

So, eyes now, making sure
that they don't look weird.

I've done quite a few sketches
trying to get the eyes right,

and they've got distinctive bright
orangey-green eyes

and these huge big kind of oblong
black pupils.

So, I want to make sure I get
those in

because I think that they're really
distinctive on the goat.

As well as its unique eyes,

Donna's largely monochrome billy goat
will be highly textured,

sport a bushy beard

and a fine set of curly horns.

What's your plan for all these
textures?

Cos there's lovely kind
of horns and additions, and hair.

I do want to get quite a bit
of white on the crackle glaze,

cos I want to get
lots of crackle through it.

And then the rest of it,

I'm going to use wax resist to try
and get the dark carbonisation.

OK. And then on the horns, I want to
try and get a bronze

kind of effect on that.

Ah, OK. That is the plan.
I'm hoping that it works.

But Donna's isn't the only
goat in the pottery.

It's quite an exciting shape to
make, it's got the horns,

the ears, the forehead.

You know, there'll be a point
when it'll look goat-y

and stops looking like a giraffe.
Hopefully!

Dan's also hoping to achieve
a metallic effect with oxides,

which he will apply to his goat's
face as well as its horns,

in a bid to outshine two times
potter of the week, Donna.

Who is the GOAT, do you think?

It's definitely Donna.

Greatest of all time? Yeah,
yeah, absolutely.

I love that Dan was expecting
you to go, "Oh, no, no!"

Ha-ha, yeah! And she's like, "Yeah,
greatest of all time.

"Yes, I bloody well am.

"About time someone noticed."

OK, I can now add some
more donkey features.

Any attachments the potters add...

So I've got ears, and then I've
got a tongue that's coming

out of the mouth, into the nose.

..will be particularly vulnerable
when it comes to the

brutal raku firing.

I'm just going to make sure I
really blend.

Loads of slip
and scoring, really blend.

I'd worry about the horns.

Gotta make sure that I join them so,
so well.

But when it comes to his choice
of farmyard creature,

Dave is throwing caution to the wind.

So, I've just put the snood on.
They're really odd animals, turkeys.

All the strange appendages on them.

It takes risks to a whole new level,
and the contrasting colours

I'm hoping will really pop.

If it works, it will be brilliant.

Having narrowly missed out on potter
of the week in previous weeks,

Dave is pulling out all the stops

with an ambitious, intricate
and colourful design.

As well as the turkey's snood,
caruncles and wattle,

he'll add each feather individually.

Are you putting texture on this
bit for the feathers?

Yeah, sort of little arcs of clay

and starting at the back
and working down.

Oh, that's a lot of work.
Yeah.

Yeah, but if that oxide works
with it it's going to look stunning.

It could look great, couldn't
it? Yeah.

And Dave, how are you enjoying
this whole experience?

Well, it's a bit
like being in prison... Oh, right?

..but it's a prison with a very well
developed craft rehabilitation course.

Because as people don't realise, there is
barbed wire all the way around Gladstone Museum.

That's because I tried to escape
last year!

Potters, you're halfway through.

Steven, you're halfway MOO!

And Daniel,
you're halfway. TWIT TWOO!

Texture time.

My detail is going to be in the kind
of fur.

Lots and lots and lots of feathers.
A rather repetitive task.

To achieve the realistic fur,

feathers or hair demanded by Keith
and Rich...

Donkeys are quite fluffy, I suppose.

So, I'm just trying to, like,
really define that.

..the potters must consider every
mark they make

and how they can make the most of
it during the raku firing.

Some of these areas, I haven't
tried to score into them too much

because I want that all to crack
when I add the white crackle glaze.

I'm doing feather textures.

It's going to be my secret weapon
because those little ridges

are going to really look lovely.

But whilst Cadi's plan is coming
together,

Daniel's sprig moulds
are causing him problems.

I'm a bit worried about the feather
texture I've tried to add.

It's kind of making the clay start
to crack as it dries out a bit,

so I might just smooth over and sort
of see what I can do later.

Every time I look at it,
I need to alter something.

So, I'm just going to concentrate
on getting a hairy neck

because obviously, you know,

you're not an alpaca unless you got
a hairy neck.

Jan will use red iron oxide to
capture the rich tones

of her alpaca's coat,

which she's fashioning with the
help of a kitchen cupboard staple.

Have you done all the tinfoil?

Not all of it. I've st... Can I do
some?

Go on, then, yeah. Anywhere you
like.

Stick it in.

Oh, he's a bit soft, isn't he?

He's very soft, yeah. I need him to
harden up a bit.

Yeah. Buck up, sir! Buck up!

Life's tough, but you've got
to deal with it.

Potters, you've one hour left. One
hour left.

With the clock ticking, it's
the moment of truth.

I'm going to start trying
to peel out the former.

The potters must treat their busts
with the utmost care.

I just need to get this base out
to begin with.

Ooh, ooh, oooo!

The more they manipulate
the clay...

The paper's sort of stuck,
and it's shrunk in there.

..the greater the chance of cracks.

Oh, this is really stuck in there.

Oh, my God, I don't want
to have to cut it open.

I've had to cut it to take
it off the former.

It's quite sturdy, so hopefully
it's OK.

But for Steven and Dan, radical
surgery was always part of the plan.

So, I'm going all the way
down the central line.

It's got a former inside, so I need
to chop the whole thing open

to get that out.

I wouldn't do that.
Mine isn't getting cut in half.

Nobody would be that foolhardy.

Nobody would be that foolhardy?
May I introduce you to Dan?

I know!

Oh, it's out and it's held
its shape.

Amazing.

Oh, yes.

This man is an engineering genius.

Good.

Oh, my God, what if there are small
chocolate goats inside there?

Is that how goats are made?

This is like a Damien Hirst artwork.

Wicked. Have you got it?
Yeah, perfect.

Thank you so much.
Great, that's a pleasure.

Not only will any joins
have to survive a bisque firing,

they also face the violent
and unforgiving raku process.

I am a bit worried that the
structural integrity

is starting to come apart.

And Daniel's come up with a plan
to strengthen his owl.

I figured it'd be better
to add new wings.

These should help reinforce it
a little bit.

Hopefully it stays
on in the firing.

Potters, you've half an hour left.
Half an hour left.

Doing the feathers is going to k*ll
me, I think.

Next time I'm just
going to do a raku worm.

Roll it out, stick it in the kiln.
Jobs a good 'un.

It'll turn into fur in a minute
because they have

a really big puffy part.

And I really want that to sort
of stand out.

Princess has chosen to work on
the two pieces completely in isolation.

Yeah. You know, will it feel like a
tube and a head

or will it feel like that kind of
flowing fur of a fox?

It seems fairly firm on.

So, I'm just going over any joins
and making sure

that they're smoothed in.

I'm a bit concerned about
Daniel's owl.

He decided to emboss sheets of clay
and then stick on whole sheets.

OK. I'm a bit concerned
that if those become delaminated,

he could lose a whole section.

We've got a recovering Demi on the
table and, yeah, she's nearly there.

Steven, he's cut the whole thing in
half

and it wants to be really well
bonded because if it isn't,

we all know joins can equal cracks.

What noise does a cow make?

Moo.

That's quite good.

Ten minutes left, potters.
Ten minutes left.

I'm just going to concentrate
on getting a hairy neck.

Everything is in the fur
to give it more depth.

Now, I'm worrying
I've made it too simplistic.

You know, there's always scope
for torturing yourself.

I think he looks quite regal.
I've called him Gary.

I might need to change his name
because the Gary

that he's named after is not regal.

Potters, a reminder that your animal
busts should be in the drying room.

Oh, God, I hope it fires all right.

The thing about when you hand build
is you never know when it ends.

It looks OK and then you look back
at it and find one more thing to do.

Right, I'm not rushing.

Galloping into the drying room.

Oh, we'll see if the form
holds together.

Well done, wasn't that fun?

Yes.

I was enjoying that, the turkey
came together fine.

Bring on the raku.

Once dried, Rose will bisque
fire the animal busts

in readiness for the decoration.

And then the all-important
raku firing.

I'm confident that
I won't get a crack in the middle.

I am maybe a bit worried
about the wings, like flapping off,

but, yeah, I think it should be OK.

No wheels.

It's not throwing, thank God for
that.

The potters are back to face their
second challenge, and as usual,

they have no idea
what it's going to be.

Welcome back, potters.

Your second challenge this week is a
mark-making and design challenge.

And we have a very special
guest judge.

Please give a warm pottery welcome to
Jacqui Atkin.

Hello. Hello.

Hello, Jacqui, welcome. Lovely to
have you here.

Thank you for having me.

Jacqui has been making her mark on
the pottery world for over 20 years,

specialising in bold,

colourful ceramics which combine
botanical and bird imagery.

Her mastery of mark-making creates
elaborate textured surfaces,

and Jacqui's pieces have exhibited
in galleries across the UK.

Beautiful.
Are you nervous yet?

Yeah, yeah, very nervous.

You should be.

OK, you'll all have one of these.

What I'd like you to start by doing
is putting a base colour on.

I'd advise that you start with a
pale colour

rather than a dark colour

because you'll be adding
more colour later on.

And your design should include
a bird and a leaf motif.

Put your template against the side
of the pot

and start to draw those in.

There's no room for error.
No, you've got one go at this.

So, you keep going until your
surface is divided up

and then draw in
other features, different shapes.

And thereafter I would start
to paint in the key features.

Just fill in the inner space, when you're
adding some colour, within the lines.

This needs to be really precise.

I'm looking for a really great
division of the space

and the marks within those spaces to
be different across

the whole surface,

and then a really lovely
contrasting colour effect.

So not much then.
It's not a lot to achieve.

That's fantastic Jacqui, thank you
very, very much. You're welcome.

Potters, back to your benches.

OK. Well, this is going to be judged
blind.

So, I'm going to ask you three
to hop it.

Out you go, Jacqui.OK. Make
my cup of tea. JACQUI LAUGHS.

You know how I like it.

Potters, you have...

..an hour and a quarter.
Yay!

And your time starts now.

I'm glad it's not a throw down
again.

Oh, I like this.

Before the potters can take flight
with their bird and leaf designs...

I thought I'd start with getting
the slip on.

..they need to add a base layer.

I've mixed a lilac colour.

I was going for like a bit
more of a dusk sort of background.

She said light.

I've done both sides in case
I mess one up.

Do you remember anything Jacqui said
about the base colour

she'd start with?

Has everyone gone a bit lighter?

A little bit lighter, yeah, than the
grey. Yeah.

Oh, can I get another pot?
No.

Three minutes ago.

We gave this to you three
minutes ago.

Right, I'm going in for the first
marks.

Templates made, the potters must now
scribe their motifs onto the vase.

Oh, you got this, a remnant from your
main make.

Yeah, something I've been practising
drawing, you know,

so it made it a lot quicker for
me to decide on.

Well, it's a beautiful looking owl.

This is my heron.

It's a lot more delicate
than I thought it was.

In my element.

So I'm doing a robin and some
holly leaves.

I've done a robin.

Anyone else doing a robin?

Me. Me. Yeah.

What leaf motif are you doing?

Um, I've done a oak tree...

Gorgeous.
..and then some acorns.

Potters, you're halfway through.

Princess, how are you getting on?

I just heard what Sophie said,
I think we're doing the same design.

So, oak leaves and a robin.

From the look of it, she's doing
an American-style oak.

And you're doing more of a
European-style oak. OK. Phew!

Now they've made their marks, it's
time to add some more colour.

I'm just going to go straight
in with the bird

because I feel like that's the most
important part.

I'm going to make the owl whitish.

How do you think the orange
is going to get on over the grey?

We're gonna find out now,
actually.

All right, hold on. I need to warm up
before I say, "I told you so."

OK. Are you ready?

Wow, look at that.

It might need a few layers.

I'm trying to fill in some
big areas.

Trying to create a wee bit
of tonal variation.

The biggest problem is I like to do a
tidy job, and we haven't got time for that.

Potters, you have ten minutes left.

It would be nice to have another
half hour or so.

It's quite nice. I quite like it.

Quite sweet now it's got an eyeball.
Now, it looks like an actual bird.

I've gone with red just to...
Oh, it looks awful!

Ha-ha! ..Just to ruin it.

Five minutes left, potters.

Five minutes to do something
different.

I suppose you just got to be quite
daring with the marks,

like, you can't overthink them
too much, which is quite difficult

for me because I tend to overthink.

I'm fairly pleased with where
we've got to here, but, you know,

I could do loads more.

Now I need to stand
it up without destroying it.

Oh, it looks quite nice standing up.

Does anyone have any black?
Black? Yes, I've got black. Ten...

..Nine... ..Eight...
..Seven... ..Six...

..Five... ..Four...
..Three... ..Two...

..One.

Tools down.

Please bring your vases
up to your ware board.

How'd it go? Oh, nice.
I'm scared to drop it now.

Jacqui will now
judge the potters' work.

This is the exciting bit.
Yes.

She's looking for striking bird
and leaf motifs,

combined with a variety of mark
making sections,

and finished off with a contrasting
colour effect.

I'm going to start at this end.

Well, that's really interesting.
I like the bird on this one.

What do you think about the
line work, Jacqui?

Could have just moved
in a few different directions.

This person's put the colour
all over,

but I think I would have liked to
have seen a few more marks

in there as well as the colour.

OK, next one.

I like the bird. It's a robin,
I take it, and an oak leaf.

Yes, that's lovely.
Well done.

Number four.

Wow. Ah, it's lovely
to have a flying bird.

It's never occurred to me to put
a flying bird into my own surface.

So, that's an idea to take
away with me, isn't it?

Excellent.
Number five.

It's so exciting.
Like Christmas.

It is like Christmas.Oh!

Wow! That's a really nice idea,
actually,

to have a theme
going on on the surface.

Let's have a look at this one.

That's beautiful.

It's very nice, strong line
mark-making.

Yeah, somebody used
a ruler a well, there.

OK, next one.

Oh!
Ooh.

People like robins, don't they?
Well, I like the oak leaf.

I like the shape of this robin
though. Yeah. I like its simplicity.

OK.
Ooh, that's very interesting.

Wow. It's a painting, almost.
Yeah.

The lines just add something else
to that

because you get the sense
of water moving.

Last but not least.

Wow, that really sort of shouts
at you, doesn't it?

It does, doesn't it? Yeah.

The colours are wonderful,

and I like the way the leaf
has been repeated

across the surface of it.

Yeah. Yeah. It's really, really
wonderful. Wow.

The judges will now rank
the potters from worst to first.

They do look like you've enjoyed
yourselves. Well done.

In ninth place is this one.

Dan. I think I would have liked to
have just seen a few more marks,

and the space
to have been filled a little more.

In eighth place is this one.

Ah, Daniel.

I liked your use of colour in terms
of the leaves and the backdrop,

but I think I'd have liked to have
seen a little bit more

colour overall.

In seventh place is Steven, sixth
is Princess, Jan comes fifth,

Dave fourth and it's Sophie in third.

In second place...

..we have the flying bird.

Donna.
Well done.

Beautiful, lovely idea.

And you've also put in a really nice
range of marks into that.

So, that's fantastic.

And in first place,
we have this one.

Cadi, well done.

I love the use of colour in this.

I like the fact that you've repeated
your leaf shapes,

which really balances it out
beautifully.

So, well done.

Congratulations.
Time for you to rest.

We'll see you later,
potters dismissed.

First in the spot test.

Can't believe it!

Terrible design.

It puts a lot of pressure
on the outcome of my goat.

I've really got to work,
otherwise I'm in trouble.

Yeah.

The potters' animal busts
have been bisque fired

and are ready for decoration.

Hello.
Oh.

But they'll only find out if their
wee beasties have survived intact

when they remove the hessian.

Welcome back, potters.

Your animal busts have been bisque
fired and are ready to be decorated.

Judges, any advice?

Make sure you have a really clear
plan for your decoration.

Think about which bits you want
colour and crackle effect on

and which bits you're going
to leave unglazed.

Anything you leave unglazed is likely to go
really dark during the raku firing process,

so consider how you can integrate
that into your animal busts.

Think about how those glazes
and oxides work with those surfaces

and textures you've created.

This is your chance for those
animals to really come to life.

OK, potters, you've been given two and
a half hours to decorate your animal busts

and your time starts now.

Oh, it survived.

Hello, gorgeous.

It's looking really well.

My jigsaw puzzling of the bust
worked.

No cracks where I joined them.

No cracks.
It's all in one piece.

Oh, so, yeah, I'm really relieved.

There's a bit of a crack
in the wing.

But Daniel's owl hasn't been quite
so fortunate.

But it doesn't look
like it's going to pop off... yet.

Well, I was a bit concerned when you
were putting a big sheet on.

Yeah. I was worried that that whole
sheet might delaminate.

Fingers crossed it'll kind
of stay there

and not split any more during the
firing.

Yeah, I'm hoping so.

Excited to get decorating, now.
Tart her up a bit...

..or him, Gary.

Before they apply any colour,
the potters must decide which,

if any, areas they will leave
unglazed.

If the raku is successful,
these should turn a dark colour.

Anywhere you wax resist
for raku will stay black.

But that does require a certain
amount of mental gymnastics.

It's quite difficult working
with this

because you're kind of working in
reverse.

You're painting the areas white
that are going to be black

and the areas that you want white,
you're putting the glaze on.

Not only that, the results from raku
can be completely unpredictable.

I'm relying quite a lot on it
being raw on the black sections,

which is quite a lot of it.
The raku is going to do most of it.

And it can also place a lot
of stress on the clay.

You did cut it in half,
didn't you? I did, yeah, yeah.

So, yeah, I gave it a good thick
coil as it was joined in the centre

and then kind of smoothed it on the
inside. Yeah.

So, there's no sign of a crack
there.

But, you know, pretty happy with it.
Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed.

Yeah, it should be all right.

Just like Steven, Donna
will be relying a lot on the raku

for her goat's monochrome colouring.

I'm going to be using quite
a lot of wax resist.

That should mask off the areas
that I want to go dark.

Oh, my God, put the glasses on him.

Oh, look, ha-ha, the librarian goat.

But whilst Gary the goat might still
be looking a bit pale...

I'm ramping it up, ramping up
the colours a bit.

..Dave is going all out with
the underglazes.

Choosing a turkey, I think it's got
a lot of advantages.

The colouring is stunning,
particularly the male turkeys

with the reds and the pale
blue contrast.

There's no other farm animal really
that fits the bill with that.

Potters, that's one hour gone.

Along with underglazes...

What's a good pink?

..the potters have been given
a selection of oxides.

I am oxidising the horns.

I want to get them a fun
metallic-y look.

I've applied one layer of iron oxide
and then I've wiped back

because I didn't want it to go
too dark.

Say hello to Al, isn't he gorgeous?
He is gorgeous.

Well, now I've put on this red
iron oxide,

now I'm taking off the surface.

So, it'll give it a bit more
of a texture?

Well, yeah, it's to give
it like a depth.

Have you seen the mess I'm making
on the floor? Dripping off my elbow.

OK, I'm going to help you here, now.

I could show you what they do
to me when I have my lunch.

Bit of a mucky pup, are we, Siobhan?
Oh, I... completely.

Just like me.
Yes, yes, absolutely.

Absolutely. But sure, life's too
short to be tidy. Life's too short.

Unlike underglazes, which remain
fairly true to form,

oxides can be unpredictable.

The thing is, with the oxides,

they don't turn out
what they look like now.

If the potters handle the raku
firing well, they should transform.

I've been using a mixture of

manganese dioxide and red iron
oxide.

I'm hoping I'll get different
shades of reddish brown.

I'm going to go with copper oxide,
which is the really strong one.

And that should go properly bronze.

I have used it before and it
did come out green.

On the horns, it's quite
concentrated copper.

It will give it a bit of shine and I
might have snuck

a little bit on the forehead,

which might be a mistake.

Half an hour left, potters.
Half an hour left.

Putting on the crackle glaze
just on the head and neck.

I want it to be shiny and crackled.

The potters have also been given both
white and transparent crackle glazes

to make the most of the raku firing.

The thermal shock
when you take it out of the kiln,

it makes the glaze crack like
an old piece of pottery, really.

So, I'm going to do the white
crackle on the nose, round the eyes

and in the ears, and then
transparent

where I've done all the underglaze.

So, hopefully that the colour.

I'm really looking forward
to getting it in the kiln.

Yeah, seeing the finished thing.

Hello. Hello.
Hello, turkey.

DAVE CLUCKS
No, it's gobble gobble, isn't it?

Yeah, I know, I couldn't do that

whilst doing a ventriloquist act,
no.

The feathers you've given
her, absolutely beautiful.

It's a him.
Oh, I beg your pardon.

Because he's got caruncles
and all the display equipment.

That's for display?
It is for display.

It's amazing what female
turkeys find attractive, isn't it?

It's amazing. I'm looking forward to
seeing what happens.

Roll on the firing, really.

It's raku day!

I've been waking up every hour since


Is it time to get up yet?
Fire day!

I did sleep, but I slept
with a fiery dream.

Anything can happen today.

It's gonna be a lot of fire.
It's gonna be a lot of smoke.

Things are gonna smell really weird.

How excited are you on a
scale of 1 to 10? 10.





It's going to be absolutely great.

Ah, you're all nervous.

Well, as you can see, the raku kilns
are ready for you to load

with your animal busts and fire up.

We have a master potter, Kevin,
here to make sure that we don't die.

Uh, judges, any last minute advice
for our very nervous-looking potters?

Right, really take care with those
tongs.

Steady hands, steady nerves.

Look, what I'm really trying to say
is don't drop them, all right?

You are in charge of your firings.

You decide when your animals come
out of the kiln

and how long they stay in the
reduction box.

Make sure you've got a clear plan
and that you stick to it.

All right, then. We're going to start

with Cadi, Princess and Dave.
Don the safety gear!

Raku is one of the most unpredictable
procedures in ceramics.

This is going to keep us
warm as well, right?

So, the potters will work in tightly
controlled groups and take every

care against the superhuman heat.

Raku-man! Crackles wherever he goes.

Raku, I'm excited for this.

Dave's first into the hot spot.

Oh, his turkey.
It is a weird shape.

All right, here we go.
Be careful. Argh! Oh!

Their bisque-fired busts are
extremely vulnerable.

One wrong move transporting
them to and from the raku kiln,

could spell disaster. Oh.

Come on, birdy.
Oh, in she goes.

Oh, well done.
Well done.

See you on the other side.

Any more words for the fox?
Just don't break.

This is the last look.

Go on, good luck.
Excellent.

Light the kiln.

Raku kilns can reach temperatures
in excess of 1,000 degrees centigrade

in just 20 minutes.

So what's the temperature right now?


Right, we've got a little way to
go.

When they take their animals out,
will be entirely down to the potters.

Keep an eye on the gloss
of the glazes.

Are you ready to take a look?
Yeah.

Ultimately, their decision must rest
on visual cues

rather than temperature.

No, not ready yet.

It's meant to look like the surface
is honey-like.

Kevin, do you mind if I have a
quick check? Yep, yep.

The glazes and oxides react
with the heat.

Oh, not far.

If they take them out too soon, they
won't achieve their desired effect.

No, it's still all white.

It's like a slightly badly iced bun.
Oh, right.

Not honey.

But if they leave them in too long,
they could explode.

I'm sort of becoming more
comfortable with the unknown

because I have to be.

If it's honey-like, it's coming out.

OK, please, can I have a peep?

Oh, yes.
I think it's ready.

You think it's ready?
Off we go, then. I'm going in.

OK, let's do it. I'm ready.
Get that turkey out of the oven.

Oh, that is hot.

Oh.

She's beautiful.

Deep breath.
Yeah.

Oh, no, she's got a crack!

Uh oh, uh oh.

There's a crack, quite a big one in
the front.

Did you see it?
Right at the back.

No, right in the front.
There's one at the back.

Are you joking?
No. Oh, no.

Oh, God.

Oh, wow.

Oh, my God, it's still in one
piece.

Amazing. Whoo!

It's only when their molten-hot
busts are plunged

into a reduction
box with combustibles

that the real
magic of raku occurs.

My combustibles?
Last year's Christmas tree.

Turkey. Christmas. Like it.
We're on a theme.

Should have put a robin
in there, an' all.

I've got some seaweed, so fingers
crossed it'll help with the tones

that I'm really keen to get.

As the box lid is shut,
the chamber is starved of oxygen.

OK. Creating a reductive
atmosphere and unglazed areas

will carbonise and go black.

Done. So, I've got two cracks.

But it did come out glossy and
shiny. So, I'm happy about that.

So, few cracks are appearing.

It's difficult because if there's
even a slightest fault,

this will exacerbate the problem.

Yeah, raku is a really,
really violent process. It is.

Let's do it.

And having joined his cow
down the middle,

Steven has more to worry about than
most.

Good luck, Demi.
Godspeed.

Lonely, lonely and scared.

But, God, I really hope
she stays in one piece.

It's ridiculous how attached you get
to these pieces of clay.

All right, you got your
sacrifice for the kiln god? Yeah.

Gary's going by the neck.
Exciting.

All right, Al, off we go.

Be a good boy, now.

Bye, Al! Bye, Al.

Are you nervous?
Terrified.

What if he ends up in bits? He
won't.

OK, let's have a look at Gary.

Gonna hold off just another little
bit longer,

trying desperately to hold my nerve.

Ready to have a little look?
Yeah.

Oh, ah.

Oh, no!

Ah. Big crack down the middle
where the join was.

Oh, well.

I just really hope it's intact for
him.

You know, I hope that crack hasn't
completely blown it apart.

Oh! Oh.
- Go on, Jan!

That's great.

All right, you ready, Donna?
Yep, let's do this.

Oh, excited. I'm excited, I'm
excited. Ah!

The cooling atmosphere and lack
of oxygen in the reduction box...

I brought a load of alpaca hair.
It's going to stink.

..encourages the all-important
crackle glaze

and oxides like copper
take on a metallic lustre.

JAN COUGHS
It's not a great smell, is it?

Maybe the hair wasn't such
a good choice.

Oh, that's a big crack.

Oh, nice. You got it.

Despite the crackdown, the middle.

Demi MOO-er seems to be holding it
together.

But she's not out of the danger
zone yet.

It stayed in one piece but I think
the cool down is the bit that's

going to put it under more tension.

So, I can only hope and pray.

All right, happy?
Good to go.

So, last into the raku kiln,

Daniel's owl... Bye!

..Sophie's donkey...

Goodbye, Anita. Survive, please!

..and Dan's goat.

Excited. Nervous. Very nervous,
after all the cracks so far, yeah.

Are you feeling nervous?
I feel OK. OK. Yeah.

Really tense.
I'm so scared.

Looks all right, doesn't it?

- Yeah.
- Yeah, yeah.

Ready, Daniel?
Ready.

Got a bit of a crack coming out.

That's shinier than I thought.

Well done.

Right. Right over the top?
Yeah, get it on those horns.

Oh, I that was OK, yeah.

It looks glossy and shiny, so,
yeah. It's done.

Are you happy?

Had a few cracks on the back of the
head and up the wing, but, uh, yeah.

We'll see how it looks when I get
it scrubbed up.

Ooh, it's like buried treasure.

After the intense firing process...

Oh, the smell of the hair.

..and having allowed enough time
for the raku alchemy to take place,

it's the moment of truth.

Oh, my God!

Whoa, metallics look good.
Oh.

Looks good.
All in one piece.

Yeah, it's really hot.

Yeah, I'm happy at the minute.
He's still in one piece.

This is Al, our alpaca.

Look at the metallic sheen.
It's amazing, isn't it?

He looks really sexy, to be honest.

The sexiest alpaca bust
I've ever made.

Wow, that's quite something.
That is.

Are you delighted? It's come out all
right, hasn't it?

Just stay together.
Stay together, don't you crack.

Oh, yeah, no, it is a crack at the
back.

Oh!

The crack at the back I think
is where the cylinder joins were.

Definitely not good.

You can kind of see that crack
opening up there.

I've got a bit on the back
of the head as well.

I think it's where I've attached
those wings.

Yeah, I think my nightmare's
been realised.

It's in two exactly where
the join was.

Well, look, you've got some
really nice reactions there.

Yeah.
All is not lost.

Right, I'm going to start washing it

and then, yeah, see it all come to
life.

It's only by delicately
cleaning their animal busts...

Look how nice the white has come
out. Oh, my God, that's so exciting.

..the potters will discover
whether the glazes and textures

they painstakingly applied
have worked.

Oh, look at his nose. Yeah, nice,
yeah. Yeah!

Oh, relief.

It has got an arresting stare.

That's the best looking
turkey I've seen.

Your caruncles are looking
magnificent, sir.

But not all the potters
are so thrilled.

I'm hoping I can glue it.

I put copper carbonate
down the middle.

So, I was trying to get sort of
browny colour of hair,

but it looks more like mould or moss
or something.

And Daniel has even bigger problems.

I scrubbed it off and it split
down the back.

So, yeah, got half an owl, now.

It's a bit gutting,
but what can you do?

It's raku.

It's judgment time for the potters'
raku-fired farmyard animal busts.

Donna, would you please bring your
animal bust up to the judges?

It looks like a goat, Donna.
Well done. Thank you.

I like the fact the white crackle
glaze has really worked.

And the texture that you've managed
to get into those horns... brilliant.

Yeah, the horns are wonderful. Thank
you. They really are.

Overall, your use of texture
and the glazes and the colour

and the carbonisation of the raku is

really on point and, yeah, really
well made.

And a really good observation
of those eyes.

They do have those kind
of letterbox eyes.

Overall, it's a wonderful piece and
you should be really proud of it.

Yeah, it's great.
Thank you. Thanks.

The first impression is that it
looks like your animal.

So, job done.

The second thing, for someone who's
completely glazed it all over,

you have managed to get
the differentiation

between the different parts
of the face.

The texture of the hair blending
into the nose looks fantastic.

The quality of the build
overall, I'd say,

is really, really outstanding.

It's a really great example
of a white crackle glaze in raku.

You know, you've got a really
healthy reduction on it.

How do you feel about it?

Oh, I love him.

I think he's awesome.

Thank you very much.

Your observation of the ears
and the nose really help you,

because the neck is a bit
on the stiff side. OK.

And I know you had a few
problems with the construction.

Having that cylinder and the head
separate

probably worked against you.

Yeah. But the colour is brilliant.
It really, really works.

Overall, I would say, yeah,
the fur is incredible

and the level of detail you've built
into it is really quite beautiful.

It's a shame that there's been a few
issues with that cracking,

because overall I think the tone
and the colour and the observation

with the surfaces are really,
really quite stunning.

What I love about it, there's a sort
of a comical element to it,

but actually it's realistic,
which is what we were looking for.

I love the way you've been able
to get that energy in the ears.

I just think it's a lovely
example of the way you can use

the contrasting colours of raku.

You've got this very white, crackly,
nose.

It comes together really well
as a sort of an overall concept.

It's great.
Well done, Sophie.

Yeah, really well done. Thank you
very much.

The face looks fantastic,

but obviously one can't ignore the
huge cracks in it.

When you were constructing it,

you were manipulating that surface
quite a lot.

You're trying to press mould
those plaster moulds into it.

Yes, it was deforming it
a little bit.

And so, I ended up using separate
slabs and attaching those.

I think that that might
have contributed a bit too.

I mean, my goodness, though, the
crackle of that glaze is

out of this world. It's amazing.

It's just got such a lovely
quality to it.

You gave yourself a really tough

challenge picking this particular
owl

because there isn't a lot
of colour,

but I think, overall, the surface is
really quite beautiful.

Thank you.

When I came round to see
your workbench, I was a bit worried,

I must admit. Yeah.

You know, there wasn't much form
there to really sort of define

the features.

But Cadi, really,
this is a wonderful example

of how the decoration can
really enhance the form.

It's bloody brilliant.

Thank you.
It's really, really nice.

The eyes are fantastic, and the fact
that you've got this

white crackle glaze on here

to define that beak
from the head has really worked.

Yeah, thank you.

The decoration is really quite
exquisite.

The way you've used that wax resist
to really demonstrate

the kind of contrast you can get
using the raku process.

I think you've done really well.
Thank you.

The first thing that strikes me
is the overall structure.

It works really, really well.

These are wonderful.

The fact that you've left them
unglazed, really lovely.

And that crackle is great.

What have you used on here, the
copper?

Uh, yeah, it's copper and iron.
Why did you do that?

What I was trying to get is like
this, sort of like,

hair coming over the top.

It's difficult, isn't it?

Because copper, actually, if it
had had a really heavy reduction,

it's quite likely some of that
copper would have reduced more

and you would
have got a copper more than green.

Yeah. But I think on the whole

there's lots of really lovely raku
surfaces in this.

The crackle glaze has worked
really, really well.

It's got a bit of character
about it.

I actually really like it,

apart from the copper.
Yeah.

Well, on first reflection,

it's colourful,
it's very formidable.

And the sheer scale of the
construction and the fact that

the snood has stayed on there

and all your attributes
have stayed on,

is a testament to your making

and the way that you handled it in
the whole raku process. Brilliant.

I'm loving the texture
that you've managed to get on here.

It would have been nice to see a bit
more lustrous kind of reaction

on these feathers,

but I can't fault the construction,
it's brilliant.

Yeah, my goodness Dave, you've just
managed to create something

with such character,

and the fact that that's gone to a
thousand degrees

and been whipped out of the kiln and
it's all still in one piece,

all credit to you.

Really, really wonderful.

Well, I love your cow.

It's got real character.
That tongue is just brilliant.

The use of the glaze works
really, really well.

There is a scarily surgical
line down the middle.

It was always going to be tricky
dismantling those two halves

and then reassembling them
because raku is so aggressive.

But aside from that, Demi
is so well observed.

I mean, she is really staggeringly
beautiful.

She is beautiful.

She is! Such character!

You've created that kind
of sinew and muscles.

It's just got so many endearing
qualities.

You should be really,
really proud of it.

The fact that it pulled away
in that firing process,

that still doesn't take away
the enjoyment of actually making it.

No, it doesn't.

It's just, it's heart-wrenching
when you've spent so much time

over something and then,

you know, you see it in two, you
break in two yourself, you know?

But, but that...

..that's the wonder and the value
of ceramics, because you do

put your heart and soul into it.

Yeah.
Absolutely wonderful.

Thank you.

I really liked it.
It's just the cracks.

But that's a game changer, whether
it's going to be fatal or not,

I don't know.

Everything went to plan, pretty
much.

I don't think I could have made
it any better.

Nothing fell off and the shiny
bits were shiny.

I feel like I could be going
this week, to be honest,

but I did enjoy making the bust.

Maybe I might still get
through, but I think

if I was going to pick
somebody to go home,

it's probably me.

Another year, another raku week.

Who do you think
did really well?

For me Cadi.

Yeah, she's just taken what is a
very, very simple form. Yeah.

And used the transformative nature of raku to
create something that had rich depth and tone.

Is she in line for potter of the
week?

I think she could be. Yeah.
Really? Who else?

Well, Dave has to be a potential.

I mean, the quality
of his sculpting.

Yeah, there were so many things
that could have gone wrong.

His snood stayed on, and that attention to detail
with the surface texture was really wonderful.

Who else? Possibly Sophie. Yeah. But
for very different reasons.

Oh, yeah?

Sophie's was a fine example
of the raku process

and the kind of richness you can
obtain from the glazes.

And we must talk about Demi MOO-er.

Yeah, it was brilliant, but it did
split in half. It did split in half.

I really believe if it hadn't split
in half, we'd be talking about him

as being in line for potter
of the week.

Oh, really? Yeah. No, absolutely.
Yeah, yeah.

But someone has to go.

Well, Daniel has to be considered.

We saw a lot of cracking.
A lot of cracking.

Yeah, and Princess possibly.

OK, well, I don't envy you making
those decisions,

but let's not keep them waiting till
the cows come home.

Well done, potters, on another
wonderful week.

The judges have come
to their decision.

Firstly, the nice bit.

This week's potter of the week...

..Congratulations, Dave.

Your turkey done good, huh?
Gobble!

Brilliant, well done.

Now the less nice bit.

The potter who will be leaving
the pottery this week is...

..Daniel.

I knew it, it's all right.

It's all right.

You know, I'd kind of mentally
prepared myself.

I was pretty sure it was
going to be me this week.

Gonna be sorry to see you go. It's
all right.

I had a really enjoyable time here.

I've learnt a lot from the other
potters and, yeah, it's been,

it's been a good time.

You're still a great
potter. Like really, really good.

Yeah, thank you. Yeah.

It's a bittersweet because on one
end I'm really happy to continue

the journey, but I'm also really sad
to see Daniel go.

It's been such a privilege, yeah.

I've learned so much from all of
you.

Oh, it's so sad!

Another member of the family is
leaving and it hurts every week.

Dave, well done, well done.

Yay, well done.

Worked out pretty well, didn't
it, really?

Really good, mate. Really pleased
for you, yeah. Oh, thanks.

The level of the achievement for me,
it's really significant

because these people
are really good potters.

And to be holding my own
in that company is, it's smashing.

It really is, I feel great.

As Daniel leaves the pottery...

..Dave's turkey takes the fourth spot
in the Throwdown Gallery.

Next time... Dear God!

..the biggest build so far.

The balance is like that, look.
Ooh, I've done it right.

Cascading bowls, water features...

Quietly having a word with myself
here.

..and a hedgehog house
in garden week.

Please don't collapse.

Who will keep their head
above water...

Some major faults in the build.

..and who will be in floods?

Needs somebody to turn this on.
If only. Jan!