Time, the ever pulsing
heartbeat of existence,
the rhythm of the universe.
Every day, hours, minutes,
seconds pass us by
like autumn leaves on a breeze,
but when was the last time
you properly pondered,
what is time, hmm?
Speaking of time, you're already
late. You've missed breakfast.
What?! Basically, it's week two,
11 potters are left.
Welcome to
The Great Pottery Throw Down.
Save me a sausage!
Last time,
Gladstone welcomed
a brand-new pack of potters
- - eager to hit the wheel...
- Oh!
...and create
a children's crockery set.
Absolutely deadly.
Zahra's childhood dreams...
I'm panic painting.
...turned to nightmares.
Oh, no.
But it was Bill...
It's a little bit
on the heavy side.
...who was the first to leave.
I'm gonna miss you all.
While
Lucinda's party animals...
Oh, my pretty one.
...put her top of the class...
It's absolutely brilliant.
...earning first spot
in the Throw Down gallery.
- This week...
- Oh, Jesus.
...the potters face
a slab-building challenge...
I've no idea what I'm doing.
...transforming slabs of clay
into decorative wall clocks.
- Here we go. We're going on.
- We're going on, going in.
- - And feel their way...
- That's gone horribly wrong.
...through a blind
throw down challenge.
Don't go too quickly
with the wheel, Zahra.
Who will be crowned
king of the clocks?
This is fantastic.
- - And whose time...
- I forgot the pendulum.
...has finally run out?
Would you want that
on your wall?
Yes.
It's week two,
and our potters are back.
I was both relieved
and surprised
to get through to week two.
I'm looking forward to today.
It's a new day,
it's a new challenge.
It's slab building today, which
is not really my favorite.
I haven't done much of it
really, I mainly throw,
so it's gonna be a bit
of a challenge for me today.
I'm not confident
with slab building,
so I was tossing and turning
last night,
thinking about all the ways
that my piece could go wrong.
Hello, everyone. Is it any less
terrifying standing in here now?
- No.
- No.
No? Good. Our work is done.
For your main make challenge
this week,
the judges would like you
to slab build
- a 3
- D pendulum wall clock.
This should be based on one of
your hobbies, but not pottery.
We've already got the gist
you're quite into clay.
We really wanna see
your personality come through
on these wall clocks,
so think about the form
and the decoration
to create that statement piece
that really tells us about you.
We've given you
a clock mechanism with hands,
and a pendulum
that swings underneath.
And we'd also like you to make
an adornment for that pendulum,
but think about the weight,
because that pendulum
has to swing.
You have three and a half hours
- to make your 3
- D pendulum
wall clock,
and then a further
two and a half hours
to refine your pieces.
Your time starts now.
Potters, get potting!
The potters' wall clocks must
be at least 30 centimeters high
and made using
the slab-building method.
Stressed about slab building.
Um, it's not my favorite thing.
With such a structural build,
getting the thickness of their
slabs just right is crucial.
- What's it set at, Tom?
- One centimeter, I think.
Oh, yeah, one centimeter
will be fine.
- I've no idea what I'm doing.
If it's too thick,
the inside of it won't dry,
so when it goes into the kiln,
pcchhw!
But too thin and their
wall clocks could collapse.
I've rolled
it out thin.
I don't want a heavy clock.
It's gotta hang on a wall.
It could be a terrible plan.
I've never made a clock before.
I've never been a clock person.
I don't own a watch,
for example.
I don't really care
what time it is.
So, Rich, wall clocks,
what a great challenge.
It is,
and we are upping the ante.
This is
a fairly substantial build,
and building with slabs
is tough going.
Yeah, you're making
all these individual appendages.
They've gotta be
the right consistency
when they stick them
all together,
and for me that shows
knowledge and experience
to see if they can do it
without any cracking whatsoever.
Some of our potters might choose
to construct sort of box forms,
like this clock here.
And, actually, that kind of
lends itself perfectly
to a slab-building technique.
But what they need
to be mindful of
is that these are
quite big pieces,
and there's every opportunity
for these surfaces
to warp and distort during
the drying and the firing.
They need to think about
how they're gonna get
enough structure in there
that it holds itself
together perfectly.
And also we want to see
some elaborate designs,
we wanna see
some really lovely clocks,
but they've gotta think
about the weight.
These things are gonna be
stuck on the wall.
Yeah, and let's face it,
we've asked for wall clocks.
If they don't hang
on the wall...
- Yeah, I know.
- ...is it what we've asked for?
No, and it could be their time
to leave the pottery.
- Hi there, lovey.
- You OK?
How are you feeling
after the first week?
It was good fun. I'm chilled out
and really enjoying it.
Ah, good, excellent.
Tell us about your design.
So my design is a robot,
because I'm a big nerd, I think.
So I'm calling him TD21,
which is Throw Down 21.
But with this little guy,
he does look old,
he's tired, and beat up,
and rusty.
You're confident
it'll look pitted and old,
and not just badly...
badly made?
Bit like me.
I look pitted and old.
A big kid at heart,
Nick can often be found
carving up the promenade
with his kids
Polly, Jess, Freya, and Leo.
Ah!
Inspired by the sci-fi films
he loved to watch as a child,
Nick's rusty robot will have a
retro orange and blue paint job
and a wheel-shaped pendulum.
- Do you do the robot?
- Do the robot?
I'll do the robot
if you do the robot.
Mmm. That's awful.
Lucinda,
do you like this dance?
She's absolutely
mugged me off there.
While Nick enjoys
popping the occasional robot,
Lucinda has a few more styles
at her disposal.
So, when I was really little, my
granny bought me a little tutu
which I just loved dancing
round the sitting room in.
Then I did ballet at school.
And then as I grew up,
I learned, uh, ceroc,
which is a kind of modern jive.
Anyway, I've done ceroc for,
oh, at least 20 years,
and so I thought, oh, it's gotta
be a dance-related clock.
10 years ago, Lucinda met
partner Mike at a ceroc class,
and they've been rocking
round the clock ever since.
A Fender guitar pendulum will
swing beneath her wall clock,
which will feature
Lucinda and Mike jiving away
surrounded by
sprig-molded instruments,
musical notes,
and almost 100 piano keys.
I've actually made
these piano keys,
and then all I've got to do
is roll it along,
and what I love about them is
they're all higgledy-piggledy.
It's almost like they're having
a dance themselves.
Also relying
on homemade stamps...
It actually vaguely looks
like a chicken head now.
...is Tom.
So I'm making a chicken clock,
'cause I used to keep chickens.
I loved keeping chickens, but
they just kept getting eaten,
and they were just hard work,
so replaced it with pottery.
Tom's empty chicken coop
has now been replaced
with a second pottery shed
dedicated to glazing.
The hens might be gone,
but they're certainly
not forgotten.
I love chickens.
His whimsical clock
will see a startled hen
laying a fried egg pendulum,
in remembrance
of his much missed brood.
- Did your chickens have names?
- They did have names.
We got ex-battery chickens,
really battered,
really beaten up, no feathers.
When their feathers grew back,
they all looked
absolutely identical,
so we called them all Barbara.
One of them was slightly bigger,
so that was Big Barbara.
Don't fat-shame Big Barbara.
Tom's not the only potter
planning on keeping time
with his fine
feathered friends.
So I've got a long-tailed tit,
a barn owl, wren, swallow,
some of my favorite birds.
They're gonna mark
12, three, six and nine.
Self-confessed twitcher Jenny
loves to spend time
bird-watching with son Joe.
Why is there no birds?
Her avian clockface
will be framed
with relief-work
branches and leaves,
and a dramatic carved
sky design.
I want it to be
a swirly sky,
like a bit reminiscent
of Van Gogh's kind of work.
And it would seem
the great Dutch painter
has made an impression
on more than one potter today.
I used to paint a lot
growing up,
so my favorite artist
was Van Gogh.
I used to do origami as well,
so I've incorporated that in,
and also hiking, as I grew up
near the Peak District.
- You've got loads of hobbies.
- I like to be busy.
Zahra only recently discovered
her passion for gardening
during lockdown.
She loves to tend
to her vegetable patch
and her beloved cat Neo.
Hi. What you doing?
Neo's face will decorate
the pendulum on Zahra's clock,
which will feature her
Van Gogh-inspired landscape,
and delicate origami birds
which will perch
on her clockface.
I'm aware that sort of origami
is really crisp.
- Yes.
- And very fine folds.
I'm curious, how are you gonna
make that out of clay?
So, I've got these
for the origami birds.
I'm gonna try and get
the rough shape out,
and if I have time at the end,
I will sculpt them
instead of using those.
- Right.
- Thanks, guys.
- Good luck. Cheers, Zahra.
- Thanks. Cheers, guys.
While Zahra
is attempting to create
a flock of delicate
origami birds,
AJ has a considerably larger
winged creature
to contend with.
I'm making a treasure chest
with a little dragon on it
who's munching
on some gold coins
that he's stolen
out of the side.
So that's... that's my design,
so hopefully the story carries
through once I've finished.
AJ's inspiration
comes from their weekly
fantasy board game meetings
with friends.
I'm gonna run up to 'em
and swing my great ax.
AJ's treasure chest will have
an intricate
embossed wood grain pattern,
and if the dice
are on their side,
then their dragon
will perch on top,
standing guard
over the gold coins within.
This is quite a large
sort of sculptural piece here.
- That's gonna support it?
- Hope so.
I'm hoping the arch shape
will be quite strong
once it's dried out
a little bit.
So I'm just paying
special attention to this bit,
and spending, you know, quite
a lot of time getting it right,
'cause if that goes wrong, then
everything goes wrong, you know.
- This is lovely.
- Yeah.
I, um, rolled out a slab
and carved some wood grain
into it, and then cast it.
It's quite cartoonish, which
I thought would go with my vibe.
Well, yeah,
it's looking good so far.
- Thank you, yeah.
- Good luck, AJ.
- See you later.
- See you later.
Building a wooden
treasure chest
out of slabs of clay
is one thing.
Right. Whoo.
But Cellan is attempting
something a little flimsier.
I'm making a tent. I'm basing it
off the old Scout tents.
- Oh, right.
- I used to be a Scout myself.
And I really enjoy
camping still.
So I wanted to base my clock
off of that.
Cellan started dib-dib
dob-dobbing at age eight
when he joined the Beavers.
He's hoping to get
his hand-building badge today
with a canvas Scout tent
just like the ones
he spent many a windy night
sleeping in
during his time in the Scouts.
I want it to look like
it's in the wind,
so the wind
has blown the doors open.
I'm trying to get it
so it all looks
like it's coming
from one direction.
I can see your slabs
are quite thin,
but I guess that's
kind of to emulate the canvas.
I don't want it to be too thick.
It's going on a wall.
I don't want it to be
too heavy either.
I don't want it to fall off
on any of you guys's toes
when you're looking at it.
- Good luck.
- Thank you very much, guys. Ta.
Cellan might be a happy camper.
OK, right.
But Miles prefers holidaying
somewhere a little more exotic.
I love travelling in India.
I like to kind of go round
old temples.
I always find it
really inspiring,
and when this brief
came through,
I thought, "I'm gonna do that."
Back home in England, Miles
likes to get back to nature
with a spot of wild swimming
in his local river.
Whoo!
Miles's temple will be
a multi-tiered riot
of surface design,
with elephant-clad columns,
a lotus-flower
inspired clockface
and a troop of monkeys
which will clamber
all over his construction.
So it doesn't sound like
you're being ambitious
with the construction
and the engineering.
- I know.
- Just playing it safe.
This isn't really
my normal thing.
There's gonna be time
to construct it all?
- Is there? I'm not sure.
- Is there?
- Is there?
- That was a question.
There is going to be time.
Is there going to be
enough time? I will...
Yes, there will be enough time.
Don't know what your clocks
are saying, guys,
but my clock is saying
you are halfway through.
The drying room is open,
my friends.
- Whoo!
- Whoo. Someone whoo'd.
And why not?
Let's get things dry.
With the slabs needing to reach
a leather-hard consistency
before construction
can begin...
- Come on, chicken.
- Chicken, he's going in.
...the potters can now move on
to the decorative adornments...
Hand building,
I've just started to enjoy it.
It's like Play-Doh.
It's like being a kid again.
...that will bring
their clocks to life.
It's not gonna be a dragon
clock without a dragon on it,
so I've started that now.
They're pretty ugly,
chicken feet.
Have you ever seen
a real chicken's feet?
I've eaten them before.
Ugh. Horrible.
But Christine
will be serving up something
a little bit more palatable.
I'm making a cake.
You know this is pottery?
You know that?
It's not the other one.
It's based on my hobbies.
I'm a baker,
and my sisters always say
that my Victoria sponge
is the best one,
so I'm making a Victoria sponge.
OK.
Christine's other hobby
is crocheting,
which she loves to do in front
of her favorite zombie box set.
She'll be covering
half of her cake clock
with a colorful
crochet blanket,
below which will hang
a yarn ball pendant.
So what's that for?
That's for my crochet squares
for the blanket.
I'm gonna make lots of squares
and then arrange them.
When I decorate,
I want the color
to come through on the crochet.
- I'm all about the color.
- Right.
- So, you know, fingers crossed.
- OK, yeah.
Also looking forward to getting
her paintbrushes out is Anna.
My hobby is painting, and, uh,
this should be my strength.
So I'm making,
basically, an art box.
So I'm carving out the pencils
and the paint tubes,
so the box is going to be full
of, you know, arty things,
sitting on top of a sketch pad,
sitting on top of a palette.
Shortly after meeting her
partner Skip in South Africa,
Anna painted a portrait of him
on Abu the elephant.
20 years on and Skip is still
her favorite muse.
Yeah, he's a good man.
Anna's trusty box
- of 3
- D pencils and brushes
will form the face
of her wall clock,
which will also feature
a paint-splattered pendulum,
a pencil sharpener and
a half-squeezed tube of paint,
all sculpted entirely by hand.
I mean, we saw your sculptural
work in your children's set,
and that was
really, really lovely,
and if you can bring us
that character in this clock,
I think you're on a winner.
- If you can.
- If I can.
That's the big thing. If I can.
Whilst Anna now has to tackle
a hand-sculpting marathon...
Yeah, there's quite a lot to do.
...most of the other potters
have saved themselves time...
I'm just gonna make the origami
birds. Watch my hands shake.
...by making sprig molds
to create detail.
This is my barn owl.
Sprig molds are molds
made out of plaster.
You get your wet clay,
put it in,
squeeze it down,
and take it out,
and it looks like the bottle,
or whatever you have.
I'm trying to show myself,
so I'm trying to show
everything I like doing
and everything I do
within one main thing.
Josh likes to keep fit
by playing tennis
with girlfriend Polly.
Oh!
His wall clock
will be a wooden cabinet
showcasing sprig-molded items
that symbolize
his many hobbies,
including a tennis ball,
woodworking tools,
racehorses,
and a bottle of fine wine.
I haven't got any hobbies.
- Have you not?
- No.
You probably should pick one up.
I just... I don't understand
how people have time
to do anything.
Why don't you try pottery,
now that you're here?
- Oh, don't be ridiculous.
- Why? You might be quite good.
I've got much better things
to do with my time.
The potters must also
fashion a pendulum
for their wall clocks...
As you can see,
I'm a really neat worker.
...which must be in keeping
with their theme...
It's that sort of 1950s vibe,
with the Fender.
- I'm making a fried egg now.
- ...and fit for purpose.
The thing with the pendulum is,
it needs to be quite light,
so a lot of people
are doing thin, flat ones,
which is a very smart move.
I, on the other hand, am doing
- a nice little 3
- D backpack
for my camper,
which will probably weigh too...
It will not weigh too much,
it'll weigh the perfect amount,
and it will still
swing beautifully.
Right, let's have it.
With the slabs that make up
their main structure
- - dried to leather hard...
- You got it? Yeah?
...construction
can finally commence.
We're attaching
with slip and score.
You sort of open up
all the fibers of the clay,
bit of slip,
so it kind of gets on there.
Then I can literally just stick
that back together again then.
If you don't
put enough on,
and if you don't score it
well enough, it won't stick,
so I kind of go for the "more
is more" in this situation.
Oh, man, I hate this bit.
With dozens
of individual pieces
all needing to be
flawlessly fused...
Oh, look at that, perfect fit.
Chicken boy's ready to rock.
...any mistakes here
could be costly.
It says "inside" here.
I'll probably mess it up
if I don't write
what side is inside
and what side is outside.
- - But Zahra's birdhouse...
- Oh, sh**t.
...has an issue with its roof.
Realize I've decorated
the wrong side of this.
So this was meant to be
the underside of the roof, so...
'Cause those two bits
were meant to join like that.
What I can do is flip it round
and shorten it a bit,
just to save me
redecorating again.
While Zahra attempts
to reshape her roof,
Miles has been distracted
by his decoration
and is in danger
of falling behind.
I'm making
a second little monkey,
'cause I wasn't that pleased
with my first one.
I know that I am really
seriously running out of time.
I'm panicking.
One hour to go.
You've got one hour to go.
With time ticking down
to their first firing,
the potters'
slab-built wall clocks
are starting to take shape.
We've got the door on.
We've got all the sides on now.
Everything's sort of what I was
thinking it was gonna look like,
which is... which is good news.
I am giving the little fella
some arms.
Keep on trucking,
as they say, isn't it?
It's off center
at a 45-degree angle,
'cause it just looks weird
looking at a chicken
straight on.
Why does it look weird looking
at a chicken straight on?
Well, come round here
and have a look.
Would you want that
on your wall?
Yes.
And despite a slow start...
I'm building my way up.
...Miles's temple
is taking shape.
It's gonna have
three layers.
Why didn't I just do two?
Miles might be lamenting
his third layer,
but Zahra is still struggling
with just one.
Unfortunately,
that's not fit properly.
So the danger with this is, um,
weak structures in the support
and cracking.
If I'm very, very lucky,
I'll get away with it.
Zahra isn't the only potter
stressing about
their structure.
I'm worried about the weight
of the dragon,
because it's quite thick,
so it could very well explode
in the kiln.
But hopefully it won't explode.
Important as
a sturdy structure is...
Right, OK.
...it's crucial
the potters ensure their clocks
can hang freely on the wall.
So I've gone for an open back.
You've got
the two little hanging lugs,
so if they fail,
the whole clock's gonna go.
This bit here
has got to be 10 centimeters,
and according
to my shrinkage ruler,
I think that's about right.
So, basically,
if I've got 10% shrinkage,
my centimeters on here are...
- 10% bigger.
- ...10% bigger.
No wonder she's potter
of the week and I'm not, eh?
Aw.
Half an hour, guys.
- 30 minutes to go.
- Ouch, ouch.
Right, chicken egg done.
Next, wings. Go.
Just trying to get it stuck on,
and then I'll get
all of the legs and such.
- Here we go. We're going on.
- We're going on, going in.
No time to waste.
Everything's in,
stuck in.
Let's see how long it lasts.
I've got tubes of paint
to put on.
I've still...
I've got quite a bit to do.
I'm just attaching
my origami birds at the moment.
I've knocked a bit of a wing
off, uh, one of them,
but I think
it's still all right.
Need to get my clockface on,
need to get it stood up,
the elephant head.
I'm liking the wing.
It's better than it was before.
This is the most precarious bit,
and it could completely slump.
It's the big moment where
one part meets another part.
Hopefully all is good.
10 minutes to go.
You know when
you've only got 10 minutes.
Almost done. Praying the stuff
isn't gonna fall off.
- In we go.
- Yeah...
- We're rocking...
- We're rocking.
...to the drying room.
One minute!
That's come around quickly.
- One minute to go.
- Oh, I love it.
One minute to get it
in the drying room.
Are you all right, Miles?
Elephants are on.
- Elephants are on.
- Monkey's up there.
Five, four... Temple's going in.
- Namaste. Good luck to you.
- Namaste.
And one.
Smashed it.
That was good. That was good.
Yeah, I had fun.
I managed to keep all the
textures that I wanted to keep.
Come glazing, that's what
I really want to enhance.
It's been a tough day.
The joints are as strong
as I could have made them,
given everything
that went wrong.
Just thinking about
all the things that I didn't do,
rather than
congratulating myself
for all the things
that I did do.
After their intense first day
of hand building...
I've gone nervous again.
...the potters'
second challenge will test
their sense of touch even more.
Potters, your second challenge
this week is a throw down,
and you're going to be making
pet bowls.
Dr. Dolittle himself, Keith,
can you show us how it's done?
We've got your wheel
and your clay.
Oh, I think I might be
missing something.
Oh, I forgot to say.
You're doing it blindfolded.
- Got ya.
The potters will be making
two dog bowls,
one large and one small.
Before you put the blindfold on,
really think about
where everything is,
because you won't be able
to take the blindfold off
until you finish the second one.
On it goes. Get the first pad.
Place it down.
With your hands fixed
on the wheel tray,
you can feel
when it's on the center.
- That's clever.
- This is the bit I can't do.
Shove the clay down.
Your faces are amazing.
I thought you'd all disappeared,
you'd all gone home.
I've got my fingers
on my right hand
right down on the wheel tray,
and my fingers of my left hand
are inside,
and I can feel the difference in
height between the two fingers.
The minute you close your eyes,
your fingers just become
so much more sensitive.
Draw that clay out.
- Make a nice flat bottom.
- Oh, my gosh.
What sort of shape
are you looking for?
We're looking for
that sort of conical shape.
Then find your sponge. You want
to take all the water out.
Rib up the side. It wants
to have a nice clean side.
Now, in some ways,
this is the hardest part,
so really contain that wire.
Wire it through,
put your wire down,
lift it off, get your other bat.
And now this one
you wanna make slightly smaller.
You really wanna think about
the size differentiation
between the two.
And what height
are you looking for?
On the large one,
about seven centimeters high,
and on the small one, about
five or six centimeters high.
Wire it through, and you can
keep this one on the wheel head.
And then there you go,
you've got your small one
and your large one.
So it's a simple shape, so I'm
looking for real quality here.
There you go.
You've seen how it's done.
You are gonna have 10 minutes.
Right, head back
to your benches.
- Are you ready, potters?
- No.
- Excellent! Blindfolds on!
Your time starts... now!
- Oh, they really work.
- Yeah, they really do.
Picture the shape in your head.
As important as the ability
to visualize is,
blind throwing requires
mastery of the wheel.
Don't go too quickly
with the wheel, Zahra.
- Just keep that in check.
- Uh, it's wonky.
- Looking good, Miles.
- Is it?
- Yeah.
- I have no idea.
Nice, Jenny. Remember,
the speed of the wheel
is important.
Stay nice and controlled,
everyone.
It's a really
interesting challenge.
It's not about
what it looks like.
It's about what it feels like.
It feels really big.
It is quite big.
So now you've gotta get
that inward shape.
Yeah, which is a tricky one
when it's...
I can feel it's gone too big.
It's not awful,
that's what I'd say.
- Very useful. Thank you.
- Oh, my gosh, it's so hard.
I'm not happy with it. I was
just trying to collar it in.
I think I rely on my vision
a lot more when I'm throwing.
Jenny, you're doing
all right there.
Oh, thank you.
It's a really nice jardiniere
that you've made there.
- Oh!
- No, I'm joking.
How are you doing, AJ?
It's going outwards
instead of inwards.
- Anna, have you got one off?
- Got one off.
- Nice work.
- Oh, God, really?
- I don't know how big that is.
- Halfway, my friends.
Five more minutes to go, so
if you haven't taken one off...
Oh, my God.
...you probably
should be thinking about that.
We want that classic
dog bowl shape.
I'm trying so hard
not to touch it.
Yeah, ooh, that's...
that's the water.
Are you on the next one, Cellan?
- He's in the zone.
- He's in the zone.
I'm just trying
to feel the clay.
I've only got one shot.
The pressure is on.
That's better already,
Zahra.
- What?
- It looks better already.
Oh. Thanks.
- This is quite fun.
- It's way off center.
Oh, good God, this is shocking.
So I'm on the little one.
I know my first one's
pretty wonky, though.
Ooh. Oh, my gosh, no,
this is horrendous.
Oh. Where's my rib?
- Two minutes, guys.
- Plenty of time.
- Says Master Potter.
- Yeah.
I can do this in two minutes.
It does feel like I've got
that shape, but I can't tell.
Looking good, Cellan.
Nice one, Nick.
- Looking good-ish.
- Nice one, Anna.
- Is Anna done?
I probably should have
spent more time on them.
One minute.
Hey, Tom, what's been the
trickiest bit about doing this?
- You.
- Thank you.
OK, you should be
wiring off, guys.
- You've got ten, nine...
- Bloody hell.
- Wire it through, Tom.
- It's wired through already.
- Oh, right.
- Four, three, two...
- One.
- ...one.
Well done.
That was so hard.
A huge dog can have food
in that one.
Keith and Rich are looking
for two matching dog bowls,
one large, one small,
and both tapered to the rim.
But who will lap up the honors?
- Hi, Anna.
- Hi.
Is it something
you've done before?
No, it's not sort of a thing
you do, really, is it?
Well, you say that. When
Rich and I do it together...
- It must be lovely.
- He's Demi, I'm Patrick.
- Oh, lovely.
- And then we swap.
I don't really know what
to ask. My mind's gone blank.
Bowls. Dog bowls.
There we go. Come on.
You've got a good height.
You've definitely got
a big one and a small one.
They're perhaps a little bit
messy around the edges.
Just a bit more
of a tidy-up, I think.
It's pretty competent,
isn't it?
We've got that taper. The sides
of the walls are nice and even.
The forms make them
look like a pair.
They look like
they're meant to be together.
Well done.
They're pretty good, Miles.
To get your hands to do
that thing that's in your head,
it's pretty good.
- Did you throw this one first?
- Yeah.
You managed to get
a slight cone shape in there.
This one not so much, um,
but really not a bad effort.
What can I say?
They're fantastic.
They look really, really good.
We've got a large and a small.
The angle of both
is roughly the same.
Yeah, I think what's so nice is
they both look like
they've been made by you.
Same rim on both. You've
got the same undercut on both.
You've treated both pieces
in exactly the same way.
- Really nice.
- Thank you.
I'm really glad you like 'em.
Lucinda, you don't look happy.
They're not quite a pair.
They've got a base,
and sides.
Not quite the shape
we were looking for.
- Not quite.
- Not a bad effort.
I couldn't work out quite how
wide or how high anything is.
If this one
hadn't been so distorted,
that wouldn't have been
a bad shape, would it?
Actually, the top sections
of both of them are quite nice.
Those sides could have been
tapered, let's face it.
But you finished them off nicely
with the rib.
Just looking a bit more for that
shape that we were asking for.
You've tried
to taper it in.
The smaller one
is a bit on the high side.
You can see that you've got the
weight of clay in the height
rather than on the width.
- How was that for you, then?
- Yeah, like... great.
I found I can't collar in
with my eyes covered.
It is tricky, because often
you rely on your eyes
to kind of recover situations.
The bases
aren't too bad.
It would have been great to see
a bit more of a conical shape.
I think I'm a bit heavy-handed,
like, I was trying to go bigger.
In my head it was a lot smaller
than it was.
When you've got
the blindfold on,
you're more cack-handed than
you think, or more forceful.
Yeah.
I won't do it again, though.
- No, I think you should.
- Yeah, you should, yeah.
- Cheers, Christine.
- Thank you.
- Well done.
- Thanks.
Now the judges will order
the potters' pet bowls
from worst to best.
In 11th place,
we have... Christine.
Honestly, Christine,
it's a really great effort,
so, well done, thanks.
In tenth place, Zahra.
Just lost a little bit
of control at the end there,
but not a bad effort.
AJ is ninth, Tom comes eighth,
Lucinda seventh, Nick sixth,
Josh fifth, Miles fourth,
and Anna takes third.
So in second place...
is Jenny.
So, Cellan, fantastic.
Really, really nice.
Exactly what we wanted to see.
Thank you.
I won.
It's a cool feeling. It's nice.
I sort of feel like, you know,
I feel like
I'm meant to be here.
- Well done, you.
- You don't need to stress.
You're too good to worry.
The judges are really kind,
you know, they're very positive,
but it was horrendous.
It's really hard
to throw blindfolded.
It was actually quite fun,
but, yeah,
there's more riding on my clock
turning out in one piece,
so we'll see what happens.
It's decoration day
for the slab-built wall clocks,
and after
a 24-hour bisque firing,
studio technician Rose
is laying out
the potters' timepieces
ready for glazing.
I'm a bit nervous, yeah.
I've been thinking about all the
ways that my piece can explode.
Quite looking forward to see if
my joints held up in the kiln.
If it's a pile of rubble,
it will be a beautifully
decorated pile of rubble
by the end of today,
so it's OK.
- Potters, your 3
- D wall clocks
are now out of the kiln.
Let's hope they're all still
in one timepiece.
Well, you're about to find out
whether your clocks
have survived the kiln firing.
If they're not quite what
you're expecting, don't panic.
I've seen some wonderful
turnarounds at this stage,
not to worry you in any way.
You have a range
of glazes and oxides,
and two and a half hours
to use them.
So, your time starts now.
Potters, get decorating.
- Yay!
- Oh, Jesus.
I accidentally knocked off
a tusk of one of my elephants,
but, you know, like, some
elephants, they only have one.
There are a few cracks
in places,
slight bit of bending inwards
of the front,
and there's a small crack
on the base as well.
Just a few little hairline
cracks, and the rest is intact.
And that is in one piece still.
Magic.
You all right, AJ?
How's it looking?
The box is fine.
OK.
Yeah, not... not ideal,
but, um, well, at least
the box is still intact,
but it'll be a clock
at the end of the day,
whether it's got a dragon
on it or not.
This is exciting!
- Yay.
- Red iron oxide.
The potters have an array
of glazes and oxides
to help bring
their builds to life.
Just sort of
playing around with the browns,
'cause that box has
two wooden elements as such,
so I'm trying to just get a bit
of depth of different colors,
just so it's not
a solid block color.
I don't really want that.
But glazing
isn't an exact science.
So I'm gonna go
for orange and blue,
and then get some black,
rub it in all the joints,
but I just need
to get the basics down.
Most of the colors
they apply now
will change drastically
in the final firing.
At the moment
it looks like I'm painting
everything orange.
This glaze will actually go
sort of a bluey, greeny color.
But AJ's damaged dragon will
need more than just decoration.
So what's happened?
Basically, the dragon's cracked
and it's fallen off.
So how are you gonna rescue it?
How you gonna salvage it?
Yeah, like, because
it's getting fired on its back,
I can't really stick it on
with glaze where it was before,
but, I don't know, I might be
able to get it, on the side.
But that's the big concern
right now, I think,
is whether or not
I'm gonna manage to get it on.
- I wish you luck with it all.
- Thank you.
- Happy repairing.
- Yeah, thank you.
AJ's not alone.
Christine's crochet cake
is also in need of a patch-up.
Part of one of
my crochet squares cracked off.
I'll probably cover the top with
quite a thick layer of glaze
so that if it does slightly
move, I may get some going in,
into the... into the gap.
Glazing's not just handy
for fixing cracks
and adding color.
Probably about two,
three layers on the cabinet.
I want it quite thick.
I want it to look like woodwork.
Deftly applied, it can create
an enhanced texture.
You just get
a bit of paint on it,
and then you get most of it off.
And then when you pop it on top,
it just catches the edges.
There's a lot
of fine texture on the tent
that I've spent a lot of time
trying not to destroy
while I was making it,
so hoping that the iron oxide
will come through
the green glaze that I'm using.
While Cellan relies
on a layer of oxide
to retain the texture
in his tent,
Miles is taking a different
tack with his temple.
So are you using
mainly kind of underglazes?
Or are you bringing
any oxides in?
Because the natural oxides
are quite in keeping
with the detritus
of an old building and things.
I know. It's not going to be
a stony-looking temple.
My color palette is a beautiful
sort of turquoise color,
but then because of the texture,
some parts of that color
will disappear,
and some parts will sink into it
and, you know,
so that's what I want,
in the end, is an irregularity,
but it's kind of all over.
Yeah. Sounds interesting.
Halfway through now.
That's one hour to go.
Time waits for no potter.
That went quick.
I need to, uh, get a wiggle on.
I'm happy with the way
it's looking at the moment.
I'm trying to just give it
a lot of different colors
and a wee bit of black,
so hopefully that'll sort of
give a bit of depth on it.
Scary,
and I'm taking a risk
on a glaze
I have never used before.
I want my dance-related clock
to be blues and greens.
I just hope
it doesn't backfire on me.
How are you feeling about being
able to hang it on the wall?
Are you confident
this will hold Barbara's weight?
Yeah, I'm 100% confident.
Yes, I like it.
Tom might be convinced
his chicken will hold firm,
but when it comes
to the dragon...
I can still do this.
...AJ's not quite so confident.
I've decided that my...
my dragon's a slug now.
He had one leg left,
so I've snapped that off,
so instead of
painting scales on,
I'm gonna paint, like, some
goop, and then just gonna whack
loads of transparent glaze
underneath it
and hope that it sticks,
which is, uh,
the theme of today.
It's just taking risks,
and then I'll just see
how it turns out at the end.
15 minutes, my friends.
15 minutes
to finish your clocks.
Time is flying by.
Pendulum.
I forgot the pendulum.
- Don't forget the pendulum.
- Pendulum.
So the pendulum
is the drongo bird.
There's something about
fine detail and shaky hands.
They don't go so well.
I'm really happy with my
pendulum, but still winging it.
I'm running out of time.
I just need to do
a blackout line
so that my guitar
can have the limelight.
I've got
a bit of tidying up to do,
and then to paint
all of the transparent glaze
on everything.
Transparent glaze
gives the potters the option
to add a high-gloss sheen
to their colors.
So I'm highlighting
with some of the colors,
but the paper itself
I'm leaving unglazed.
- But for AJ...
- I'm putting this guy on.
...it's doing
a different job entirely.
I think I'm gonna try
and stick this on now.
I've just gotta go for it.
Just gotta go.
Just a bit like PVA glue.
Yeah, yeah, literally,
this stuff is so thick,
so I'm just gonna,
like, blob it on like that.
Oh, come on, little sluggy,
stick nice and fast.
Yeah.
One minute! One minute!
Make your parents proud.
I'm just sort of
going back over some bits.
I'm hoping
that in the magic of the kiln,
it sort of evens itself out.
He's glued on.
As long as I don't
shake it around,
it'll be all right.
That's five seconds!
Four, three, two,
and that is time!
Well done, everyone.
- How you feeling?
- It'll be OK.
- It's still a stunning piece.
- Thank you.
All it is, it's not on the top.
It's on the side.
It's stunning.
Yeah, I've done the best
with what I can do, so...
- You all right?
- Yeah, I'm all right, mate.
Look at the detail
you've put in.
Really well constructed.
They can't... It's stunning.
- Thanks, mate.
- Come here. Come here.
Come here.
Have a hug. Have a hug.
It's all right. It's all right.
The potters must now take
their finished clocks to Rose
for one final firing.
Look at the time.
It's kiln o'clock.
When they next see them,
it will be judgment time.
Bit nervous
for the judging.
I mean, hopefully they can see
the work I've put in
to try and, like, claim it back.
Not that sure
about the colors.
I mean, there's so much texture
on the piece
that maybe that's just gonna
help emphasize it even more.
It's judgment day, and after
a 24-hour gloss firing,
Rose is up early to recover
the clocks from the kiln.
It is judgment day,
very ominous,
but, then, that's part
of the joy of pottery,
you never actually know
what you're gonna find
when you open the kiln.
It would be a bit disappointing
if it fell apart,
or it didn't go
on the wall properly,
or something happened
at this stage.
- Morning, potters.
- Oh, wow.
- It stayed on.
- Yeah, look at that.
The potters
won't be able to see
if their timepieces hang
on the wall ahead of judging.
I am proper happy with that.
But they have been given time
to fit the clock mechanisms.
I'm just so glad it stuck.
It swings.
I'm not gonna swear.
11 slab-built wall clocks
now face the judgment
of Keith and Rich.
- Potters, your 3
- D wall clocks
look amazing.
I can't wait to see them
in action.
Let's kick off the judging
with Tom.
Can you please bring up
- your 3
- D wall clock?
It has
a real sense of style.
It's really, really wonderful,
actually,
and I'm really liking
your pendulum here.
This fried egg,
absolutely brilliant.
In terms of the decoration,
I like the fact
that you've embossed
all the way round,
and then sort of
put the underglaze in,
and wiped that back,
it kind of gives it depth.
I think if I was splitting
hairs, the only thing for me
is just this piece
around the clock,
I just wonder whether
that feels a little bit scrappy
compared to everything else.
- Shall we see if it hangs up?
- Yep.
The moment of truth.
Oh, yes!
Here you go, Barbs.
- Be gentle.
- There we go.
I mean,
as it's on the wall there,
and that fried egg swinging,
it's really comical.
It's got a lovely, lovely
character to it.
- Really, really good, Tom.
- Thank you.
The way
you've approached the build,
you've got
lots of different elements,
like you've got sprigged
elements, hand-built elements.
- No sprigged element.
- Are these not sprigs?
- Nothing's sprigged.
- So you've hand-built these?
- Yeah.
- Oh, my God.
I mean, even better, you know.
That makes me like it even more.
And your pendulum as well,
it really ties in
with the drips of paint
from this.
- It's fantastic.
- But does it hang up?
This is the scary bit.
OK.
The minute
you bung it on the wall,
it just says so much about you.
- Excellent.
- Thank you so much.
- Well done, Anna.
- Thank you.
The main thing
I have difficulty with
is kind of
the level of observation.
I mean, the bottle of wine,
you know,
a black line around here,
for example,
could have made that label pop.
Maybe it would have
been better
if you'd gone for a matt finish
on that wood.
It doesn't look like wood to me.
It looks like
a glazed piece of clay.
Would you like to try
and put it on the wall?
Yep. Let's give it a go.
There you go. Just wonky.
- Oh, OK.
- But it's on.
It's on the wall at least.
Yeah...
it is on the wall.
That's what I always say
when I buy a clock.
- At least it's on the wall.
- At least it's on the wall.
Doesn't matter
if I can't tell the time.
If I was gonna be
really, really frank about it,
it's a shame
this is actually on there,
because the treasure chest
for me is just brilliant.
It's beautiful. It perfectly
emulates wood grain.
And it's instantly recognizable.
And then these beautiful
kind of straps.
I mean, it just works
incredibly well.
So, AJ, let's have a look at it
on the wall.
OK.
- There we are.
- Isn't it incredible?
The minute it starts swinging,
the whole thing
just comes to life, doesn't it?
Just leave the slug off it
next time.
Yeah.
I was
a little bit concerned
about the approach to the build,
only in the sense that you were
kind of messing up the surface,
and making it look a bit aged
and beaten up,
but, you know,
when it catches the light,
you just see
some of those indents,
and it's kind of true to that
beaten-up kind of metal feel.
I think it's worked very well.
Right, then,
does he hang on the wall?
Perfect. When it's up on
the wall, it just looks right.
And that pendulum really
marries up to the main make.
- It looks really great.
- Brill.
Yeah, well done.
It's wonderful.
It really, really is wonderful.
The construction
is almost wonderful.
Unfortunately,
it's slumped a bit there.
But, you know,
your attention to detail,
with the texture of the dress,
his top, even the jeans,
are just fantastic.
It's just got such great energy
about it, you know.
It really feels like
the figures are dancing.
And the pendulum, I mean,
my God. It is incredible.
So, will it hang on the wall?
I love the measurement
of that pendulum,
and the way it just almost meets
the base of the clock.
And you're lucky
that that sag
hasn't stopped the pendulum
from swinging.
So rock and roll lives on
for another day.
Rock and roll.
It feels like a bit of a clock
of two halves for me.
You know, I just feel like
the cake is so well observed,
but all of that work you put in
to kind of making the crochet
has been a bit lost
by the thickness
and the opacity of the glaze.
Shall we do the honors
and see if it hangs on the wall?
Yeah.
So we've got
a slight friction there
with the pendulum
on the main body of the clock.
That ball of wool
on the pendulum
works really, really well,
I like that.
- I just wish it was swinging.
- I do.
I like
the relief work here.
That kind of works quite well
with the glaze.
It would have been really nice
to have more detail on here.
- The zircon white glaze...
- It didn't work.
...really hasn't worked, has it?
It's sort of taken away
that detail from each bird.
Let's see
if it hangs on the wall.
One thing that comes to mind
seeing it on the wall,
I wonder whether if the branches
were perhaps
more three-dimensional,
maybe they'd soften the sort of
hard edges of the joined slabs.
But, you know, that's down
to personal taste, perhaps.
I love the origami.
Bit tighter on the execution
would have been nice,
just a bit more of a clean line.
Origami is all about the kind of
beautiful, precise folded paper,
and I think if you're sort of
going to emulate something,
it's about observing
those qualities
and then kind of transitioning
those into what you're making.
You can see
you've had a few issues
with your slab construction.
You've had a bit of slumping
on this front end here.
And around these edges,
you can kind of see
there's a few cracks
sort of opened up.
And I'm a bit wary
of these lugs,
whether it's gonna fit
on the wall or not.
Don't think this is gonna
happen. Uh, let's have a look.
I think the holes are
a bit small for those screws.
I don't think it's gonna fit.
So, yeah,
some lovely elements there,
but it doesn't hang on the wall,
so we can't see
that pendulum swinging,
so not quite fit for purpose.
You've got
quite a lot going on.
You've got these fingerprints
running through here,
and then kind of gouges here,
and then you've got embossed
areas down at the bottom,
and then you've put this very,
very opaque glaze over the top.
It consequently makes everything
feel perhaps a little flat.
What I really love
is the little monkey.
Yeah, and all of the subtlety
that we would love
to have seen through here,
you've actually got
in the monkey, you know,
that lovely incising, with
the underglaze coming through,
and then a slightly
sort of thinner application
of that glaze over the top
so you don't lose
that sense of depth.
So, Miles,
does it hang on the wall?
- Let's see, shall we?
Oh, my God,
it's like a millimeter off.
It's like...
It's just on the edge.
- Would you let go of it?
- No, I would not.
So it's not quite there,
not quite there.
- No.
- OK, all right. OK.
It's a bit disappointing.
I have to say, the quality
of the build is fantastic.
I mean, I was really, really
worried, really worried,
about the thickness of your
slabs, 'cause they were so thin.
And actually all of your joins
are together.
And the way you've kind of
created this flowing fabric,
it's just genius.
- Thank you.
- And this is fantastic.
And you've even managed
to get the stitching on there.
It doesn't go unnoticed.
Absolutely wonderful.
- But does it hang up?
- I don't know.
It's up.
That knapsack just...
just fits perfectly.
It's just absolutely brilliant.
I'm really...
Honestly, I'm really proud
of you for doing that.
It's fantastic.
You know... you've gone into it,
completely eyes wide open,
you've really enjoyed it, and
you've done a wonderful thing,
and, you know,
we're all smiling because of it.
Keith got a little bit, um...
got a little bit welled up.
That's probably
the biggest compliment
you can get on this show.
Thank you.
That was kind of cool.
Yeah, it didn't go great,
did it? No.
It's a shame,
but it would have been nice
to have seen it
on the wall at least,
but it's clay,
it's what happens.
I'm feeling
a bit disappointed.
Um, it could be my week
to go home,
which, you know, is sad,
but, you know...
it'll be what it'll be.
Well, what a week.
Pet bowls, chicken clocks.
I've seen it all now.
Who really stood out for you
this week?
Well, I mean, for me, Tom did.
It was just such a fun piece,
just made me laugh,
made me smile.
- It was very Tom, wasn't it?
- It was.
I mean, it had such character.
Did anyone else
really stand out to you?
I mean, Cellan, for me,
really stood out.
The quality of his build
was just exquisite.
And that relationship
between the backpack pendulum
with the tent,
absolutely brilliant.
We also had a couple
of good turnarounds this week.
Yeah, AJ managed to sort of claw
back the actual build itself,
but, my God,
the surface detail on that wood
is absolutely brilliant.
Who do you think is in a little
bit of trouble this week?
Well, sorry to say, Zahra.
Yeah, there were
some fundamental issues
with the quality of the build,
you know.
Te roof element
started peeling up
because the slabs
weren't joined properly,
parts of it had slumped,
and, of course,
Zahra came fairly low down,
second from bottom,
in the second challenge.
What about Miles? You weren't
too sure about his design.
Yeah, I think
he just left us a bit wanting.
The elephants' faces
were very flat.
There wasn't an awful lot
of detail that could be seen.
It just lacked that finesse
that we're really looking for.
Hmm. Sounds like you've got
some tricky decisions to make.
I'll leave you to it,
'cause time is ticking.
So the judges
have made their decision,
and this is the bit
I find so tricky,
because I get all the joy
of revealing
who was the potter of the week
but then have to swallow
the bitter pill
of announcing
who will be leaving us.
But let's start
with the good news.
This week's
potter of the week is...
Cellan.
Congratulations, Cellan.
- Well done.
- Thank you. Ta.
And now to the sadder farewell.
The person leaving the pottery
this week is...
- Zahra.
- That's OK.
- So sorry, Zahra.
- Thank you. It's OK.
It's been amazing.
I learned, I think,
more in this short space of time
than, like, in what,
three years of pottering.
Honestly,
you're such a great bunch.
It's just hard to split you up.
I've met
some amazing people,
and just wishing everyone luck,
and, yeah, it's been...
it's been great, so...
Thanks, mate.
Is it terrible to say
that I feel really guilty?
You can hear it in my voice,
can't you?
I just feel really shaky
and a bit emotional.
Um, I do really feel like
I've been given
a massive second chance,
and I'm really sad that Zahra's
going, 'cause she's lovely.
I should have gone first.
Then I wouldn't have had
to see anyone go.
So as Zahra leaves the pottery,
Cellan's wall clock
takes second spot
in the Throw Down gallery.
It just goes to show you
don't have to bombard a piece
with loads and loads
of different techniques
for it to really, really sing,
and Cellan just...
It was a perfect example of
how to do simple beautifully.
It hasn't quite
sunk in yet.
The turnaround from last week
has been quite dramatic.
I was really nervous,
really anxious to come back,
but I've managed
to turn it around somehow.
Yeah, maybe I need to start
doing hand building more.
Next time...
the potters create an homage
to their hometowns.
There's a lot of mills
round my hometown of Preston.
Come on, Tenbury Wells.
With a clay
that's somewhat less familiar.
I've never used it before.
This clay is really weird.
And throw a tribute
to our home in Stoke-on-Trent.
It's not perfect,
but, you know...
- Whose rim is?
Concentrate!
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05x02 - Pendulum Wall Clock
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In each episode, a group of amateur potters compete to complete two pottery challenges.
In each episode, a group of amateur potters compete to complete two pottery challenges.