04x02 - 3D Slab-Build & Handmade Bricks

[bunniefuu]

It's week two.

So far, one lovely potter
has waved goodbye

and hung up his apron.

Now, just 11 potters remain.

This week,
it's bricks and mortar,

as the potters tackle
slab building and these
beauts.

Welcome to
The Great Pottery Throw
Down.

Somebody get rid of these.
I'm going on my break.

Last time,
Gladstone welcomed
12 new passionate potters.

Look at you, all full of hope.

Won't last long.

And it was
straight onto the wheel...
- Ooh.

...to throw a cheese set.

- Gone fondue potty.
- Come back, come back.

Suz got into a pickle...

Not gonna have everything
finished at this rate.

...but it was Ara...

Unfortunately,
no cheese for
Keith,

'cause we can't
get the dome
off.

I'm very disappointed.

...who was the first to leave.

Oh!

While Sal enjoyed
the sweet taste of success...

It's brilliant, mate.
It's brilliant.
- Thank you.

...claiming first spot
in the Throw Down gallery.

This time, the potters
put away their wheels...
- Ooh.

...as they face
one of the most ambitious

hand-build challenges ever
on the Throw Down.

Perfect opportunity
to try something bigger,
more challenging.

And in a surprising
second challenge...
- Oh!

Your face.

...things get messy...

Whoa. Nice one.

...in a battle
of the bricks.

But it's really fun.
It's tons of
aggression.

Who's got
the foundations to survive...

Oh, yes, spot on.

...and whose dreams
will be demolished?

Oh!

The potters are back
to face a mammoth challenge.

For the first time,
they're tackling
hand-building,

working with
huge slabs of clay.

Week two.
I'm really
excited.

I know that this challenge
is slab and hand-building,

and that's what
I'm more comfortable with,
so really excited.

I am a hand builder, so fingers
crossed I'll make something impressive.

Having won
Potter of the Week

in the first challenge,

I'm going from
"Yeah, yeah, I can throw"

to "Oh, my God. Head dive into the thing I can't do."

I feel positive for now. Ask me after a couple of hours.

- Hello, potters.
- Morning.

Now, for your
main
make challenge,

the judges would like you to slab-build a 3D building.

Now, it can be
in any style you like--
a house, fantasy--

but the judges would like you to include some architectural

doors, windows, cats, tiles, ivy, I don't know.

Now, potters, we'd like you
to aim for your buildings
to be 40 centimetres high.

Now, make sure
you've got your plans
and your measurements,

and don't leave it
up to guesswork.

If your buildings
are made of stone,
wood, brick,

we really want to see you
emulate that with the clay.

Now, these buildings
are going to be illuminated
from the inside,

so really think about
how that light works.

Great. Okay, then.
Potters, you have
three-and-a-half hours

to make your 3D buildings.

Potters, start pottering.

The potters' fully lit
ornamental buildings

must be 40 centimetres high
and made using
the slab-building method.

Used to do a lot more slab work back when I was younger.

But now I've sort of moved more to throwing on the wheel.

So I do have experience in
it.
Just, it's been a while.

I'm just rolling out
some slabs at the moment.
I'm using the slab roller

so I get a nice, even,
erm, thickness of clay.

They have
three-and-a-half hours

to make and dry the slabs
and components

required to build
their 3D structures,

and they'll be given
a further three hours
to erect their designs.

I always wanted to make a house.

And it's a perfect
opportunity,
I think,

to try something bigger,
more challenging.

Hopefully
it will stand straight.

So, Rich,
a three-dimensional build
using slabs.

Not only that, they're big.
They're 40 centimetres high.

Which, just in terms of construction,
is a really tough challenge.

Yeah. I mean, obviously
we've got some examples here,

but they're no way
40 centimetres.

This one here is 30.

They've really
got to think about

what consistency those slabs are

when they put them together.

Those joins have to be
really, really good.

We want to see ambition,

we want to see
these amazing
structures.

But unless they get
their timings right,

and there's every chance these things can just flop,

not only have they got to
think about their design,

we want to see
these buildings
illuminated.

Absolutely.
The windows here are lovely.

That textural detail working with
the light shining through, for me,

that's gonna be
the make-or-break
of their design concept.

- Hello, Suz.
- Hello.

How are you doing?
Fine, thank you.

How are you feeling
after last week's
challenge?

Relieved and, er,
lucky to get a second chance.

We're expecting more
from you this week.

- I'm happier hand-building.
- You do more hand-building?

Yes, this is up my street.
Okay, brilliant.

Library assistant Suz

lives in Aberdeenshire

with her three
grown-up children,
Kelsey, Ailee, Kieran,

- and playful pup, Mia.
- Is that yummers?

Suz is building
her local landmark,
Fyvie Castle.

Light will shine through
her windows, doors,

and lettering
of the old Scots proverb
meaning,

"There's no place like home."

"g*ng east and west,
but hame's best."

I'm hoping
to perforate that out,

so the light
will come out through it.

I dread to say it.
Oh, no, no.

But have you got enough
time
to get everything done?

I would like to think so.

I have complete
faith
in you.

- It's gonna be great.
- Yes.

Oh, my gosh.
This clay is squishy.

To have any hope
of constructing a building
40 centimetres high,

the potters' slabs
must be firm enough
to hold their own weight.

You have to wait
until these go stiff

before you can
work them properly.

They just have to be dry enough
to hold themselves up.

So it's all about timing.

So heavy, these slabs.

My building's
a really tall rectangle
that's 3D,

so if my walls are too thick, they will just,
like, slump under their own weight.

Ooh, I'm quite nervous.

After growing up
in Kathmandu,

it's Bristol
that Hannah now calls home

and where she's an active
member of the community,

cooking meals
for the local church.

She's building
her much-loved bakery,

aiming to replicate
its distinctive urban street
art

and famous
fire-breathing sculpture.

So you're
making the dragon?
- Yeah.

Wow. Okay.

- That sounded
a bit apprehensive.
- Yeah.

It's going on the roof?
It's going on the roof.

How will
you
support all that?

I think it's gonna be okay.

My walls are pretty sturdy,
so, yeah.

Okay.

Hannah isn't the only one

recreating a place
close to her heart.

I've been inspired
by this tower house in Russia.

He made it
for the whole family,
so we're all together.

So it's just part of me.

Russian-born Irina,
a flight attendant,

likes to head for the skies
with pilot fiancé, Peter.

Chocks away, Peter.

Her fantasy dream home

featuring a fairy-tale
tower
and 18 large windows

will be decorated
in the pastel shades

of St. Petersburg's
Hermitage Museum,
where her fiancé proposed.

Well, do you think
Peter would like to live
in a house like this?

You know what? Peter is just
trusting me and my design,

and everything I do at home,
he loves.

Well, Peter sounds like
a very wise man.

To create
a building of this scale
requires multiple elements.

I'm just cutting out
extra bits for details.

Not too shabby,
not too bad. Ooh.

And every piece needs to be carefully
planned with the utmost precision.

I've spent a lot of time
preparing templates.

This is the star of my show.

Cut around it,
and it just saves so much
time.

- Nine and a half.
- But Henry isn't taking any shortcuts.

I grew up doing
woodwork with my dad,

and he's always told me,
"Measure twice, cut
once,"

so I'm just
listening
to him now.

I think
Dad would be proud of
me.

Henry lives in Suffolk
with his parents

and two budgies,
Bonnie and Clyde.

His dad Colin,
a retired teacher,

is who he always turns to
for expert advice.

There we are.
Oh, look at that.

Henry's doing a mash-up
of his favourite landmarks,

creating a fictional
three-storey tower

with a brick-texture
turret
and a skatepark.

I'm hoping to make a little skateboard.

I'm really hoping
I can get that in,

'cause that would bring
the whole thing to life.

I like slab-building.
I have an engineering
background.

I've been involved
in building work.

So hopefully the slab building

is gonna be
a bit of a strength.

Design
and technology teacher Peter

lives in Buckinghamshire
with wife Jill,

who's more than happy
to see him spend

many an hour
tinkering in his shed.

Yeah.
Yes.

What do you think?
Great.

His brightly coloured building,

which pays homage
to famous architect Gaudí,

will have curved walls,
round windows
and two rooftop lizards.

I thought I'd go
for a non-traditional
building,

you know,
just to make it exciting.

And the mood
for the unconventional
seems to be building.

So it's going to be a big whale
breaching up, er, out of water

and then mud huts
built on top of
it.

Weird structure.

Oh, did we fix
the lighting?

Hoping to follow
in his dad Yossi's footsteps,

20-year-old Alon is studying
architecture at the University of Edinburgh.

His fantasy design
will have a mud-hut village

precariously balanced
atop a whale

with light shining from its eyes and the building's windows.

Is this a picture? Okay.
Yeah, that's, er...

Wow.
That's the design.

The idea is with global warming, sea levels rising,

land has become
a rare commodity, I
guess,

as humans have gone to find
new places to build on,

and they've chosen
big marine animals.

Is this from experience?

No. I do take a lot of inspiration from my dreams.

The only thing
that comes to mind
when I look at this

is just these angles.

The building itself
will be built straight,

and then I'll just put it
on the whale at an angle.

Okay.
- So I think
it'll support itself.

To create
the detailed texture

the judges are looking for
in their finished
buildings,

the potters have
some unique tools.

I get into trouble all the time
for stealing kitchen utensils.

It was my birthday recently,
and my son gave me the bouquet.

Really wonderful texture.

Whether wood,
stone, brick or tile...

This is gonna be
roofs
for the towers.

...it's a painstaking process.

As usual, it'll be time
that'll be my bugbear.

But, ach, we'll get it done.

In terms of
the surface decoration,

mine's a textile mill
made out of sandstone.

The way I'm gonna emulate that

is by rolling some hessian
onto the surface,

so it creates a texture
that looks like stone.

It's a Yorkshire mill,
isn't it?
And I'm proper Yorkshire.

Lee lives in Huddersfield
with his mum Anne.

In his spare time,
he enjoys walking dog Marigold

around the local textile mills,
which have inspired his design.

The main building features
a pair of gable roofs,

which Lee will tile
with a little help
from his mum.

Lee, could you please explain this? I don't think you need this.

Well, as a potter,
you use lots
of different things.

I needed to make roof tiles,

so I raided the drawer

and found my mum's
'80s Afro comb.

Wow.
She had a very poofy Afro.

What's your mum's name?
Anne.

Anne, if you're looking for your comb, it's here.

It needs a bit of a clean.
I hope your hair isn't
too flat now.

Lee isn't the only potter

paying tribute to their
local
industrial heritage.

Every day,
when I'm walking my dogs,

I walk past
this Cornish engine house.

It pumps the water
out of the mines.

If you're from Cornwall,
these are part of you.

Art teacher Sal
is most at home

when firing her pots
in the heat of a raku
kiln,

a short walk from her
favourite
Cornish landmark.

Last week's
Potter of the Week,

she's aiming
to wow the judges again
with her engine house

and is leaving
no stone unturned

when it comes to making it
look as real as possible.

Lots and lots
of textures here.

Yeah, this is the roof
of the building,

and this is
my galvanised shed roof.

And then to accentuate
all these different
textures,

you're laying a bit
of colour over the top?

I will be, yeah,
and rubbing oxides in.

'Cause every stone's
a different colour.

Good luck with it all.
There's a lot going on
there.

I'm not panicking at all.

Potters,
you are halfway through.

I now declare
the drying room open.

Whoo!

Whoo.

Before
construction can begin,

each slab much be dried
to leather-hard.

These are staying in
as long as possible.

Timing is critical.

If the slabs are too wet,
they'll bend.

But too dry,
and they could crack.

I want to dry the roof
as much as possible,
so that it's strong.

Because of what Rich was
saying,
will it be strong enough

to hold the weight
of the dragon?

It's toasty in here.

Just need to remember

to not let them turn
into solid biscuits.

'Cause that is the trouble.
It could be too dry.

As their large pieces
firm up,

attention turns to
smaller decorative elements.

I'm getting
the important thing done.
I'm making my skateboard.

I'm pretty nervous because
one of the key centrepieces
is this dragon,

which currently looks
like a seal.

I'm not a strong sculptor.

Hi, Jodie.
Hello. How are you all?

Hello.
Hi.

So tell us
what you're making.

I'm making a
lighthouse

- because I do
open-water swimming.
- Oh, look at you.

The only time I ever
look
at a building, really,

is to see if I'm going
in the right direction.

So my inspiration is
Caldey Island in West
Wales.

The lighthouse there.

'Cause you said, "Put your personality into it,"

and I like colour,
decoration,

so I thought I'll go
for a Moroccan theme.

Have you ever
been to Morocco?

No.
Oh, okay.

Jodie is not only
a dedicated nurse
but an avid triathlete,

who loves training
in the mountains
surrounding her home.

Her lighthouse might have
Welsh foundations

but will be decorated with
a nod to Moroccan
architecture,

and she'll be giving
herself
the arduous task

of cutting every tile
on the roof individually.

This is an apple cutter,
but I like the way it plunges through my

'Cause it's a bit of an oval, so rather than just flat,

hopefully that's gonna
add a bit of character.

- A hundred and sixty tiles?
- Yeah.

That sounds like a lot.

One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven...

Adam's not
taking any shortcuts.

He's attempting to sculpt

every last one
of his 70-plus details by
hand.

These are gonna be mushrooms,
so 30 mushrooms,

about 25 shell fungi,
and four flags.

I thought, "Why not
throw everything at it?"

Look up here.
- When taking
a break from clay,

support worker Adam
loves life drawing,

as does pet pug, Egg.

You're like
a supermodel.

Adam's letting
his imagination run wild,

creating a colourful
pixie palace covered in
fungi,

light ba*ls, and even a
magical
miniature washing line.

Have you given any thought to
how you're going to illuminate it?

Yes. So this is something
that I love to do,
is to perforate clay.

So these will all be perforated with
a pencil and look quite magical.

And also there'll be
about 30 windows, I'm hoping.

Wow.
I'm going to say "about"

because I don't want
to put a number on it.

Because each build
will be illuminated...

I shouldn't forget
to cut the hole for the light.
That's very important.

...Keith and Rich want to
see
how the potters use light

to add an extra dimension
to their designs.

That's the eye.
Planning to do a little
slit

to let the tiny little
beam of light come out.

We need to open up
as many windows as we can,

so I'm basically using
a cookie cutter.

I did try doing this by
hand,
but it took hours.

But care must be taken,

as seeing the bulb
through windows or doors
could ruin the magic.

I'm gonna have
loads of
windows.

I'm a lover of tall,
narrow windows,

so there will be plenty
of light, I believe.

I'm just trying to think
about interesting ways

where the light
could filter through.

I've put two little people
in,
but kind of hidden,

so it'll just be
the silhouettes.

That's me and my boyfriend,

which I thought
was a fun touch.

28-year-old model Shenyue

has been potting
for just 18 months,

after boyfriend Alex
bought her lessons.

And it's their time
at Cambridge University

that inspired her to build

the iconic court building
at Emmanuel College,

with its watchtower
sitting proudly on top.

My boyfriend and I,
we met on a dating app.

Turns out we went
to the same college,

and he just happened to go
seven years before me,

so obviously
we never crossed paths there.

So the building that I'm
doing,
it connects us in a way,

and I think
really brings us together.

Potters, you have
two-and-a-half hours
left.

- Ah!
- Where does the time go?

Each of the potters' slabs
must be dried...

Wow.

...to make them hard enough

to start construction.

I've cut all the windows out
and everything,

so I need to crack on
and get building now.

Still a bit soft.

The idea is to have
them
dry enough

so that when I place this on top
of the whale, it doesn't squish it.

And I'm just pushing the
slurry

into all the joints now,
making sure it's strong.

So many joins.
Respect to the hand-builders
of the world.

Okay.

As buildings start to take
three-dimensional shape...

Okay.

Oh, no.

...Suz's castle curves...

I just cut that
off the wrong side.

...are proving tricky.

I just had
a stupid moment.

Cut it the wrong way round
because I've done it
with a textured surface.

While Suz tries
to get back on track...

Breathe.

...for Alon's whale,
it's the moment of
truth...

Focus, Alon, focus.

...as it prepares
to take the weight
of his mud-hut cargo.

Alon,
that looks insanely good.

What's that?

I think the building
was a bit too heavy.

I knew something like this
could happen,

but figured I need to
take the risk anyway.

So it's kind of... Yeah.
It's gonna be patchwork.

The potters have been making

their 3D buildings
for five-and-a-half hours.

Ah, just time passes so quickly.

Now, just one hour remains to refine their structures...

This is hard.

...and the architectural
details the judges
are expecting...

It looks delicate now
with the chimneys
and the turrets,

but actually I'm about to
put on the mushrooms that are
very fine and very delicate.

...ready for the drying
room
and their first firing.

Oh.

These are
all my little tiles.

Pretty sure I got
twice as much as I need, mind.

I love when the roof goes up.
It's such a difference, yeah?

It's really pretty.

It's coming together.
It looks more like what I wanted it to now.

There's no windows
yet,
which is a problem.

The wheel's coming together.
It is.

You're on track.
I am.

But after his whale
completely collapsed,

Alon is playing catch-up.

You seem flustered.

Yeah, no, it's, er...
It's definitely...

What happened?
I think I rushed it.

It wasn't set enough.

It tried to jump
back
into the ocean?

Telling you, this is
why
I don't like whales.

Is it back on track now?

No.
No? God, no, not at all.

- God, no. Track?
What track? Whose track?
- No, we have an hour left.

And he's not alone.

Suz still has
a castle to construct.

How you doing, Suz?

Not as well
as I'd like to be.

What's happening?
Do you have a fear of success or something?

You seem to be...

Self-sabotaging?

Yeah.
What's going on, love?

Oh, I don't know.
The roofs haven't gone
very well,

but I just have to keep going
right to the wire.

- Okay.
- So any idea of time?

Potters, you have
ten minutes left.

And a reminder
that your
pieces

will have to be
in the drying
room

by the end
of the challenge.

All my elements
are together now,
all the main structures.

Carving finished.
And I'll be happy.

Thank goodness it's starting
to look like a dragon.

Looking like you got a crazy window going on there, Peter.

Yeah. Just trying
to make it Gaudí-esque.

Is that a little
person?

It's a surprise.

Is it your boyfriend
going,
"Help me.

Help me."
"I'm trapped in the house."

Doing the lighting
and doing the roof.

There was going to be
a couple of doors as well,

but run out of time,
so it's as-is.

Well, here we go.
The moment.

- Get on with it.
- Jodie, could you say
"Gareth" for us?

Gareth.
- Gareth.

Great. He's
happy.
- Yeah. Gareth, welcome.

Potters, just so you know,
Sal is ready to go
into the drying room.

May she be an inspiration
to you all.

Oh, my God, we have Peter
coming up the rear.

Remember, if they're not in
when the time is called,

they are not going in.

Come on, Suz.
I have faith in you.

Hurry up.
I'm hurrying.

Why is Adam so good?

Everyone's is...
Oh, my...

Oh, yeah. Spot on.

Fabulous. Here we go.
The whale is on the move.

We have Gareth the Dragon.

Oh, I'm very close
to the chimney.

- Henry, please.
- I'm going, I'm going.

Oh, fantastic.
Well done,
Henry.

Five, four, three...

Back to bench, back to bench.
Well done.

Two, one. Well done.

Close the drying room door.

Well done, everyone.

I'm feeling delirious
at the moment

because I managed to make
exactly what I wanted to make.

I'm really happy with it.

I don't know what kept me
going
to piece it back together.

But, yeah,
I was set not to make
a traditional house,

and I think I did that.

There was quite a few
bits that were rushed.

I didn't finish the
lettering
on the side.

But if the kiln gods are kind
and it comes out uncracked

and in one piece,
that would be good.

While the potters could plan

and practice
for their first
challenge,

for their second,
a large mound of clay

has appeared
on each workbench,

and, as ever,
the potters have no idea
what lies ahead.

As well as being the home
of fine ceramics,

Staffordshire was also the
home
of a more functional object.

And today's challenge will
draw
on that rich heritage.

Potters, for your
second
challenge this week,

you will be making...

bricks.

- Good reaction.
- Your face.

Now, Rich has
the look of a
man

who knows his way
around a brick.

In fact, in school,
he was known as Brickie
Ricky.

I told you that
in confidence.

So, Rich, do you want to
show them how to do it?

Indeed.

So, you've only got
a very basic range of
tools.

What you'll do first
is just lay down
a little bed of sand.

The sand is going to act
as a resist between
your clay and your mould.

You want to coat
the inside of your mould
with vegetable oil.

Take a handful of sand
into your mould,

and you just want
to coat every surface.

Get rid of any excess.

Then you'll take
a clot of clay.

Now, the amount you take
is done by eye.

And it's very sticky.
Very sticky.

You roll that round
in the sand

into a rectangular
block shape.

Make sure that every surface
is well coated in sand.

- Ooh.
- Straight in.

Then you scrape
the back off.

Give it a little
tap.
And then...

gently lift your
mould
off your brick.

Wire under...

and then gently,
and I mean
gently,

'cause it's ever so
soft
at this stage,

place it on the board,
and I'll be able to see

if you've not
treated it gently.

What we want is ten
of your best bricks.

Ten?

It'd be a lot more if we were asking
you to build houses out of them.

You should have time
to make your ten

and then replace any
that aren't up to
scratch.

Great. Thank
you,
Brickie Ricky.

Okay, potters,
back to your benches,
please.

You have 20 minutes to make
ten of your best bricks.

How long would it take you
to make a brick?

I would say
once I was up to
speed,

I'd expect to make
a brick a minute.

Your time starts now.

Ooh!
This is gonna be messy.

You know,
it's muscles that's needed.

That's the most
difficult for me.

Don't get too flustered.
Just take it step by step.

More oil.

Get it in there.

Remember,
the amount of clay
is critical.

Nice.

And Alon has just done
the first brick.

Blimey, that was quick.

But it's really fun.
It's tons of
aggression.

The potters each
have a lump of clay big enough
to make 30 bricks.

Do as many as I can
as quick as I can.

Judging the right amount
to use is key.

Go on, Henry.
A good old
dollop.

Oh, that was not big enough.

Ooh, that's not enough.
Shove some more in.

Topping up the mould
will result in a weaker
brick.

This is not
how he did it, is it?

While too much clay
will be harder to handle.

Damn. Never mind.

With the right amount
of force...

Come on, Irina.
Slam it down really
hard.

...the clay will spread out,
hitting all the corners
of the mould.

More aggression.

Whoa! Nice one. Excellent.
Whoa!

Remember, into the
mould.

Not on the ceiling,
guys.
That's my helpful tip.

It's not gonna come out.

Come on.

Come on. Yes!

Oh, wire it.

Yeah, remember that order
of process.

Er...

Oh.
That one didn't go well.

I think getting the brick
out of the mould,

I think that's definitely
the trickiest part.

Oh!

One decisive slam-down.

Ah.

Come on, Irina.

Er... Aw, not good.

Ooh.

Quite noisy work,
making bricks.

- Yeah, yeah.
- Yes.

♪ Oil it up again ♪

The mould contains
a wooden former on the base

which creates an indentation
known as a frog.

That's better.

Keith and Rich will expect
these to be perfectly formed.

Well done, Henry.

Alon has just done
his fifth brick.

Wow. Five?
Nice work.

Oh, my God.

I'm having fun.

Forget being a librarian.
You can make libraries.

I wouldn't like my house
built with them,
that's for sure.

Come on. I think I have
a new vocation.

I don't know
how many brick foundries
there are in Yorkshire.

Potters, we are
halfway through now.

Who knew ten minutes
could go so quickly?

Panic stage.

Every time
Alon goes in with the clay,
it's just like a cloud.

- Explodes.
- Just bursting everywhere.

I like that it's physical,
that it's fast.

It's the hardest bit for me.

It just doesn't
want to come out.

Henry has six.
He's onto his
seventh.

Oh, no.

Uneven brick.

In the world of bricks,

uniformity is key.

This one might be a redo.

There's no place
for individuality.

The judges want to see
a matching set of ten.

Come on, Peter.
How many do we have now?

Seven, eight, nine, ten.
We have ten from Peter.

Once they make ten,

the potters must use
the remaining time

to replace any bricks
that don't stack up.

Start replacing
if you've got extras.

I want to see
a ten best selected.

Some of them are uneven
or have smooshed corners,

and I'm gonna try
and do my next ones,
like, really nice.

Oh...

That was...

Come on, guys.
Last few minutes.
Get those last few bricks out.

Come on!
Get your backs into it!

Bit of advice there.

This is pretty
frantic.
Sand in my eye.

Oh, gosh. Whoo!

- What do you think?
That's 110 bricks.
- Yeah.

Build a kennel.

Pizza oven.
Pizza oven.

- Outdoor toilet.
Just up to waist-high.
- Yeah, yeah.

- Come on, Irina. Come on.
- Ten...

nine, eight...
- Get it out
of the mould.

- ...seven, six...
- Oh, no.

...five, four...

Oh!

...three, two, one.

Potters, down tools.
Well done.

Well done, guys.

Well done.

If you could bring up ten of your best bricks. Come on.

Well done.
Don't drop them.

Keith and Rich,
110 bricks before you.

Would you like
to start judging?

Sure.
Yeah.

Keith and Rich are looking

for a set of ten uniform bricks

with sharp, square edges
and a well-defined frog.

I mean,
this one's pretty good.

They will rank them
from worst to first.

So, in eleventh place,
these bricks.

Irina. They're all
a little bit warped.

I think perhaps
the removal was maybe
a bit too heavy-handed.

Yeah, we could see
as you were bashing down,

some of them were actually distorting before you took them

In tenth place,
we have this set.
Suz.

There's not much
consistency
across the range.

And you've got
a few cracks in the
seam.

Yeah, so that's where the clay
was going in folded over.

In ninth
position,
we have Adam.

Just a bit too much sand.

Some of the frogs
are just completely
full up with sand.

- Yeah.
- Jodie is eighth,

Hannah is seventh,

Shenyue is sixth,
Lee is fifth,

Sal fourth,
and Peter is third.

It's a really good set
of bricks.

You've got good
consistency
across the batch,

and the frogs
are really
well-defined.

It's a nice set.

In second place, we have...

Henry.

Really lovely set of bricks, actually.

Really consistent.
Good, clean frog.

A nice, even covering
of sand.

Well done, Henry.
Yeah, nice work.

And in first
place,
we have Alon.

Well done, Alon. Whoo!

Really lovely
set
of bricks.

You look down the line,
and every frog is
well-defined.

Lovely crisp edges.
Well done.

Yeah, it worked,
so pretty happy.

Figured I had to do
well
in this one

'cause if something goes
wrong
with the whale,

then at least I have this
to push me up.

Second from the bottom,
it's not the bottom. So,
yeah.

I don't think it's
gonna be
my new career.

Mm. Coming at the end, er,
doesn't feel very good.

It's a massive worry.
But I really hope tomorrow
it will be better.

It's day two
of the main make,

and studio technician Rose
is up early
to crack open the kiln.

The potters' 3D buildings
have been through
a 48-hour bisque firing

and are ready
to be decorated.

But for some,
it's been an anxious wait.

Bit apprehensive,
'cause it was a bit rushed
at the end.

The castle could look
more ruinous
than it actually is.

If something cracked,
I'm just gonna cover it
with colours and glaze the...

Blur their eyes, I guess.

Potters, your buildings
have been bisque-fired
and are out of the kiln.

Hopefully no subsidence.

Keith, have you any advice
for our potters?

I really want to see
some original ways

at bringing
that textural detail
to the fore

by the choice of your glazes.

You have a range
of oxides and glazes to use

and three hours
to decorate your buildings.

Potters,
your time starts now.

It's not as exploded
as I thought.

The only disaster is,
my skateboard
has totally broken.

It's the bit
that's crushed me
a little bit.

Sally, yours looks amazing.

I'm stunned
that it's intact.

Really good.

The clock fell off.
Maybe it means that

the time with my boyfriend
is up, you know?

Is that copper carbonate?
Ooh.

The potters have
a variety of glazes and
oxides

to help them bring
their builds to life.

I'm going manganese dioxide
on the slates, on the bears,

and highlight the letters
that I didn't get to finish
on the actual build.

But the art of glazing
can be a guessing game...

So I started to decorate
my roof with iron oxide.

...as the colours
they apply now

could drastically change
during the final firing.

The main bit will be
similar to this colour.
Light turquoise.

Fingers crossed, yeah.

I'm putting a mixture
of fire-engine red underglaze

and underneath,
copper carbonate.

Taking a bit of a risk,
'cause this is a colour
I've never used before.

But Alon has ripped up
the rule book,

deciding to apply clay slip
to his already fired
building.

This is slip from clay
that I dug up from my garden,

so I don't really know
what colour
it's gonna turn out.

Hopefully reddish,
terracotta sort of
colour.

Tell me about this slip.
I'm quite surprised to see it
going on at this stage.

- Yeah, so...
- Have you you used it
as a biscuit slip before?

No, I haven't.
Erm, I know you're not
meant to do that

'cause it sucks out all the water, and they don't really attach.

So ideally
I would've done it last
time,

but I didn't have
time
for that.

Yeah, fingers crossed
that slip stays on.

Yeah.
Yeah.

As Alon takes a gamble
with his slip...

Hopefully
it will come out
nice.

...Jodie is playing safe...

Oh, rubbing away
here.
We like this bit.

...with a simple
blue-and-white colour scheme
for her Moroccan lighthouse.

You can see as you're wiping it away,
all that texture's coming out.

If you couldn't do it in the make stage,

you can create
texture
with colour.

Just got to think
of how you apply
it.

Spray it, sprinkle it, paint it, sponge it.

Just have fun,
innit?

Bringing out the texture
in their buildings

requires imagination
and a delicate touch.

I love putting texture
and detail into things.

I like it when you want to
look at something,

but I also like it
when you want to touch it.

Just going through and picking out individual bricks.

They'll be like a darker brown, and just add a little bit of life

and a little bit of realism.

Nice thing about oxides
is that it gets
into the cracks,

so it gives all the
textures
a bit of depth.

But applying
too much glaze

could result in the detail
of the textures being lost.

Hi, Irina.
Hello.

You look like
you're going
quickly.

I put transfer
and glaze on the top,
so several layers.

Hopefully the proportions
are not too strong.

- So what have you got
underneath this glaze?
- Er, iron oxide.

Okay, and then
you're putting the thick coat
of transparent on top?

Hopefully it doesn't
let me down.
- Yeah.

Potters,
you have one hour left.

Oh, my God.

I know. One hour
left.

Do you want to
change the
clock?

Yeah, there's...
Where is the clock?

There's just no time.
Yeah. No time.

Available for weddings
and christenings.

Time is very tight.
I've got the door to paint
and the hinges to do.

While Peter's
colourful Gaudí-inspired
building takes shape...

I'm just
adding iron oxide.

The iron oxide will burn
through all the other glazes

and give a bit of toasted
edge,
which is what I want.

...for Lee, there seems
to be
trouble at the mill.

I'm gonna get this roof done.
I'm conscious of the time,
though,

'cause I don't want to
not do the pond right.

And Lee's not the only one
fighting against time.

How's it going?
You look very stressed.
- All right.

But Hannah has a shortcut
to help speed up
her street art decoration.

This is my stamp,
which I'm gonna put on now.

Less things for me
to paint on.

Morning, Sal.
Morning.

How's it all going?
It's going really well.

It's amazing how it all
comes alive when you start
adding colour and pigment.

I just really want
the texture of the stonework
to come out.

- Yeah, yeah.
- That's what's
important to me.

Because obviously you've done
these deep indentations here.

Yeah. I'm using
the colour of the clay...

Yes. Okay, yes.
...as my mortar, basically.

- And trying to make the texture like the king, you know?
- No, absolutely.

Just gonna colour the whale
with underglazes and...

Yeah. Just get it
really pretty.

I'm gonna use
copper carbonate

to do my drainpipes, ceiling,
just to give it some age

and put some funny
little things in as well.

I need to finish off
this dragon.

I don't know
why I'm avoiding it.
I'm procrastinating.

Getting there.
Once I've finished
painting the lettering,

I'm going to sponge off
the roof slightly.

Then I'm going to do
some foliage at the bottom,
and job's a good 'un.

Lee, how are you getting
on?

Think you might like
the name of my mill.

"McSweeney and Sons."
Finally, I amounted
to something.

You own a textile mill that's crumbling in Huddersfield.

All the little
rivets,
they're gonna be red.

That's the Moroccan flag,
so it's a little nod to them.

Looks a little bit like
an ice cream at the
moment.

I'm very confident it'll look fine with a clear coat on.

It'll be fabulous.
Fabulous, darling.

Oh, my God,
look at the clothesline.

I hear
you're a new mill
owner.

Yes, I own a mill
in Huddersfield.

You also own
Fairyland.

Oh, my word!
Can I say something?

You can.
Have I spelt it
wrong?

Yeah.
Ah!

Potters, guess what?

- What?
- You have less
than ten minutes.

- Ah.
- Ooh.

Right,
I'm gonna start glazing now.

Once decorated,
the potters can add

a final coat
of transparent glaze.

It's just a clear glaze.
You have to put several layers, so one layer is not enough.

When fired, this will help
their colours shine
through.

Er... I forgot
which one I put glaze on.

- Suz?
- Yes?

- Where's the door?
- Door? What door?

Gotcha. Gotcha.
Right.

- You don't have doors
in Scotland, do you?
- No.

Famously.
No. Exactly.

Come on.

Sorry.
It's all right.

Jesus.

Two minutes, people.
Hurry up!

Phew.

I've attempted
to fix my
clock.

I'll glaze it and then
hopefully in the kiln
it will fuse together.

That's the slip
not sticking very well,
which is kind of annoying.

It's crumbling off.

Anybody finished?

There we go.

I think if Gaudí's watching,
I think he'll be quite happy.

Suz is done!

Can we actually have
a round of applause for Suz?

How do you feel?

Really chuffed.
Oh, well done.

Five seconds left.

Four, three, two, one.
Down tools.

Well done, everybody.

Oh, you're all marvellous.
They look brilliant.

The potters must now take
their finished buildings

to Rose for one final firing.

- Spot there.
Right, we got it in.
- Whoo!

When they next see them,
it will be judgment time.

It's important for me to let the judges see

'cause obviously I've got a bit of ground to make up.

I tried my best.
Some of the oxides
I used the first time.

Surprise result.

Worst-case scenario,

the slip I put on
just crumbles off.

But that's my style.
I want to go do
something crazy.

I mean, we'll see.
Glaze firing,
anything can happen.

The potters' buildings

started five days ago
as lumps of clay.

After hand-building,
decorating and two firings,

they are now ready
to be lit up and judged.

Potters, your buildings
look amazing.

I cannot wait
to see them all lit up.

Adam, if you could bring
up
your 3D building, please.

Ooh-hoo.

Yeah, you're good.

Okay, hit the lights.

- Oh.
- Wow.

- That's so cool.
- Just feels magical.

It's a feast for the eyes.
I mean, where do we start?
There's so much to see.

The detail is just
really, really
wonderful.

You've got
so much texture on
here,

and this attention to detail in the
actual clothing on the washing line--

This is really
charming.
It's wonderful.

And no matter which angle
you look at it from,

there's something to see
and you've thought about
every surface.

The textures are just enhanced
by the glazes
that you've put on them.

The light's
really quite
subtle,

but if I was walking
through
an enchanted forest,

this is exactly
what I'd expect to
see.

Absolutely wonderful.

There's something
quite Dalí-esque about
it

because of the mishmash
of the buildings
from your past.

And I love that.

The brick walls
on this main building
are just exquisite.

The way you've used the glazes
to really enhance that texture,

and the way you've picked up
little blocks
with different colours,

it's so lovely.

I just want to
see it lit up.

It's
working
pretty well.

It's not made it through
to this tower so well.

But where
the light isn't shining,

it's accentuating that beautiful detail of the brickwork.

Really beautiful.
If I was a crier,
I'd be in floods.

Your slabs that you've had to produce are really huge.

The fact that it's structurally sound is a feat to

And the fact that you've
managed to put the dragon
on here and it hasn't sagged--

Good old Gareth.

I really love the fact
that you've used

some different processes
for your decoration.

These pineapples, for example,
they really feel like
sort of urban graffiti.

Lights, please.

There's plenty
of areas for that light
to come out,

but these front windows
in the bakery end
are a little bit big.

The bulb is very visible.

Structurally,
it's complex.

It feels like
an engineer's build,

but an engineer who's had the opportunity to kind of free up a

because it's a crazy,
bonkers mishmash of organic shapes and colours.

The iron oxide has kind of burnt out a bit, hasn't it?

- It has, yes.
- Yeah. And where it could've possibly picked up

more of this detail, it kind of hasn't.

Lights, please.

- Works really well.
- It's wonderful.

I mean, you see light
coming from spaces

where you didn't even know
there was windows.

- Brilliant effort, Peter.
- Thank you very much.

What strikes me
is the realism of
it.

You've got corrugated iron
on the top.

You've got a wooden beam
across the door there.

This stone is very indicative of that particular kind of build.

It is truly, truly wonderful.

Shall we have a look at it
lit up?

Cue the lights.

Oh, wow.

Wow. I mean,
it's incredible.

- Wow.
- It's wonderful, Sal.
Absolutely brilliant.

Don't make me cry.
- You know,
the fact that the light

comes through this door
and really shows up
that wooden texture--

It's brilliant, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.

It just feels like you've thought about
how that light is gonna come out.

- It's just beautiful.
Really, really wonderful.
- Thank you.

Your design concept
here
is really out there.

We love that.
That's very, very
interesting.

On a technical point of
view,
it's an absolute disaster.

The sort of heavy
cracking
on this slip,

it's a beautiful,
rich colour

and the story that
it tells about it coming
from your garden

and it being this raw clay
is lovely.

But I almost can't help
but see it as a fault.

The lights, please.

That light
working through
the whale's eyes--

- I really wanted the eye
there.
- That looks brilliant.

The way it comes
through the lip really works.

It gives the whale
an extra sort of
personality.

But we've got to think,
are we judging a whale
or are we judging a building?

Yeah.

It looks very, very regal, and there's a real definite

Erm, I know you had a few
issues
with the clock falling off.

Yeah,
I've had trouble with
cracking.

Is this you
at the back
here?

There's me at the back
and another little surprise

at the front to represent me
and my boyfriend.

Yeah.
- And hopefully when
the lights come on,

it will create
a nice silhouette.

That works
really, really well.

For a building
that has such personal meaning,

it's a really lovely execution.

Aside from the clock.

Yeah.

There's so
many windows in here.
That's no mean feat.

And I love the fact
that you've got

"McSweeney and Sons"
over the door.

I don't know
what the mill owner thinks.

I think
it's as well constructed
as the mill owner.

The texture
of the walls-- Remind me,
you used hessian?

I would've liked to have seen a bit
more detail of actual brickwork.

I love the texture on the roof. That's really

But overall, the tone
is a bit
one-dimensional.

Hit the lights, please.

The light isn't quite making it up
to this taller part of the tower.

Yeah, I'm gutted
about that, actually.

I think it's a bit of a
shame
that you ran out of time.

Yes, with the perforation
of the lettering.

Yeah.
Because this bit further up,

I mean,
that's just beautiful.

I probably would've
liked
to have seen...

A door?
...a door.

That's a bit
of a design
flaw.

But on the plus side, I love the foliage here.

Yeah, it's just
a little burst of colour.

The manganese on the roof
is inspired.

These bears on top,
although they're very,
very simple,

you can definitely tell that your personality

has really, really
come through on
those.

Lights, please.

So if I was trudging
through
the Highlands of Scotland

and I came across this,

with this warm glow
coming through the turrets,
and the light,

I'd feel really
sort of drawn to
it.

But I wouldn't be able to bloody get into the house, would I?

No.
- Unless I climbed
through a window.

The colour is brilliant.
It works really, really well.

You've got lovely
texture
on the roof.

The iron has
worked
reasonably well.

You've got areas here
where it's been applied
a bit thicker,

so you're not getting
so much of the iron through.

I would've liked
to have seen a bit more
texture on the walls.

And also the detail
of the windows--

Those windows
are really, really large.

It's just whether that
lack of detail in the
windows

is going to sort of be detrimental to that light

and the way that light
works
through the building.

Well, one thing
you can definitely
say

is the light
does shine through
it.

I definitely can see
net curtains.

Yeah, I mean,
you can see a lot of the
bulb.

It's just a shame those
windows
were a little bit big.

Well, Jodie...

It's brilliant.
It's brilliant.

It's fantastic.

It really, really is. This is inspired.

The fact that you
individually made these
tiles,

and the fact that you've just used one
colour scheme, it's really, really paid

Everything feels finished,
and finished
to a really high standard.

I'll start
crying again now.

I just love
the fact that the windows
lower down

throw that light
onto the table.

It's just lovely.
It just feels like
it's all so well-considered.

For someone who's never been to
Morocco, looks pretty Moroccan.

Keith, he cares. You know,
he makes you care more.

So as long as
they're happy
tears,

he can cry all he
wants.

When the light
shone out of those windows
and those doors,

that's exactly
what was in my head.

It was amazing. I'm happy.
I'm happy.

Could've gone better.
But I really hope
I'm not going home.

I want to stay and keep doing
more crazy things.

I'm really pleased.

Okay, it's minus a door,
but that's a minor detail.

It's not quite knocked it
out of the park...

but I've definitely done
better
than I did last time.

I am worried. I was last
in the brick competition,

and it gives me some worry,
of course, yeah.

Keith and Rich must now decide
who will be Potter of the Week

and who will leave
the competition.

What a really fun
week
this has been.

Definitely. Not only
were the constructions amazing,

but those buildings
just told us so much
about them as potters.

So who do you think could be Potter of the Week this week?

Jodie's got to be up there.
Definitely.

What she managed
to achieve with the glazes

and the overall structure
of the build,
it was just faultless.

Sal. The attention to detail

and surface textures
that she got there,
absolutely amazing.

Yeah, I mean,
Adam's build was fantastic.

He'd really thought about
the light and how that was
gonna come out of it.

You could look at that structure and
see something different every time.

So is there anyone
that you think
is in the danger zone?

Alon.
With his terracotta finish.
That slip.

He could've thought of it
like a design feature,

but no, technically,
it was wrong.

I think Suz
is probably in trouble.

There were just elements
that were unfinished.

Yeah. And no doors.
You can't get
into the building.

Doors are
overrated.
Who needs them?

Irina definitely is
in the danger zone.

What she really
let herself down on
was glaze application

and the light
through the building.

She hadn't really
thought about it.

And of course they didn't do too well in the second

Suz came tenth
and Irina came
eleventh.

I mean, I don't envy
you
this week at all.

I have no idea how you're going to choose between them all.

Potters, the judges
have made their
decision.

But before
the horrible bit,

I get to do
the really nice bit,

which is announce
the Potter of the
Week.

And I am delighted
to say

this week's
Potter of the Week is...

Jodie.

Now the really...
horrible bit.

The potter who is going to
leave us today is...

Irina.

- Oh, no.
- Oh, no.

Oh, baby.

- Oh, dear.
- Oh, Irina.

I'm so sorry.
It's okay.

I'm so sorry.
You did so good.

It was very emotional.
The guys are very supportive.

It's impressive how,
within a short period
of time,

you can make this
bond,
you know, together.

Hang on a sec.

I can't talk.

Get a grip.

Oh, Lee. Oh.

I'm really sorry
for Irina.

She's gonna leave,
for a small girl,
a very big hole in the house.

I'm really
impressed
and inspired

by the hard work
and dedication that
you've shown in the studio.

Absolutely amazing.

I had hope,
I must say.

Didn't happen.

It's just been heartbreaking
for us to make this decision.

Irina's been such a pleasure
to have around the pottery.

It was really
difficult
to say goodbye,

but unfortunately, Irina's piece, it just didn't quite deliver.

So as Irina
leaves the pottery,

Jodie's lighthouse
will now take second spot

in the Throw Down gallery.

Hey, Mum,
you all right?

Yes, are you okay?

I'm all right.
I got Potter of the
Week.

Well done, Grot.
Well done. I knew you'd do it.

Thank you.
Speak to you soon.

That's my nickname. Grotbag.

"Well done, Grot."

Just tell everyone, like.

Next time...

...the potters
breathe new life...

- ...into still-life...
- My actual plums
will be slightly larger.

...and tackle
a Throw Down classic
that leaves everyone...

...in the dark.

Whose week
will turn out peachy?

Mind your bananas.

And who will be left...

No, no, no, no.

...with sour grapes?

What are you doing
down there?

Do you really
want to know?

No.
No.