07x05 - Episode 5

[bunniefuu]

Hello there. It's garden week here at
the pottery,

and our eight remaining potters

are making a cascading bowls water
feature.

A cascade is a series of small
waterfalls where the water

flows down in several stages.

Sounds lovely and relaxing,
doesn't it?

Water tumbling down and falling
down over several stages.

How peaceful.

How tra...

Whoa.

Oh.

Yeah, a cascade just... just like
that.

Welcome to the Great Pottery
Throw Down.

Last time...

Oh, that is hot.

..the potters got all fired
up as they took on an ancient art...

Oh, she's beautiful.

..and while Steve's turkey
took the crown...

Your crunkles are looking
magnificent, sir.

..Daniel's owl cracked under
the pressure...

It's split down the back.

Got half an hour now.

..and was the fourth person
to leave the pottery.

I'll be sorry to see you go. It's
OK.

This time...

Dear God... cascading bowls
water features...

Quietly having a word with myself
here.

..and hedgehog houses in garden week.

Please don't collapse.

Which of our potters will go
with the flow...

..and who will be in deep water?

OK. Some major faults in the build.

♪ Making time

♪ sh**ting lines

♪ People have their uses

♪ People have their uses. ♪

♪ There's a garden
Something like a... ♪

It's garden week, and our
eight remaining potters

are about to tackle their biggest
throwing challenge so far.

I can't believe I'm actually
at halfway point, but we're throwing

a three tiered water feature,
so it might be my week to go.

So there's lots of technical elements.
You've got to get the plumbing in.

You've got to have the water
flowing in an interesting way,

and then you've got to get a design
concept into it.

It's a really lovely challenge.

It's just the throwing that is
throwing me.

Good morning, potters, and welcome
to garden week.

And not only is it garden week,
but you're also halfway

through the series, so
congratulations.

Well done. For your main make
challenge this week, the judges

would like you to make a cascading
bowls water feature.

The water feature should take
inspiration from the lovely

woodlands we have all around us.

Keith, any advice for our potters?

Your water features should be made
up of three bowls, one on top

of each other. Small, medium
and large.

Now these bowls will have a hose
running through them,

so really factor that into your
build.

Your bowls should be well
balanced, structurally sound

and, of course, water tight.

So this is a real test
of your construction skills.

Rich, anything to add?

Your three bowls should come
together to form a peaceful,

calming, cascading water feature.

We're not looking for a fountain,
so the water needs to gently flow

rather than spurt out.

Have a good think about how
that water will move between each

bowl, and try to incorporate
that into your overall design.

Great. OK then, potters, you have 5.5
hours

to make and refine your water
features,

and your time starts now.

First real big throwing challenge.

It's very exciting.

Work the clay. Wake up the clay.

Good morning, clay.

I'm notoriously bad at this.

I tend to put more air bubbles
in than I take out.

The potters bowls and pedestals
will stack and support each other,

so will need to be thrown
to perfection.

I've never built a water feature.

I don't have one in my garden.
It will be a nice addition.

I'll be a bit more cultured.

Not least due to what will be
cascading through them.

Water will find any tiny little
crack.

You can guarantee, if you haven't
found the crack,

the water will find it.

Rich. Yeah. Week five. Cascading
bowls water feature.

And what we're really looking
for from our potters is really good,

competent, strong throwing skills.

Yeah, their making is going
to have to be sound, isn't it?

They don't want stress cracks
because that'll just let

the water straight through. Yeah.

And making sure that all of those
joins are completely watertight.

These bowls are there for a
practical reason.

We want to hear some wonderful
stories about their woodland

experiences, but it's about
manipulating the build

and the design into working
with the water.

I mean, these all have spouts, which
in many respects is a wise way to go

because you're directly controlling
where it pours down

into the next section. Absolutely.

But our potters might want
that water to cascade all the way

down the structure and, sort
of, really interact with the surface

designs that they give us.

But they just need to make sure
that they don't fundamentally

undermine the sort of technical
aspects of this brief.

It's about how that water works
across these three bowls.

I mean, the audible nature
of running water, you know,

it's just designed to make
you feel calm, isn't it, really?

Well, let's hope our potters feel
calm when they see them coming

out of the kiln.

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

How are you? Good, thank you.

Yeah. Well, tell us about your
design.

When I was younger, we used to go
to the woodland,

and it was all, like, fairy themed...
Bluebells... and I was obsessed. Yeah. Lovely.

I just loved really believing.
My whole thing is going

to be like a fairy house.
All, kind of, woodland themed. OK.

Beneath a coned roof, water
will cascade down from spouts

over Sophie's wood textured bowls
adorned with fairy house features

from her childhood imagination.

I really want it to be heavily
decorated. Sounds fun. Really good.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Bring that magic
to life.

And is this the kind of thing
you like doing?

Yeah, I feel a bit more confident
on the wheel, but obviously it's big.

So that, kind of, comes with its own
challenges. OK.

Well, look, good luck. Sounds
wonderful. Yeah. Thank you. Yeah.

And from a fairy house to a fairy
tale princess.

So my inspiration is some
of the childhood fairy tale stories

that I sort of read, but also
nature in itself.

And, like all the best fairy stories,
they'll be taking place in the woods.

I wanted to, sort of, represent the
four seasons in my three bowls,

and then in my design,
I'll be adding, sort of, like,

Easter eggs of some of my favourite
fairy tale stories.

Elements of Princess's favourite
childhood stories will be tucked

away within the vibrant colours
of the changing seasons,

and with numerous spouts,
she's tying in her theme

to the water flow.

I'm kind of doing the four seasons
of the four corners, so spouts

on each side, and I
want the water to flow out

from all four spouts. So it's going
to have to be really level.

Yeah, which is something
I just realised as he said that.

But, yeah. And are you pleased
to be here still?

I am. Because in the past you
struggled with the design concept. Yeah.

But this seems to be really coming
together.

It does. It's not another simple
design.

No, it's not.

This is the central column.

The workings of the pump
and the pipe

will go up there.

So the columns inside are not only
to hide the pipe going up,

but they're to support the bowl
above.

The success of this challenge rests
on the bowls being joined

to the pedestals without any
cracks forming.

I mean, it's quite concerning
having joins when it's meant

to be, like, watertight, because,
obviously, it's just more risk.

I'm going to put some big coils on the join
to add a little bit of extra structure.

Hopefully, that will help.

And as the potters have even
more concerns than usual

with water involved...

I'm just avoiding that join.

..Dan is attempting to bypass
this completely.

So throwing the centrepiece first
and then throwing the bowl

around it should be a bit stronger
than trying to stick the two together.

And with oxides available
for the main make, the only cracks

Dan wants to see are within
his textured decoration.

I'm putting sodium silicate on them
and I'm going to mix it with oxides

so it's coloured. Texture
the outside and then paint

onto that and then you make the pot.

So this texture is going to crack.

So you get a really nice contrast
of white and the colour, hopefully.

Inspired by games played
in the woods with his best friend

and his children, Dan's water flow
will cascade over a dam

and his surface texture, past
ice-creams in the ivy, and a log

turning into a crocodile.

All right, now it's dry, it'll
crack.

You can feel on the inside
that it's cracking a bit.

There's like a rippling. Quite
interesting. Great texture, though.

But Dan's style of bold decoration
doesn't come without risks.

Normally, if you make a fat bowl,
you can trim it off and cheat.

But this is fixed now. So playing
it really safe,

I made that backup.

Wow.

Considering this is gardening week,
I don't think that this amount

of colour has ever been seen
in nature before.

No, it's a little unnatural, yeah.

But it really works. Yeah, it
really works.

We look great. I think so.

Oh, how's the old clay thingy doing?

Yes. All right. Yeah. Good.
All right. Talk to you later.

See you.

While Dan creates texture
within the bowls themselves,

Steven wants his texture to
camouflage his bowls entirely.

The theme's a walk that me
and my daughter and wife took.

It was tipping it down with rain

and we all kind of gravitated
towards this one tree just covered

head to toe in moss, all the way
up, all the way down.

And the water was just trickling
off of it and it was like,

"Wow, this is a really cool thing."
It was a really happy moment.

So I'm basing it off that.

Steven's cascading water will flow
over his rims and be consumed

by moss, lichen and mushrooms,
evoking the enchanting atmosphere

of that rain soaked experience.

Wow. Cascading for me is consumption
in water, so it's going

to be completely covered.

How are you creating the moss?

With two different types of sieve
that have got different grades

of hole in. Wow. It's going to be a
hell of a lot... That's a lot of work.

A lot of work. Also the consistency
of these bowls needs to be right...

Yeah... to add that stuff on.
Yeah. We should leave you go then.

Definitely. Back to it. You've got
stacks to do.

Yeah. Cheers, Steven. Good luck.
Cheers.

Thank you.

Potters, the drying room is open.

As well as the mechanics
of the construction...

It's bigger than you.

Really heavy.

..their structures need to be strong
enough to hold the water cascading

from the top.

It's officially the biggest
thing I've ever thrown.

It's as far as I'm going.

It's got to be a really big bowl.
I really want wide bottom bowls

that don't need trimming.

The base is chuffing thick though.

But if the bases of their bowls
are too thick, they won't dry evenly...

That's quite a thick base,
to be honest, but you need something

sturdy to support that weight.

..which will cause them to crack
in the kiln.

I've thrown my bowls a little
on the thick side.

It means that I need to do a lot of
trimming so that it can all dry evenly.

Hi, lovey. Hi.

We caught you at a good time? No.

Right. I've got to stop. I've got to
stop.

Well, tell us about your design.

My design is based on the area
of Northern Ireland,

it's called the Tollymore Forest.

As a kid, we used to go
camping there.

It is said to be the place
where Saint Patrick drove

all the snakes out of Ireland. Wow.

I am going to put the snake
on and have the water, kind

of, cascading over the snake's body.

It'll come in and out of different
parts of it.

Water will flow from the snake's
mouth over its body and tail

around sprigs of actual flora
and fauna of the forest

Donna camped in as a child.

A lot of your challenges

have been around Northern Ireland.

You find it a very inspiring place?
Yeah.

You know, I was away from... I'm
gonna get emotional now.

I just love it.

I'm just really happy that it...

There's so much peace there.

But that's a lovely thing to have,
isn't it? Yeah.

Also, like, it shows you're in the
right place. Yeah.

I'm so glad to be home. I'm so
terrified of being in the wrong place.

Like, "Oh, God, is this the best
life I can have? I think it is.

Yeah. Chatting away to people,
annoying them when they're trying

to make beautiful work.
So I'll annoy you less.

Thank you. I'll talk to you in a
bit. All right.

While there's no place like home
to inspire Donna...

I've just been cloning the phallic
growth in the middle of the back

to go with the beaver
I naively put on the outside.

In Cadi's case, it's the woodland
surrounding her in-laws home in Germany.

There really is a beaver in the
stream at the bottom of the garden,

in the woods. There are some
huge old trees.

The wind makes a great sound
blowing through them,

and they have creatures in them
that I've never seen in this country,

even though it was only Germany.

Cadi is bringing all elements
of life from her German woodland

paradise, with water cascading
to a beaver's dam via a heron

and a rather majestic bird.

It's called a golden oriole,
and this song of the golden oriole

is like beautiful music
played backwards.

Really? It's like nothing...
Really? Yeah. Wow.

And how are you feeling
about the whole construction

of the thing? Hopefully, they'll be
really stable, but not too thick.

I don't want any cracks. It's a
real construction project, this.

It really is. Yes.

Halfway through, potters,
halfway through.

Wow.

I am attempting to make a bird.

I will have to speed it up a bit.

With bowls and pedestals
formed, the potters

can create their decoration
to make their water features

come to life... I'm currently making
my little fairy house door.

I want it to be really decorative,
to create that kind of magical feel.

..and as well as creativity
within their designs...

Sort of start as roots and then
turn into crocodiles.

So part of the imagination theme.
There might be a goblin or something

in the top as well... the potters
are also being creative

in how to execute them.

So this is the snake.

You know the thing that you get
fruit in from the supermarket?

So I've just pressed it in to try
and get the texture of the scales.

This is so cool.

I've given myself a lot to do.

You have. But...

But thankfully, I'm here to help you.

Yeah, exactly. Oh, cool.

Grab yourself a sieve.

Helping.

I've got my sprig mould and I'm sort
of popping out the leaves now.

But with most of her design
to be painted on in the decoration

stage, Princess's sprigs are
for the inside of her bowls...

It's nice to see how the water's
cascading.

And then you look
in and then you see some leaves.

At least I think it's nice,
but the judges

might have a different opinion.

Good old cookie cutters.

I have large surfaces to cover
in a very short space of time.

..and Jan will be covering her water
feature in things which mean

a lot to her. I've been teaching
ecology and conservation,

and we teach the students all about
the interdependency of life

and how everything is dependent
on everything else for survival.

On bowls in the form of chopped
logs, Jan's creating a tribute

to the endangered species found
in the oak tree ecosystem.

Oh, lovely.

So, um, the spout will be branches,
look like bits of branches

that have been cut off. I see.
I know it's a risk

firing hollow branches... Yeah,
yeah... but it worked in the house.

Well, we've seen your hand-building
skills are pretty good.

Yeah. Well, yes, to be fair, it's
throwing.

So don't hold your breath, right.

Don't hold your breath while you're
throwing. No.

Cheers. Cheers. Thanks.

This is underglaze, so I can do
a sgraffito design of dead wood,

fungus and lichen.

Jan isn't the only potter
concerned with the preservation

of her ancient woodlands.

Really, this is about how fragile
these systems are.

They've gone on for a long time,

but there's been a lot of change,
certainly in pollution levels

and that sort of stuff. You lose it,
you don't get it back.

Dave's water will rain onto various
indicator species of ancient

woodlands, separated into canopy,
undergrowth and then ground level

fungi of lungwort, lichen, jelly
ear and old man's beard.

Are you still buzzing
from being part of the week?

I'll never be not buzzing by that.

Who did you tell first?

I called my daughter.

Did you tell her child? It's a
daughter, isn't it?

Yeah. So my daughter has Eliza.

Do you like being a grandad?

I love it. It's the best thing ever.

Do you know there's a quote a wise
man once told me,

"Being a grandfather is like finding
a..."

I can't remember what the quote is.
What is it? It's something like.

Finding that your child
has had a child?

That is wisdom. That really is
wisdom.

A wise man once said...

And it's so true.

Four hours gone, potters.



Aah! Doh-doh-doh-doh-doh-doh.

Oh. Looking good.

It balances like that, look.

Oh, I've done it right.

With their bowls and pedestals
leather hard,

the potters need to check
their structures stack correctly...

And that's when it all collapses.
I'm joking.

..and make any necessary trims
for that all important water level...

Oh, that is way too thick.

..and Donna is taking no chances
with the thickness of her bowls.

If I hadn't gone thick,
this would've been dry,

so I'm trimming it while it's too
wet.

Just don't want to take too much off here,
but I know I've thrown it really thick.

But Donna isn't the only
potter with a soggy bottom.

The chuck's stuck in the pot. I
didn't check inside.

It was full of wet gunk. So it's
put a lot of stress

in that bottom bit now.

Luckily I had a spare.

What's happened?
I got a bit excited and...

Oh, no, what have I told you?

I know. I put my former in and glued
it to the inside of the pot.

So what have you learned
from that mistake?

Got a bit excited. You got a bit
excited. I need to slow down. Exactly.

Yeah. Will you slow down from now
on? Follow the rules.

No, no, it's just going to carry
on the same.

I'm just gonna get all the
decoration on as quickly as I can.

I'm just, kind of, completely
immersed in moss.

A massive amount.

These are quite thick.

I'm a bit worried they won't
stay on.

Look at all these snakeskins.

I want to see how it's done.
Do you mind?

Yeah, here. You can play with that
one. There you go.

It does feel like snakeskin. It does.

I'm not saying these are better.

Yeah, they are. That's annoying me
now.

I should have used that one.

Right. I am going to do that.

Not that you've done the design
for me, Siobhan.

Got quite a lot of additional
pieces to add.

The, sort of, fairy house,
loads of detail.

The piece will come together
at the decorating stage,

and hopefully there you'll be able
to see the narrative.

So decoration wise, it's all
on the inside of the bowl?

Most of it, yeah.

Here comes the golden oriole.

Dead wooden debris, which is
what every ancient woodland

should have a large amount of.

This is looking lovely.

Oh, I'm glad you like it.

I'm just putting these mushrooms on
and then that's done.

No. And that is not done?

No. Then there's just a few
other little...

Just a few other things
and then we're done.

Another half an hour, possibly.

Maybe. Three quarters of an hour?

No. 15 minutes left, potters, 15.

Just sh**t me now.

I'm running out of time.

Did you hear that? 15 minutes left.



Wow. OK.

Let's see if anyone else is in here.



You're welcome.

I think I just give myself
way too much to do.

A lot of trimming.

Whacking it on as quickly as I can.

So these are my mushrooms.

I'm putting it on the bits
I haven't quite been able

to go right to the bottom of with
the moss.

So it kind of hides them a little
bit. Lemon snail.

It's not an ancient woodland
unless you've got some

of these species in there.

How long have we got left?

Five minutes left.

I wanted to carve the whole thing,
like, a wood texture, but that's

obviously completely gone
out the window now.

I haven't put anything in the top
piece that's thematic.

So I'm making my goblin.

I've managed to get birds
and animals on.

I'm just adding more sticks
and twigs.

Should never have done this bloody
snake.

Oh, good Lord, look at the mess
in there.

Two minutes left, potters.

Your cascading bowl water feature
should be in the drying room.

Is that right, Rose? Yes.

Thank you, Donna.

God, it's really thick.

Steven? I'm mossing. Mossing till
the whistle.

Dave is on the way.





Please start bringing your bowls
into the drying room.

Be careful, Princess, but thank
you for rushing.

Good man. One hand.

Why use two? Ten, nine,

eight, seven...

Back to your benches... six, five,

four, three, two...

..one.

Get everything in, Dave.

Is that OK? Yes.

Get out my drying room.

Oh, God, what a day.

You did well. You did amazing.

I'm happy with them.

It's going to go in the bisque
firing and hopefully nothing

will come out with any surprises.

I don't want to say out loud what
I think might happen in the kiln,

because those bases
are thick and they are damp

and the leaves I stuck
on are also thick.

If it comes out of the kiln in one
piece, I will be very shocked

and absolutely delighted.

Oh. Throwing. Throwing.

The potters are back...

What is this? ..To face
their mysterious second challenge.

He's got his throwing shorts on.

Welcome, potters, to your second
challenge.

This week it's...

A throw down challenge... a throw
down. That's right.

Well done. And you're going to be
making one of these.

Oh. Whoa. A hedgehog house.

You'll be throwing
and altering a hedgehog house,

which is apparently a real thing.

And to show us how it's done,
will be master potter, Rich.

All right. Thank you, Siobhan. Take
it away.

OK.

Oh, God.

You've got 6kg of clay.

I'm going to give it a bit
of a pat into shape.

You very much want to use your body
weight rather than trying

to muscle it around.

What I tend to use is more of a push
pull method.

So then you're going to open
that up, all the way down.

Because we're going to be cutting
the pot in half,

you want enough base to, kind
of, support the wall at the back end.

Don't look too anxious. It'll be
fine.

I'm just going to start bringing
this clay upwards and maintain

that inward shape if I can,
because the moment that starts

to travel outwards, that's
the moment it becomes difficult

to keep control of the overall pot.

Now that I've got the basic
clay lifted,

I'm going to start the shaping.

I'm going to start that clay
moving outwards.

So is that a shape that hedgehogs
specifically like?

This is more, I'd say, of a studio
apartment in hedgehog terms.

Right.

Now, I'm just going to put in a
couple of little lines at the base.

I'm going to put a couple
of little lines at the change

of direction and a couple
of little lines at the rim.

So then, dry your hands.
So I'm going to give it a good dry.

Because of the nature of the form,

if it's not dry enough, it will
just collapse in on itself.

So once you've dried it off,
you're going to wire

underneath the pot.

And I'm going to cut from two thirds
across all the way down,

as straight as you possibly can.

Then out at the bottom. That's
some good stuff right there.

So we're looking for quite
a nice neat profile. Wow.

OK? Through the pot.

Drag your wire under it again
for good luck.

How's he going to get that off? And
then you're going to take your board,

tilt it over.

Wow. Well done.

And that is your hedgehog house.
Brilliant.

Thank you, Rich.

Potters, back to your benches.

OK. Now this is going to be judged
blind.

So off you go, judges. OK.
Good luck.

Good luck.

Cup of tea and a gingernut, please.

The judges would like you to throw
and alter a hedgehog house,

and they have given you 20
minutes to do so.

That includes the drying time
of at least five minutes.

And your time starts now.

Oh. What's the clay like, Jan?

Gorgeous. Gorgeous?

I really wanted to throw
something big.

So this counts, just about.

Sophie, do you really believe that
hedgehogs need houses?

I don't think they're that fussy
on the shape, are they?

I didn't think so either.
But apparently they're very fussy.

Apparently. Don't mess it up.

Come on.

He makes it look so easy.

I am just pulling the walls. I feel I've
got a lot of weight around the base.

I'm just trying to get that out.

Get a bit of height.

Oh.

I've made it too wide.

I think mine might be a house for a

more generously proportioned
hedgehog.

I can't control it. It's enormous.

It's... It's too big, is it?

It's too big for me.

All I need is another three hours.

Yeah, another three hours.
No problem.

Yeah, yeah, that'll do me.

You don't have that, though.

All right, potters, you're halfway
through.

Halfway through.

It's a bit wonkier than if
looked a minute ago.

But I'll just try and straighten
it up a little bit with this rib.

Ooh.

A messy bit.

Having fun, are we? Yeah. Great fun.

I've never thrown with this amount
of clay. Really?

But it is fun. It's definitely fun.

The clay's... The fun...
The clay is really nice.

It is nice.

I'm trying to get
a nice surface on the clay

and then I'm going to put
these decorative lines on.

I've done the hedgehogs upside down.

Oh, well. I've written home on it.

I'm just doing a little hedgehog
design on it.

Hedgehog needs a welcome.

I've just got to put on the pattern
and then I'm going to dry it.

Right. Let's get drying.

Five minutes left, potters.

Five minutes left.

Is that the lovely sound
of heat g*ns I hear?

Yes, yes. Oh, yes.

Many heat g*ns.

Happy with the height. So I'm just
getting the water out the bottom.

It's a bit thicker than I'd like,
but I'm just getting the water out.

This is the shortest, fattest
hedgehog house in creation.

It could do with being twice
the height, but I couldn't...

I couldn't lift the... Final
minute, potters, final minute.

Have you all got boards?

Yes.

You should be cutting now, potters.

Base, side.

Please don't collapse.

Please don't collapse.

Thick as a thick thing. No good.

At least it's strong down
the bottom.

That's where all the clay is.



Oh, God. I'm shaking.

How do I get this on here?

I so nearly dropped it.

Five, four,

three, two, one.

Heat g*ns down, cheese cutters down.

Everybody down. Step away from your
hedgehog.

Oh, God. Please be good enough
to let me stay.

Keith and Rich will now
judge the hedgehog houses.

Ooh. It's a hedgehog village.

They'll be looking for fluid
throwing, three accent points

and walls that retain their form.

Let's start the judging.

OK.

Very strong throwing.

I like the mark making.
Kind of mixing it up.

Lines, waves.

I'm going to...

Oh. No, no. Oh, no.

Profile wise there's a little bit
of extra weight at the base,

but actually pretty good all the way
through.

Number two.

Ooh, it's kind of a bit
more voluptuous

than it is straight sided.

It's for a big hedgehog, we can
tell. Yeah.

Let's have a look at the profile.

A little bit of extra clay in the
wall.

Quite a substantial base and
then it kind of thins out to the top.

OK, so this person appears
to have struggled

with gaining height.

Could have just done with pulling
that clay a bit higher.

There's a lot of extra clay
at the base.

Yeah. Number four? We've got a
hedgehog on here.

Does what it says on the tin.

Slightly, kind of, concave top
rather than straight sided.

Let's have a look. Yeah.

So there's a bit of extra clay
down at the bottom here,

which if that had been pulled
up, would have generated

that extra height.

OK. On to the next one.

Very, very precise, very straight
sided.

Let's have a look at the
cross-section.

Yeah. So a bit of extra clay at the
base.

But from half way up I'd say
that's nice and even.

OK, so this one. Nice and tall.

Obviously done well to pull
the clay up.

They might have to just
squeeze up a little bit to get in.

It's like a hall. Yeah.

Yeah. Like a hedgehog hall.

And we've got some text, home.

Let's have a look at the profile.

It's very even for the top section.

Again, a little bit of clay at the
bottom

that could have done with
lifting up.

So, very tidy throwing. Nice.

Really like the continuity
of the mark making.

Let's have a look at the profile
of this one.

So, yeah, just a bit of extra clay
that could have been brought

up into the form.

OK. And last but not
least, very straight sided.

Yeah. Almost vertical, reasonably
tall, reasonably wide.

Let's have a look at the profile
of this one.

The wall thickness is reasonably
regular all the way up. Yeah.

Just overall perhaps still a bit
chunky.

Well done, guys.

Yeah. Really great.

Rich and Keith will now
rank the hedgehog houses

from worst to first.

So, in eighth we have this one.

Jan. It just looks like you've
struggled to get the clay up.

In seventh position,

we have this one.

Who's this? Cadi.

It's just slightly deviated
from the shape.

Dave is sixth, Sophie is fifth

and Dan takes fourth.

In third position, this one.

Whose is this? Donna?

If you'd've managed to pull some of
that clay up, it would've been spot on.

So in second place,
we have this one here.

Whose is this? Princess?

It's really neat, really accurate.

You've got lovely straight sides
there

and really positive mark making.

So in first place we have Steven.

Wow. Really well done.

Really good, accurate throwing
and just love the mark making.

It's really good. Well done.

Cool. Thank you. Such a surprise.

Yeah, chuffed. Completely chuffed.

Number one.

Last, yet again, in a throw down.

I've just got to keep my fingers
crossed that my main make is OK.

I am at risk of going home.

I came in second place,
which I'm really happy about.

Looking forward to the next step,
which is decorating, and hopefully

they'll be lenient on me
and they'll allow me to come

back next week.

So I'm banking everything on this.

After an early start for Rose...

♪ I beg your pardon

♪ I never promised you a rose
garden... ♪

..the potters are back to discover
how their water features fared

in the bisque firing.

The size of those bowls.

I made them thick so they'd be
strong. Whether I went too thick

or be amazed and very thankful

if they look similar to what they
looked

like when I handed them over.

I'm a bit worried about cracks,
but I'm going to go in there

with the attitude that everything's
going to be OK and I'm going

to pull it together with the
decoration.

Got to keep positive.

Welcome back, potters.

Your cascading bowls have been
bisque fired and are ready

to be decorated. Any advice for our
potters? Rich?

This is where you'll give life
to your woodland inspired themes.

Now the decoration can really help
bring your three bowls together

as a cohesive water feature,
so be clever and consistent

in your application.

Now we've given you 3.5 hours
for this stage, so that should tell

you we're expecting detailed
decoration.

Now, obviously, they need
to be watertight.

Make sure your pieces are fully
glazed.

OK then, you have been given
a range of oxides and glazes and 3.5

hours with which to use them.

And your time starts now.

No cracks. I actually could cry
right now.

I am without cracks, so that's a
positive.

I'm very pleased
with that as an outcome, really.

Yeah. Can you tell?

But while it's good news
for some... Massive cracks.

Oh, no. Have you, Cadi?

..the kiln gods haven't been as kind
to everyone.

I've got one crack. It's quite deep.
I'm going to fill it with glaze

and I hope that just does
the trick of sealing it.

Annoyingly, it's where I added a
really thick coil around,

which I don't know
why I did, because obviously

the different thicknesses.

You know when you're doing
it and you know it's wrong?

So the worst happened.

It's got, like, massive cracks.

Hopefully, when I drip lots of oxide
on the inside,

it'll look like it's supposed to do
that.

But until then, I'm just not
going to look at that and just

focus on glazing.

Hello, Cadi. Hi. How are you doing?

I'm trying to disguise some cracks.

OK, well. Quite a hefty
amount of them. Yeah.

I mean, aside from those cracks,
everything stayed on.

I can't believe... Well, there's
one leaf that has popped off. OK.

But actually, the texture
under it from the slip and scoring

has saved me. So I'm going... I'm
going back over with the fine liner.

So I'm gonna... The details
I was planning actually

will probably disguise that. All
right.

Good luck, Cadi. Thanks, Rich.

Thank you, thank you.

I do already have oxide
washes on here.

Obviously, they're not very bright,
so I may well be going back

in with another wash.

So this is all my coloured
underglaze.

The oxide is very earthy and I want
that kind of vibrant green.

With a lot of woodland textures
being applied for the garden theme...

That's a lot of green and brown,
whichever way you look at it.

..the potters need to ensure
their colours pop

after the glaze firing.

The secret is not to make everything
too gloomy, so you need to pair

it with fairly bright underglaze
so that you get a vibrant effect.

I am going to wash it.

I'm about to wash this with cobalt,
so it's gonna go super blue.

Most of the potters are adding
layers to textures and sprigs

applied in the refining stage.

This is my spring. Spring-summer.

But with nothing attached
to the exterior of her bowls,

Princess still has most
of her decoration to do.

Hi, lovely. Hello. How are you
doing?

I'm OK.

Despite seeing this huge
crack in this one.

And the tiny hair cracks
in that one.

Yeah. They're all redeemable,
I think. Yeah. Yeah.

You're OK, and you're all right
with the decoration, are you?

I'm all right with the decoration.

Give us a load of it. I will, I
will. Yeah.

It'll be an eyesore at the end.
Just think roast dinner plates

and do exactly the opposite.

Yeah. Yeah.

Halfway through, potters.

You're halfway through.

We need somebody to turn this on.

If only.

Jan.

Almost finished autumn.
Are you done, Dan?

I'm having a rest. I'm having a
little rest.

Nearly done. Just got to paint all
the pots.

When you create a piece,
everybody's can look the same.

It's when you get the decoration
that it really brings it all together.

And with washes and block
colours applied...

From Hansel and Gretel.

I'm going to do a little witch hat
poking out.

..the potters can begin to bring
their themes to life.

The theme is kids' imagination
and playing in the woods.

So I'm going to paint the crocodile
pink or something.

This is much better than the g*dd*mn
goblin I put on it.

I've got Little Red Riding Hood
peeking somewhere with her little...

Yeah. And I'm hoping that red
will come out red.

I'm going to do copper oxide
on the roof and then wipe it back

so you get all this texture.

So I just want to capture
that really magical fairy world

that I loved so much growing up.

The cracks are looking all right.
They're full of lots of oxides

and underglaze and general crud.

Hooray for underglazes.

Hi. How are you getting on?

I'm getting on all right, actually.
Thank you.

So it's all worked out for the best.

Actually, life's not so bad.

There you go.

You know, this is great.

I'm getting to paint some
parts, talk to you.

Yeah. Look at all these colours.

Never the rose without the prick,
huh?

Yeah.

Talking of which.

Go and talk to Dan.

Potters, that's one hour remaining.

Final hour.

That just means starting to add
the finer details into my piece now.

The oxide will run
into those grooves where the veins

of the leaf would be,
and I'll just wipe back the surface.

I'm just adding on the highlights
of the, kind of, top sections

of the moss, just to make
it pop a little bit more.

So these lemon slugs, they're going
to be yellow, but I've put

on just a tiny bit of iron oxide
just to bring out the markings.

I'm hoping that they'll look
like they've got a texture to them.

This leaf that blew off. Can't
even tell.

I mean, talk about flukey luck.

The kiln gods, you see.

I'm kind of rushing, so that's that.

But I want to put up copper
carbonate on my rims.

It has to be thick enough so I can
spread it, but not too runny

where it drips down the whole thing.

Potters, you have... Oh, God.

Don't say something terrible.

..ten minutes left.

Woohoo. I think I've got to wind
down now, because we're getting

to the point where I'm gonna
be doing the glazing.

So if I add anything else,

it's going to leave it very close
to the wire.

Once the potters are finished
with their oxides and underglazes...

I keep thinking of more things
I want to do,

but I might get a little bit
of oxide on top of the lichen

and then I'm done.

..they need to coat their water
features in transparent glaze...

I'm going to just make sure
they get a good old dunking.

..to ensure they're waterproof
and garden ready.

It looks gorgeous. Princess, you
have six minutes remaining

and you haven't started glazing yet.

May I gently encourage
you to do that?

Yes, yes, I hear you.

I know, I know, I'm sorry. I'm
rushing.

No rush is there?

Ah, no rush at all.

No rush at all. It's all good.

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.

OK. Just wiping it back
so it's the barest touch

of glaze on there.

I wanted a contrasting effect.

I don't want it all to be super
shiny.

I've smudged it with my fat fingers.

Can I have that after you, please?

I'm just going to take it with me.
Well.

It's so weird. Like, they start this
process

with white bowls on the table,

and by the end, they have white
bowls.

I'm now splodging it on the bits
where I remember it having a crack.

For better or for worse,
I'm doing it.

Five, four, three,

two, one.

That is it, potters.

Well done.

Phew.

The potters must now take
their finished water features to Rose

for a final firing, and the next
time they see them

will be judgement day.

It's quite hard to tell
how they're going to come out.

I'm just hoping those underglazes
over the top will just bring

it forward a bit, and I'll get
that depth that I'm hoping for.

Want to say a prayer for the kiln
gods? I do.

Dear kiln gods, please stick the
cracks back together

with all the nice glaze
and things I put in them.

I'll try anything. I'm not ready to
go home. I don't want to go.

I'm quite pleased with my decoration
that I did, but I don't know

if it's going to be enough.
I was literally rushing.

I'm praying those cracks won't
accentuate.

So yeah, fingers crossed. My prayers
didn't work cos I prayed for no

cracks and I got loads of them.
I'm just hoping now

that everything just stays at the
badness that it is now

and it doesn't get worse than that.

It's time for judging
and for the potters to discover

how their pieces fared in the glaze
firing.

♪ Where have all the flowers gone? ♪

Morning, potters. How are you?

How are you all feeling? Nervous.
Very nervous.

I'm crossing my fingers and my toes

that everything just stays the way
it was at the bisque stage.

Deep breaths, But anything
could happen.

Ooh. Oh, I really like them.

I hope the crack is gone. Oh, no.

Oh, no. But it's the bottom bowl.

Ooh, green. Lovely.

I am afraid of having to go
this week. I am.

All I can do is hope that the cracks
filled themselves magically in,

in the glaze firing.

Oh. Even bigger. Yeah.

Fair enough. But it's still in one
piece.

A couple cracks went through,
so we'll see.

The potters can now stack
and fix their water features

prior to judging.

Let's see. Amazing. Pleased with
the snake, but I'm a bit worried

that when I stack them on top
of each other,

I think I've overshot.

Maybe better going that way.

I'm loving the slugs. The slugs
worked, didn't they?

The lemon slugs are amazing. That's
amazing.

Looks like all the bits will join
together and flow into each other.

Yeah. Quite happy.

I'm sticking the nozzle into the top
bowl

and I've got some putty to do
that with.

The pipe, with the water attached
to this.

Make sure it's straight.

Everything's balanced, everything's
stacked.

I can't wait to see all the water
flow in the right places.

Fingers crossed.

Eight cascading bowls
water features ready for judging.

The first thing I notice, Dave,
is the depth that you've managed

to get with the oxides. Incredible.

The slugs. I just think they're a
really fun addition,

really beautifully sculpted.

I mean, I just like the way
it carries your theme.

You know, you've got in the sky,
through the canopies,

down to ground level.

And I think you clearly get
that from what you've made.

I mean, these are very
comprehensively thrown.

You're just really improving,
week on, week on.

It's fantastic to see.

Well, shall we see if it cascades?

Yeah. Come on.

It will go. It will.

Yeah. Oh. Here we go.

Oh. Nice sound. Look at that.

Oh, I'm feeling relaxed already.
Wonderful.

That's really wonderful.
It's lovely, Dave.

Yeah, really well done, Dave.

I can see that in a dentist's
waiting room.

And that's what I had in mind
when I made it.

What a high accolade.

Well, on first impressions,

it looks wonderful.

Thank you. Completely.

I really love the way you've created
the three tiers.

Yeah. I mean, you can see by looking
in, there are a few structural issues

with a little bit of cracking.

Fortunately for you, the decorative
application has really,

really brought it up, hasn't it?

The more you look at it,
the more detail you see.

I even love the way you've covered
up the leaf that popped off.

Had I not known that had come off...
Yeah.

..you know, I probably wouldn't
have seen it.

Well, let's see how it cascades,
shall we?

Yes, let's.

It's coming. There you go.

You've got a leaf that's ever
so slightly tipping over the edge of

the bottom bowl. Yeah. It's lovely
the way it goes through the dam.

It just is such a lovely narrative.
Yeah. Thank you.

And it works really well.

But, you know, obviously we do
have to consider the structural

defects within the build, you know?
Yeah.

I like your style.

I like that kind of going
with simple forms and kind of simple

approaches to decoration.

The leaf moulds are really quite
beautiful... They are... and the subtle

veins in the leaves have worked
really well.

I think it's just unfortunate
that with those oxides,

when you're relying on them to flow
a bit more, the stiffness

of the transparent glaze
hasn't done you any favours.

Yeah, I mean, I think a bit more
relief work on the outside.

Well, some relief work
on the outside would actually

have worked for you with those
oxides and it would have just,

sort of, accentuated the surface,
really.

And we've seen from you in
the past your throwing skills

are really, really good. Thank you.

You've got a few cracks, obviously,
especially in the bottom bowl.

Well, let's see how it cascades. OK.

Let's see.

Oh.

There are a couple of spouts
just for decoration.

Yes. Yes. Which was the plan.

Yes. Which was the plan. Yeah.

It's coming out of, what, three on
each?

No. It would have been just great to
see a bit more embellishment

on the bowls. Yeah.

And if those pedestals
had been a bit lower, the fact

that you haven't decorated them,
that wouldn't have been so much

of a sort of aesthetic issue,
if you like.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's great.

It's fantastic.

This snake is just brilliant.

The scales are fantastic,
aren't they?

I know. A little Irish
leprechaun helped me out.

Honestly, it's really, really
lovely.

The colour is subtle enough to bring
that snake to the fore,

and it just really, really works.

Yeah, the quality of the sprigs
is so beautiful.

The quality of the throwing
in the bowls, the profiles

are spot on.

It obviously worked for you,
turning away that thickness

because you haven't got
any cracks between your pedestals

and your bowls. If I were to have
one negative comment,

it would have been nice
to maybe see it asymmetrical.

Yeah. Just slightly off centre.

But, I mean, really, it's great.

I can't wait to see how the water
cascades out of it.

It's hissing.

Oh. It's lovely where it's hitting
the edge of the ceramic.

It's making almost like a tinkling
sound.

It does go
over the edge a bit, doesn't it?

Yeah. But the water, obviously,
coming out of that snake's mouth

works really, really well.

Not only should you be proud
of the actual snake itself,

but you should be proud of the way
you've thrown those pots.

Thank you. It's brilliant.

It's not as bright as normal.

I think the sodium silicate
and the way you've opened

up those forms and created
that texture, I think it's worked

really, really well, actually.

There's beautiful subtlety
in the surface, particularly

with the oxides. Because, like,
these surfaces, actually, the heavy

textures feel quite elegant, quite
sophisticated.. And organic

and in keeping with the actual
brief. Apart from the goblin,

there's a kind of style
there and a finish.

The goblin looks like he's been in
a fight in a paint shop.

I'm not so much enamoured with
that. You don't like that?

Well, let's see some water
cascading down it.

OK.

Ah.

I quite like the way the water
cascades off those leaves.

It's amazing because it makes the
top bowl look like

it's floating. In fact, they all
look a bit like they're floating.

They do actually.
Yeah. That's quite extraordinary.

So just don't turn it off. Don't
turn it off. Never turn it off. Right.

Well, the first thing I notice

is the reaction with the copper

that you've got on your roof.
It's brilliant.

I mean, the copper is so reactive,
I wonder whether the brushwork

is slightly lost with the brown
underglazes, perhaps.

Yeah, yeah. You look at it
and your story obviously is there.

It would've been great to see
a bit of decoration

on those pedestals, and we obviously
can see a crack in there, but yeah.

Should we see some water on? Mm.

Looks promising.

Well, it's a decent pourer.

It is. If you had a jug that poured
like that you'd be quite pleased,

really, wouldn't you?

But the pedestal of the middle one,
because it's under the water,

it sort of gives this a bit
more life and a bit more spring.

Whereas this... That looks better,
doesn't it? Yeah.

But look, it's pouring really well,
isn't it?

Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

The first thing you notice
is that it's really, really well

finished off and your whole story
really, really comes to life.

The way that you've incorporated
those oxides with those underglazes,

this leaf on the top, it's a lovely
statement piece right on the top

of the structure. We know you
struggle with throwing... Yes.

..because we saw that in the second
challenge this week. Yeah.

And it's really, really well made.

Thank you very much.
So will it cascade?

Yeah. No idea. We'll have to see.
Let's have a look. Yeah.

There you go.

It really works, doesn't it?

It really works.

The fact that you've had the bravery
to use oxides in the right places

to enhance the textures,
just those little pops

of very intense underglaze,

it creates something that has depth
and character to it.

It's great. I love it.

Well, look, Steven, I must admit
I was thinking all that

embellishment with this moss was
a bit risky.

Yeah. But it looks stunning.

Looks fantastic.

I'm loving these mushrooms
growing all over it.

Because the colour of the mushrooms
with the moss, it really works.

The surface and the texture,
the level of detail

is just beautiful.

Even the shading you've got on
the fungus, I just think it's wonderful.

It really is. Thank you.

I'm desperate to see if it does
cascade. Me too, yeah.

That's great. It sounds nice.
Look at the big smile on your face.

It sounds nice.

That cobalt under the water,

you've managed to sort of
encapsulate a magical, mythical pool

that you might find in an ancient
forest.

And that surface texture
really works with the water.

And the fact that those fungal
elements that you've got protrude

out and the water sort of cascades
over those as well.

It works really, really well.

I was really worried about where
the water was going to flow,

but actually it has found
its natural route

and it's really quite beautiful.

Yeah. Brilliant, Steven. Thank you.
Yeah.

Seeing the water flow over
for the first time was magic.

It took me right
back to a happy memory.

Yeah, really chuffed with it.

I'm so relieved that my decorating
came out OK and that they liked it.

But there is an obvious issue
with the crack and the structure.

I really hope I've squeaked through.

If not, then at least I know
I did absolutely everything I could.

So the oxide completely
failed me and just painted

it does seem quite flat,
but I'm really, really hoping

that I don't leave.

Another series, another garden week.

How do you think they got on?

On the whole, they all did really,
really well.

Who had a good week then
in your opinion?

Steven had a fantastic week.

My word, his was just off the scale
amazing.

What was so wonderful about
Steven's was that it was kind

of simplicity done in a really
complex way. Absolutely.

And Donna, I mean, that snake
was just amazing.

You're welcome. It...

But it almost looked alive.

Throwing isn't her strong point,
but she gave us three perfectly

formed bowls and something
really lovely to look at.

And Dave, he's just so good
at adding in little fun details

that are really joyous... The lemon
slugs... and really fun.

The lemon slugs. Lemon slugs. They
were great. And they really popped.

And yet he still managed
to really mix up the materials

and process, which is always
nice to see.

So who's in danger of leaving
the pottery?

Princess. Her fundamental making
skills far exceed

many of our other potters in there.
They do.

It's just that affinity
for the glazes and the decoration.

If you have that simplicity
of style, it's finding the right

decorative technique to portray
that.

And I just felt with Princess, she
didn't really carry that through.

Cadi had a lot of cracks in her
pieces.

However, you were both very moved
by her decoration.

She just manages to inject
such energy.

But we can't get away from the fact
that there were some major faults

in the build.

Anybody else?

Sophie. You know, you kind
of expect that fairy type house

to be magical and mysterious.

The roof had a liveliness
to it, which was really nice,

and that's what's beautiful
about oxides, but I think the rest

of it just felt a little bit flat.
Yeah.

So Cadi, Sophie or Princess.

They all had major cracks... Yeah.
..in their build.

Does that help with your decision?

I'm here to help, guys.

No, it doesn't help at all.

You're welcome. Really doesn't.

Well, thank you very much, potters.

I've been very zen and tranquil
this week with all the lovely

cascading water features.

So thank you for that.

First, the nice bit.

This week's potter of the week is...

..Steven.

Well done, well done.

Thank you.

Now, for the not so nice bit.

I can tell you categorically
this has been a very tough decision.

The potter who is leaving
us this week is...

..Princess.

Yes. Oh.

To me, it's not the end.

If I did leave before the end,
it never felt like it was going

to be final. I'll still go back and
pot,

but it was really nice to be here
with everyone,

and everyone is so,
so amazing and so lovely.

Oh, don't be sad.

I feel really blessed
to have been given this opportunity.

A crash course in everything,
pottery. The thing you love thrown

at you in, like, the weirdest ways
with the weirdest makes.

So much fun. I don't think there's
ever been a potter

on the programme

I've invested so much
time and passion in what you do.

You've got so much talent in
throwing. Decoration, not so much.

They came, the tears came.
Not at the right moment,

but they came nevertheless.

As Princess waves farewell to the
pottery...

..Steven's moss covered water feature
takes hold as his first

entry in the Throw Down Gallery.

Finally done it.

It's something that I can tick
off my life to-do list now,

potter of the week. I mean,
there's some incredible potters,

and to be at the top

of that pile this week is
just phenomenal.

I feel validated as a potter now,
which is, yeah, a great feeling.

Next time... I'm the little
teapot... it's time for tea...

Gluggle, gluggle... as the potters
face a novelty teapot challenge...

The holy grail of teapots
will pour like a Venetian fountain.

Glaze your novelty teapot.

..featuring bright translucent
majolica glazes.

Tiny bit of a drip, but a great
pourer.

But who will make the perfect
cuppa...

OK, yeah.

..and who will run out of steam?