and our nine remaining potters
are facing
the fiery favorite, raku.
We're asking them
to make a Japanese tea set,
so in honor of that
I thought we'd do
a traditional
Japanese tea ceremony.
But then I remembered
we're in Stoke,
so instead we're doing
a traditional
British tea ceremony.
Oi, oi! Brew's up!
It's beautiful.
Last time...
the potters aimed for
hometown glory in porcelain.
It's just not
according to plan today.
Tom's love letter
to historic Bath impressed.
It's hollow in the bottom,
so you can post them
and get them out again.
But it was Nick's
exquisitely detailed
Barry Harbour shipwreck
that saw him crowned
potter of the week.
It's beautiful.
It almost looks like an etching.
And whilst Miles's Tenbury
Wells apple did go sour...
It's not working.
I can't show that.
...the wheels fell off Josh's
bid to stay in the competition
and he became the third potter
to leave the pottery.
- So what you drinking first?
- Gonna have a load of shots.
- This time...
- Whoo.
...the potters
are heading east...
God, I'm nervous.
...to throw exquisite
Japanese tea sets.
Come on, stick.
There's a surprise spot test...
That's it,
get into a nice rhythm.
...with a social media
sensation.
- Oh, Florian.
- That's the usual reaction.
And for the first time
this series...
- Goggles!
- Goggles.
...the potters will be
firing their own work...
- Take 'em out.
- Now, now, now.
...in one of the most violent
and unpredictable
processes in ceramics.
Oh, my goodness,
this is madness.
- Raku.
- Fingers crossed. If I could.
Where's my lid? Oh, you swine.
Our nine remaining potters
are back in Stoke
for a week unlike any other.
I love raku!
I can't wait to get
all goggled up and get hot.
- There's flames.
- It burns.
It's just the magic
of actually seeing your pots
being fired in front of you.
Feeling very raku-y.
Is that a word?
Good morning, potters,
and welcome back to the pottery.
Now it's time for one of
our favorites, raku week.
The judges would like you
to throw
a decorative Japanese tea set,
including a teapot
and four matching bowls.
We want you
to throw your tea set,
but we're not asking
for any handles.
Tea bowls don't have handles,
and the teapot doesn't wanna
have a handle made of clay,
it wants to be a bespoke handle
with a material
that you've found or handmade.
Think about the shape and form
of your teapot and bowls.
Not only do they need to be
Japanese inspired,
but you need to be conscious
of how you're gonna
get those shapes out of the heat
of the raku kiln.
We will give you
gloves and tongs,
because we're kind like that.
You have four and a half hours
to make and refine
your Japanese tea sets.
Potters, get potting.
There's actually
a lot going on with this.
It's all about throwing ability,
making something that's gonna
withstand the raku process.
The dark art of raku will see
the potters' work rapidly fired
in 1,000-degree heat before
being transferred, red-hot,
into highly
combustible materials
where the flames will trigger
incredible reactions
in any glazes and oxides,
as well as
potentially producing
a carbonized crackle surface.
You've literally got flames
and your eyeballs,
and that's how you work out
if it's ready.
So it's like
the elemental side of pottery,
and I think everyone loves that.
Yes! I love a bit of raku.
It's that fire clay,
the glazes, the reaction.
It's great.
I wanna see some kind of
continuity throughout the set.
The challenge is gonna be
to tie the teapot form
and the bowls together.
For example, this piece here,
you've got
a very squared-off teapot,
but the colors draw
the two pieces together.
I mean,
one of the main concerns for me
is the lugs that they're
putting on for the handle.
Are they strong enough?
Are they robust enough
to stay on the teapot
throughout that firing process?
So that build
has to be really competent.
- Hi, Nick.
- Morning. How are we?
Are you riding high on
last week's potter of the week?
I was until I sat down
and got going again.
Oh, no! Why?
It's just like hit reset
and you've gotta go again and...
Yeah, don't rest
on your laurels.
What are you making today, Nick?
I am making
a contemporary Japanese teapot,
going for, like,
a coastal theme.
Nick's sleek contemporary form
and homemade acrylic handle
will be contrasted
by organic washes of blue glaze
inspired by the crashing waves
of his local beach.
Living by the sea,
you are drawn
towards what you're used to,
aren't you?
And is a teapot
something you've made before?
- No, it's the first teapot.
- Oh.
Yeah, first teapot,
first time with this clay,
and then first raku.
You always remember your first.
I will.
All the potters have begun
with throwing their teapots.
I'm just doing
the main teapot shape first,
and then going in
with my fingernails
to get those throwing lines in.
What a time
to make my first teapot.
Whilst Nick is aiming
for seaside chic...
That's better.
...Lucinda is staying
on dry land.
I'm thinking about where I live,
so everything's based on
the soft contours of the hills.
Lucinda's bulbous
teapot and bowls
will feature
copper glazed hills
against a moonlit
carbon black sky,
and her handles should
get her even closer
to her beloved Shropshire.
Up on the Long Mynd,
there's a lot of really
interesting bits of heather.
Right, yeah.
This is the one
I'm hoping to go for.
- Right.
- But what I found in...
Not much play.
If you put your lugs
directly opposite each other,
it does fit at an angle.
You seem to have
lots of measurements.
- Yar.
- Hopefully that handle'll fit.
Hopefully it will.
Unless the potters throw
their teapots with thin walls,
it'll be
uncomfortably heavy to use,
or, worse,
the thick clay could explode
in the intense raku firing.
It's very easy
to make a crap teapot.
But too thin and the wet clay
won't be able to support
their chosen forms.
It's gone, hasn't it? It's
too thin. You're coming off.
I have thrown a teapot before.
It was very wonky.
And I never tried it again
after that.
Anna's second ever teapot
and her bowls
will see a smooth
crackle glaze surface,
contrasted with
a subtly colored,
roughly torn and ripped clay
at the base.
I kind of want to have
that organic feel to it.
When I was looking
at Japanese pottery,
and I'm gonna pronounce this,
there's sabi and wabi,
I think it's called,
probably horribly pronounced,
but one of them's
about simplicity,
and the other one's about
things not being perfect.
It just connected with me
immediately when I read it. Ah!
Although she's had to
start again...
Whoo. That wasn't
supposed to happen.
...Anna won't be alone
on the path to wabi-sabi.
So I'm trying to have a contrast
of almost machined textures
with organic, soft,
wavy kind of forms.
Tom's perfectly round teapot
will join irregular
organically formed tea bowls
for a monochrome set
that will be brought together
with simple
crackle glaze circles.
And you've done raku before,
have you?
Yes, I was at a festival
and everyone else was
drinking vodka for breakfast,
and I went, "I'm gonna
do something different
with my day."
- Well done.
- I did a raku workshop.
- OK, yeah, yeah.
- It was brilliant.
- With vodka?
- No, no vodka, unfortunately.
No, no, no. I had vodka later.
- Oh, right, like it.
- Are you uplifted?
Someone said to me the other
day, they said, "Go your way."
- Ooh, nice.
- Wow.
I'm gonna put that
on a motivational tea towel.
I like a motivational tea towel.
Who doesn't, Tom?
Live, love, laugh.
Dance like no one is watching.
While most of the potters
have been aiming
- - for a smooth surface...
- That's not too bad.
...Jenny has begun
destroying hers.
My process involves
faceting them,
so using a wire to cut through.
Now, obviously
that has a risk in it,
because you can sort of
cut bits off.
Jenny will echo
her risky faceting
in all four of her tea bowls,
and the base
of everything she throws
will also be
completely d*sfigured.
The base is gonna be all carved
in a kind of Kurinuki style,
which is where
you break bits off,
so it's a much rougher bottom.
- Hello, Jenny.
- Hi.
What's the vibe
with the bunchies
going on in the room today?
We just thought it's a fun week,
so we'd go for a bit of fun
with our hair.
- Whose idea was this?
- I can't remember.
- Christine.
- Was it Christine?
- Yeah.
- She's an influencer.
Actually, Nick has hair long
enough, and he's not partaking.
He's very worried about
what the people of Barry
would think of him.
It's not gonna happen.
No one touches my hair.
My inspiration
comes from trips
that I've done
over the years to Japan.
I love Japan.
So it's about
bringing in indigo,
'cause the Japanese are so great
at working with denim,
and whenever I've gone to Japan,
it's just a feast.
As a clothing designer,
Miles has been inspired
by the denim outfits he created
while working in Japan.
He's planned a crackle glazed
riot of indigo
on exposed
carbon black surfaces.
Have you done
a Japanese tea ceremony?
- I have, yeah, in Kyoto.
- How was it?
You feel very humbled and quiet
and... and calm and...
How long does it last?
It lasted probably
about an hour.
Oh, OK. That's quite a long time
to wait to get a cup of tea.
Potters, you're halfway through.
Just like me
and this plate of biscuits.
There comes a point
when I don't know when to stop.
Check that out.
Got a lot more work to do,
obviously. I've got the spout.
As well as spouts and lids...
I wanted to make it
nice and clean, crisp lines.
...the potters still need
to find time to throw tea bowls
in keeping
with their overall design.
I'm just popping the dimple in
and then re-centering the top.
I just really like tea bowls
with dimples in them.
They're just...
They're so nice to hold.
AJ's dimpled tea bowls
will complete a set
harmonized with
visible throwing lines
and copper green decoration,
featuring
a Scottish heather motif.
You look back
at, like, ancient pottery
and you can still see, like,
the fingerprints
of the potters who made them.
It's just something
about the human element
fired into a pot
that I really like.
If I was Keith, this would be
the thing that I would cry over.
Just keeping an eye on the size.
Without constant measuring,
the potters won't be able
to deliver
the uniform tea bowls
that the judges have demanded.
Ooh, far too big.
I'm throwing eight cups,
because there will be four
that will look like more of
an obvious set than the others.
So I've got six tea bowls,
nice angular edges.
And whilst Anna and Tom
are still aiming
to balance perfection
with imperfection...
It's just imperfectly imperfect.
It's just, like,
there's a limit, innit?
That's for the bin. There we go.
...Cellan's approach
seems a little more precise.
It's just a pointer.
I'm measuring off
two points for my cups,
and the bottom edge
is gonna be the same diameter,
the top will be
the same diameter.
They won't be exactly identical,
but it will make them
more uniform.
Cellan's precisely thrown
angular tea bowls
will reflect
the profile of his teapot,
and his whole set will have
an asymmetric decoration.
I'm curious how these
are all leaving the surface,
'cause these seem to come down
to a point.
Yeah, so my cups don't actually
have a flat bottom.
They're gonna be coned all the
way, so they will wobble around.
- Like a ship's tumbler?
- Yeah, yeah, kind of, yeah.
I guess you've got to,
on a practical level,
judge that angle correctly,
'cause you don't want it to be,
like, dump everything out.
- No, so I'm not gonna do it...
- We wanna drink some tea.
I looked at
Japanese tea sets,
and I liked the ones
that were almost like a bowl,
so I've used that shape.
I've got some cherry blossom
on there,
which is synonymous
to the Far East.
I was in Hong Kong,
like, years ago, in March,
and all the cherry blossoms
were out.
It was just amazing.
Christine is gambling
on applying
multiple heavy layers
of unstable glazes
to get the colors of her
cherry blossom design to bloom.
And that's not the only thing
that could work against her.
I'm really looking forward
to raku week,
'cause I've never done any.
- Wow, OK.
- Because it's really new,
my ideas have been flitting
back and forth constantly,
like, will this work,
and does that work,
and how does it work, you know?
I'm putting underglaze on
very thick,
because I've heard
it can burn out in raku.
Obviously there's potential
for the colors to change
because it's going into that
kind of combustible reducer.
I think it's all gonna be
quite, um... new.
Well, you know,
ignorance is bliss.
Sometimes you can come
at a different process
with a totally naive way
of looking at it,
but actually that can work
in your favor.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
- And we'll see what happens.
- Yeah.
- Cheers, Christine.
- Thanks, Christine.
OK, thank you.
One hour to go, guys.
Whoo, that's quick.
The potters still have
a daunting to-do list.
This is very delicate.
Before the time runs out,
they'll have to refine
all of their pieces...
Not a lot of time,
to be honest,
with how much I need to do.
...complete
any construction work,
and get their tea set
in the drying room
ready for the first firing.
There's quite a lot to do,
spout, handle, lugs.
I've gotta get my lid to fit.
I forgot about the lid. Ugh.
But while some potters are
aiming for a flawless finish...
This should help, like,
burnish it.
Start with this guy.
...Tom is still in search
of the perfect imperfection.
You don't want it sharp.
No one wants to drink
out of a sharp edge.
But you don't want it
thick either.
Also, it's raku,
so it might blow up.
And he's not the only one.
This is where I just kind of
wanna cut and tear off,
and cut and tear off,
and cut and tear off,
and just get
that torn look almost.
I'm literally
just giving myself a marker
for where to take
my carving to.
There is a risk
of me cutting right through.
Oh, God, I'm nervous.
I'm just gonna take
a bit away at a time,
but this is obviously where
I could very, very easily
carve through the whole thing.
Ooh,
nearly went through there.
That is half an hour to go,
guys, or T-minus 30.
Come on, stick.
But every teapot
needs a spout...
What I want to do
is make sure this fits well.
Come on.
...and a handle.
Now I'm gonna work
on the lugs.
Fiddly.
And with her twisted
Shropshire stick...
Ah!
...Lucinda's lugs can't afford
to be even a millimeter
out of position.
So they've basically
gotta lock in place,
but because
it's a little bit crooked,
I've got to work out
where to put the next lug
to make sure that it actually...
fits more straight.
The lugs are in line
with each other
and dead in line with the spout.
I might have to
just take out a little bit
to accommodate that...
that knobbly bit.
I'm gonna have to just cut
a little bit out of that.
Not thrilled
about my lugs. Too late now.
Ten minutes, guys,
you've got ten minutes
to get your things
in the drying room.
I'm feeling
very tight for time right now.
OK...
While some potters are ready
to head to the drying room...
Yeah, I'm happy with that.
...Christine is risking
some last-minute refining.
I'm using a slip trailer
and I'm drawing flowers.
I'm doing it free-hand.
'Cause I'm nervous,
it's quite shaky,
and I like the look
it's giving me.
- Come on, everyone. Go, go, go.
- It's squeaky bone time.
Yes, Miles, that's
what I wanna see. Yes, Jenny.
Yeah, it's not as pristine
and controlled
as I may do on my own work.
- Lucinda, how are you?
- I've got to do the decoration.
I could do with
another half an hour.
I can't give you
another half an hour.
I've got quite a bit
to do on the teapot.
One minute, everyone.
One minute.
- Definitely freaking out.
- Come on, Tom.
- Sort your life out.
- Yeah, yeah. I am faffing.
- I am faffing.
- Well done.
Oh, well done, lovey.
Well done, Tom.
Looking good.
You know we wanted sugar bowls
as well, don't you?
Yeah!
Right, everyone,
that's it, time's up!
I could have done
with an extra ten minutes.
Yes, I could have done
with another half hour easily.
Time was very short.
It really just flew by.
Got it cleaned up
just about.
I even managed to get
the slip trailing done,
and I literally only had
a few minutes to get that done.
I'm not concerned
about the lugs shrinking.
I've made room for shrinkage.
After they've been left to dry,
Rose will take the tea sets
for their first bisque firing
to harden the clay
ready for decoration.
Well, I managed
not to slice through
any of my bits and pieces.
I don't think
there will a problem
in the bisque firing, hopefully.
But, who knows, sometimes
the drama inside the kiln
can make things go "pooooh!"
The potters' second challenge
is, as ever,
a mystery wrapped in hessian.
But this week
there's another twist.
Potters, we're joined
by a very special guest today,
master potter and social media
sensation Florian Gadsby.
- Hello.
Hi.
Master ceramicist
Florian Gadsby
is followed by over 2.6 million
people on social media.
World-renowned
for his beautiful tableware,
he completed
an apprenticeship in Japan
before setting up
his own studio in London.
Guys, any idea what Florian
may be showing you today?
- Handle pulling?
- Handles.
You're not wrong.
So, we're gonna begin
with this block of clay.
What I do
is work it into something
which is thicker at the top
and thinner at the bottom.
Then I'll pull from here
to create the length,
which will then be separated
into the blanks.
One hand nice and wet,
hand grasping it at the top,
pulling it down
with the same pressure
applied throughout
the entire pull,
so you don't
come off prematurely,
otherwise you end up
with a thickness at the bottom.
So then it gets
longer and longer.
Oh, Florian!
- That's the usual reaction.
- Crikey, that's massive.
Once it's kind of long enough,
I snip off each handle blank.
Once the potters have pulled
and cut their handles to size,
they need to securely score
and slip them onto the mugs.
Basically, at this point,
what you want is a handle blank
that stays on,
and then squeeze and pull.
You want to be quick
with your motions.
If you work really slowly,
you won't actually
move the clay at all.
Once I'm happy with the length,
I take the bottom,
and I just gently
let it flow into place.
Because of the angle
it's joining,
you can smear a lot more clay
either side.
- And that's it.
- Wow.
Right, this challenge
is gonna be judged blind,
so you three need to go away and
talk about kilns or something.
You have 20 minutes
to throw 10 identical handles.
Your time starts now.
Remove the hessian.
Oh, my God.
I like pulling handles,
so I'm quite excited
about this, actually.
It's gonna be a messy challenge.
I don't do much handles,
and I tend to...
not to pull them.
Very exciting
to have Florian here.
I can't believe
we've just seen him in the flesh
and that he's gonna be then
judging our handles.
Don't wanna disappoint him.
Ooh, he said do it fast.
That's it, that's it,
get into a nice rhythm.
I've pulled enough
of these blanks to do 11.
- Five.
- Oops.
That is a lot smaller
than the rest of them.
Already I can see
I've got different sizes there,
so I'm gonna just pull
a few more.
I think it's about quality,
not quantity.
It just dropped
on the floor.
You've scored and slipped them
all in a row,
like you're
a little production line.
Well, I've got to try
and get ten done.
This is
kind of production line,
and it's not something
I'm used to.
I don't know how
I'm gonna get that finesse
with my big banana fingers.
- Jenny.
- Hello, Ellie.
- I can't look at you.
- Don't look at me.
Look at the handle. You were so
excited when Florian walked in.
I know. I've followed him
for ages. His work's amazing.
Have you ever slid into his DMs?
- No, I've made comments.
- What comments have you said?
"Ooh, great pot," like
that sort of thing? Heart emoji.
- "How did you do this?"
- Ooh.
- Are you all right, Christine?
- Yep, I'm absolutely fine.
Ooh, you've got
two done already.
- Terrible, terrible, terrible.
- Oh, man.
That's halfway through!
You've had half of your time!
So really
you should have five done.
Thanks, Ellie.
Halfway through
and only one done,
and it's not even done
particularly well.
I'm on my third. It's about
getting them the same.
I've done one.
I've got a lot to do.
I'm speeding up.
I'm gonna go for quantity
rather than quality.
You've got
a real definite style.
I keep on forgetting
what the definite style is.
- Just sort of square but round.
- Square but round, that's it.
This one does not look nice
at all.
As the DJ in my local nightclub
used to say,
five minutes to get pulling.
- Five minutes, five cups.
So could be better,
could be worse.
Oh, dear,
that's not even on straight.
I think I've got
the knack of this now.
Never stops talking
and he's on his eighth.
They seem
pretty consistent to me.
One minute to go!
You have one minute to go!
Oh, man.
Right, that's coming off.
- Disaster.
- Oh.
I'm not gonna do it
in 30 seconds.
- Oops.
- Last couple.
Ten seconds to go.
Sod it. I'm gonna attach
in a different place.
That's just a silly one.
Three,
two, one!
Mugs on your ware board, please.
Oh!
- Nine.
- Oh, that is just shocking.
What if I accidentally
drop the lot of them?
- Ah, thank you so much, Cellan.
- That's all right.
Florian will now judge
the potters' handles.
Wow. You did well.
There's a lot of them.
He's looking for an identical,
perfectly pulled set of ten,
but he has no idea
whose belong to who.
So, overall, these are nice.
The marks left
by the fingers and the thumb,
it's quite nice and consistent.
They're strong,
they look like I'd be able
to fit my hand
quite comfortably in them.
Perhaps a smidgen too large,
but otherwise pretty good.
- OK.
- Onto the next.
There are ten. We've got a few
that don't match.
The one on the end
is a different shape
compared to the others.
OK. Board number three.
- Rugged. Robust, these ones.
- There's only six mugs here.
There is only six, and
the handles are quite chunky.
The joins on the top
look quite weak here.
You can see
they haven't been stuck on
and refined quite well enough.
OK. Board number four.
So they've gone
for low handles.
I quite like a low handle,
personally.
You kind of hold it
and put your hand under.
It keeps it nice and warm.
Quite consistent.
Not too thick, not too thin.
- Nicely pulled.
- There's ten of them.
- There's ten of them.
- Number five.
Something altogether different.
They're a bit square.
They don't look like
they've been pulled.
No, it looks like
someone's tried
to actually take away
the spring out of the handle.
Board number six.
We've got
a few varying shapes,
so this one's quite triangular,
and that would be fine,
if perhaps
they were all like that,
but then we have this one
where the section
is sort of a bit square.
So we've got
a few different styles.
- Number seven.
- These look good.
Tiny bit chunky,
but overall they're smooth,
they're neat, consistent.
If we're looking for evenness,
this one has
a few angle changes throughout.
It would have been nice to get
that fluidity of the spring.
- OK, board number eight.
- They're perhaps a bit heavy.
There's quite a lot of clay
in this portion,
which means you end up
with a handle that's irregular.
- But good number.
- And last but not least.
I like the springing
upward nature of some of them.
They're thin,
which I quite like in handles.
There's a certain finesse
to them.
- A delicacy.
- Yeah.
That's lovely, isn't it?
Nice spring to it.
- But the one on the end...
- That's great. That's terrible.
Absolutely terrible.
Thanks, anyone who did that,
'cause it's really
made me laugh.
Florian will now rank
the potters' handles
from worst to first.
Let's start with ninth, so...
well, handles are no easy feat,
but I think generally
they're too chunky,
and the relation between them
doesn't quite work.
In eighth place... They don't
quite have the fluidity.
They don't look like
they've been pulled.
In seventh place is Nick,
in sixth, Cellan.
Fifth is AJ, fourth Jenny,
and in third is Tom.
In second place,
we have this one.
Well done.
These are really nice.
They're smooth, they're neat,
they've got a finesse to them.
- I like them a lot.
- Thank you.
So, in first place is this one.
These are lovely,
they're so delicate,
and there's such a finesse
to them.
- Except for that one.
- Except for that one.
- God forbid.
- That's just funny.
Handle of shame.
Congratulations, Lucinda.
Well done.
I can't believe it.
How bonkers is that?
Prosecco tonight.
Second! My streak at the bottom
has turned.
I really
just didn't wanna come last.
It's slightly upsetting,
because I know
that I can do a lot better.
I've put everything
I wanted to do into my raku,
so I really hope
that the kiln gods are favorable
and it looks as amazing
as it does in my head.
The potters' Japanese tea sets
have had their first firing.
They'll now have to decorate
them with glazes and oxides
in preparation
for their main raku firing.
But whether they'll have
anything to decorate
is a secret wrapped in hessian.
Potters, you have
a range of glazes to use
and two and a half hours
to use them.
We'd like all of your surfaces
to be decorated,
so give real consideration
as to how you'll do that.
And remember this is raku, so to
get that perfect crackle glaze,
it starts with the application.
Not too much, not too little.
Very helpful.
So, remove the hessian!
It's one piece.
Ooh.
OK.
I'm pretty happy.
It's all in one piece.
- Oops.
- Jesus.
- What are you like?
The potters now have
an opportunity
to create
beautiful surface decoration
using any of the underglazes
and oxides
available in the studio.
I'm gonna put
some underglazes on
to try and see if it gets
a burnt red look.
- Right. So that's gonna be red?
- So that's gonna be red.
But some of it's
going to be carbonized,
so I'm hoping
for little speckles of red
coming through in the black.
Lovely.
And does your lid go in OK?
Well, I dropped it
as soon as I got it, but yes.
I did see you drop it
immediately, Anna.
It's very on-brand, though,
to be honest.
So I enjoyed it.
Nick's sleekly designed,
precise pots
are about to go
a little off-brand.
I'm leaning towards the cobalt
oxide, and then... chuck it on.
Just wishy-washy kind of thing.
I've got like a lot of, you
know, that kind of motion on it,
representing like, you know,
motion of the sea.
And he's not the only one
freestyling with oxides.
I quite like
this sort of working
quite quickly with the color.
Unpredictable and volatile,
controlling the colors produced
by oxides in a raku firing
is almost impossible.
I'm gonna paint
red iron oxide first.
Hopefully the colors will create
the cherry blossom effect.
I've used oxides before,
but not in a raku firing.
But they can result
in some of the most unexpected
and spectacular decoration
in ceramics.
This is cobalt oxide,
which will go blue,
if I've got
the measurement right.
In my head
it's gonna be beautiful.
When it comes out
of the raku glaze,
it'll probably look like...
Lucinda is hoping to use oxides
to bring
her Shropshire hills alive.
I've got
some copper oxide.
I want these hills
to have a touch of green.
What's wonderful about them
is when they're in water,
the water will immediately go
towards any lines
that you've incised,
and it kind of brings out the
whole design that you've done.
Key to everyone's design
is combining their oxides
and underglazes
with raku's distinctive finish.
This is
the white crackle.
Crackle glaze.
When it cools down rapidly,
it crackles, and when you put it
in the sawdust
and it all burns off, all these
cracks get filled with black,
which just makes
this really beautiful effect
across the surface
that you can't really replicate
anywhere else.
It's just a look
that I really like,
so I might make them
slightly thicker.
Unlike his fellow potters,
still aiming for perfection
and imperfection...
Wabi-sabi for the win.
...Tom's risking using
crackle glaze and nothing else.
- Spotties!
- Yes.
So you're gonna paint
the glaze over the top
and then pull the spots back?
So where I'm putting the spots,
the glaze won't stick,
theoretically,
and that'll come out black,
and where the glaze goes on it,
it'll come out white.
It looks random,
but it's not quite random.
I think it looks lovely.
It doesn't look grotesque.
No, no. I've made
plenty of ugly teapots.
Oh, Tom.
Whilst Tom is working with
just the one crackle glaze...
Come on, stick,
you sticky sticks.
Stickers.
...for her cherry blossom,
Christine seems to be using
anything she can lay
her hands on.
I've mixed all my different
shades of pink,
and then I'll just keep
building up small areas.
She's used iron oxide
for the edges of her flowers,
pink underglaze
for the petals,
and she'll cover them
with even more
transparent glaze
before adding her crackle.
It's gonna be painted
like a watercolor,
but, then again,
if the underglaze burns out
at a high temperature
under raku,
or doesn't show through
the glaze, the oxide should.
You can't guarantee any result
with raku,
because you can't control it,
so maybe don't try.
Now's the time to experiment,
if anything, isn't it?
Or not.
In front of the whole nation.
Half an hour to go, everyone.
Half an hour.
My mum's old toolbox
to the rescue.
I've put three different colors
of the cobalt on,
so hopefully you'll get like
different gradients of it all,
and then a bit of a flick
to get the spots.
Now I'm putting
a copper glaze on top.
I'm really hoping
that there'll be bits of green.
When you look at the hills,
depending on where the sun is,
you get just a hint of color.
You can see a bit of pink
where the heather is,
so if it does go pink,
that would be lovely.
You know, sometimes these things
look like precious jewels
when they work.
Whilst ensuring a colorful
finish is important to some...
The glaze
I'm painting on at the moment
is the white crackle,
and I'm painting it on
because I don't want to cover
the transparent
that I've put over my flowers.
...Tom is sticking
to his monochrome theme.
If you add
loads of colors in there,
it becomes overwhelmingly busy.
Dalmatians, right,
they wouldn't be better
if they had red paint
all over 'em.
They're just black and white.
They're still cool.
Even though their decorating
time is running out...
I need to stop fiddling, 'cause
it's making me go "Whaaa!"
...the potters seem to be more
concerned with something else.
- I'm just faffing now.
- It looks like a mess.
But I don't really think
I wanna do anything else.
Sometimes the messes
can be really lovely.
I can be a mess,
and I can be lovely.
Sometimes.
- OK, we're done.
- Done, I think.
Less is best.
I don't know.
Is it, though?
- It is. I think it is.
- Is it too simple?
- No, it's beautiful.
- Don't second guess yourself.
An art teacher said to me once,
"The art..."
No, hang on, what is it?
That's right.
"The art is knowing
when to stop."
It's the same
with drinking alcohol.
Yes.
It's raku day,
and it's gonna be epic.
- You can feel the buzz.
- Excited about today.
Yeah, I just woke up
at 4am going, "Whoo!"
There's gonna be fire,
extreme heat,
magic going on in the kilns.
To actually be opening it when
it's gonna be, like, white-hot
is kind of scary.
It's gonna be dangerous,
there's gonna be smoke,
there's gonna be stuff
flying all over the place.
And hopefully no explosions.
The raku kilns are ready
for you to load and fire up.
Our raku expert Kevin
is on hand to help.
The raku process
is really, really intense,
so take great care
at putting your pieces
in and out of the kiln.
Temperature and timing
is crucial.
You'll be responsible
for removing your pieces
from the kiln
and also placing them
in the combustibles,
so think about the effects
you're trying to achieve,
as all of those decisions
will affect that.
Right, Miles, Tom, Lucinda,
you are the first
to fire your pieces.
We're doing it.
Raku is the most dangerous
processes in ceramics.
- Ooh, I love dressing up.
Working in small,
tightly controlled groups
of two or three,
the potters must take
every precaution.
- Great. I'm so glad I'm first.
- Yeah.
- - Lucinda...
- Yes!
- There we go.
- Tom...
Look underneath.
It's a giant blowtorch.
- Does sound like a jet engine.
- It does, doesn't it?
...and Miles
are now on their own.
Only they can move
their tea sets.
I'm just hoping
I don't break anything.
And it's up to them to decide
on firing temperature...
- You're in, you're on.
- I'm in.
...and when to remove
their work from the kiln.
All right,
any last words for your pots?
Good luck, my babies.
Do you have any final words?
- Uh, bye.
- Good.
It was nice knowing ya.
Raku can be one of the fastest
and most brutal firings
in ceramics.
Yes! Yes.
Reaching 1,000
degrees centigrade
in a matter of minutes.
- What temperature we at, Rose?
- We're at 509.
If the potters
remove their tea sets
before the glazes have begun
to melt in the extreme heat...
- 742.
- Ooh.
...they'll get none
of the spectacular reactions
raku is famous for.
Once it gets to 1,000,
gonna have a sneaky peek.
- Goggles.
- Goggles!
I think it needs another...
It needs another little bit.
It's not quite...
It's nearly there...
It's really nearly there.
How can you tell?
It's molten-y,
but it's... it's just melted,
so I'm gonna leave it
another... few minutes.
But leave it too long
and the underglazes, oxides
and crackle glazes
will become liquid and simply
slide off their work.
It's like playing chicken.
I'm gonna trust my gut.
- Don't panic.
- Do I look like I'm panicking?
Yeah, that's molten.
The molten glazed pots
have to be removed
as carefully as possible.
- Now, now, now, now.
- You gonna take 'em out?
- You wanna take a look?
- Not yet.
I need this one
to be a good one for me today.
Here we go!
Whaa!
Shiny!
- - But the firing isn't over.
- It's too much fun.
To generate the carbon
that will blacken
their unglazed surfaces...
Ooh, lovely, lovely, lovely,
lovely, lovely, lovely.
...every searing hot piece
must be delicately placed
in the potters'
chosen combustibles.
- That'll be the seaweed.
Each one handpicked
to produce unique markings.
This is from the hills.
I'm loving the pagan offerings
there. Nice.
If you're happy,
I'm gonna turn it off.
Yeah, I'm happy.
OK, here we go.
I'm starting
to get nervous now.
It's so exciting
just seeing everybody else's.
- Yeah.
- Jenny.
Ooh.
- You're on.
- Oh, my goodness me.
- - It's happening.
- Go on, Jenny.
Nice and slowly, Nick.
Don't get too excited.
- That don't help, does it?
- Sorry.
- Go for it.
- Go for it.
What temperature are we on now?
- We're at 960.
- 960, OK.
I'm gonna go for 1015.
Even though they can control
some aspects of raku...
- 970.
- Gonna goggle up.
...the potters
will have no idea
how their decoration
may be affected...
- All the way?
- Yeah.
...once in their combustibles.
That's it. You got it.
- Nice.
- Super.
Oh, God, it's hot.
Can you see my arms shaking?
I just want it to crackle. I
want everything to get crackly.
I'm gonna leave it in there as
long as possible, and we'll see.
- Ooh.
A distinct,
well-defined crackle
is key
to the potters' tea sets.
- OK.
- Let's have a look.
Oh, my goodness,
this is madness.
But one potter...
Let's go for the big boy.
...is hoping to pull off
three separate
decorative effects
at the same time.
Right, Christine, it was
1010 you were going for, right?
- 1010.
- And you wanna have a look?
Or you wanna go with 1010?
And it's Christine's
first ever raku.
Um, I'll need to have a look,
won't I?
Have a look
and if it's good, we'll go.
- Yes, yes.
- Yeah? All right.
I've got the pink flowers.
I've put some oxides in there,
but I also did the underglaze,
so I do want some of that color
to be showing through,
and then I've got
the white crackle
and then the carbonization
underneath each one.
I'll just try and judge it
when I take them out.
- Ooh.
- All good?
Yes, it's good.
I've got a shine!
Thank you very much.
Ooh, I like the little flower.
Right, mind yourself.
This is my biggie.
Ooh, my baby.
Ooh.
It's dead hot, isn't it?
Thank you, Anna. There we go.
Right, that's it.
I'm happy with that, yeah.
I could still see those flowers,
so I don't think they've
burnt out, so really pleased.
Fingers crossed.
If I could, I'd cross them.
After the brutal firing,
the potters must now begin
the delicate process
of quenching their pots...
It should hiss.
...and cleaning them to reveal
their decorated surfaces.
Look at that green. Whoar.
And what I've done is
I've put a little bit of...
whoar, copper oxide
and other things on it.
Whoar. That is looking lovely.
Looking lovely. Looking sweet.
Where it's black, that's where
it's had the combustibles,
that's where it's carbonized,
which is exactly what I wanted,
'cause it's the night sky.
Ooh, little bit of pink.
There's a little bit
of pink in there.
- Oh, my God.
- Got my pink. Got my pinks.
How did you manage to do that in
raku? Delicate flower in raku.
It's my cherry blossoms.
That's exactly
what I was hoping for, yeah.
Also, where I've turned it,
you can see this little series
of pinholes here,
which just sort of add
to the effect.
If you've got turning lines
and rough surfaces,
the glaze pinholes around it.
If I showed you the drawing,
it actually looks quite a lot
like the intended effect.
Yeah, I'm going into judging
feeling more confident.
But the same can't be said
for all the potters.
Where's my lid?
Ah, my lid's not in one piece.
- It's in two.
- That sucks.
There's a big crack in it.
I can't really
do anything about it.
And Nick's not the only one
discovering problems.
Oh, you swine.
I'm not completely happy
with my pots.
I've just got glaze missing
all over the place.
Look. Massive great chunks.
I don't really know
what's caused it.
I don't know
if it's dust on the pot.
I'm not feeling very confident.
Hopefully the rest of it
will get me through.
The potters have one final task
they must complete...
I'm just
slightly adjusting my handle.
...before they face
Keith and Rich.
It's amazing how
they come alive with the handle.
It's just brilliant.
I'm just trying to finesse
round this handle
so it's not too ropy-looking.
Most of them
are attaching handles to lugs
using wire or string.
Sort of floating there
in the air.
But Lucinda's taking
an even bigger risk.
Right, hopefully
it'll snap in...
without snapping this...
She's attempting to secure
her unique, all-natural handle
with precisely positioned
bespoke loops of clay.
There you go.
It's that risky.
Oh, bother.
The pressure of trying
to put the bit of wood on
just snapped it.
I'm not gonna be beaten by this.
My lugs have snapped off.
- - Oh, no!
- Yeah.
Lucinda now faces
presenting the judges
with a tea set
that can't pour tea.
I was feeling rather confident.
It's judgment time
for the potters'
raku Japanese tea sets.
Tom, come on down.
It's wonderful, Tom.
It's absolutely wonderful.
And the teapot as a form,
it's just so well contained.
Except for the bloody handle.
The handle only needs
to be there.
I just wanna be able to get
at the lid without fiddling.
You would have
been able to.
You've gone
for that less is more.
Honestly, attention to detail,
it's fantastic.
It works so beautifully
as a set.
You can't fault any of it.
And the level of crackle you've
got through that raku glaze,
the thickness of the application
is spot...
well, spot-on, should I say.
I love these. I love
the fact that the rim is uneven.
It works so well with raku.
It works so well with the form.
I love the attention to detail
that you've done on the bottom.
Honestly, Tom, this really is
the best thing you've done.
It's really good, yeah.
As an overall set,
it works really well.
It's a very, very strong design.
I particularly like this idea,
'cause it's so nice
to hold in your hand.
You're showing the fluidity and
the malleability of the clay.
I'm not too sure
whether this has worked.
It's a bit stiff for raku
for me.
But I think it's
a really bold choice of color,
and I think
it brings them all together,
that turquoise and that fuming.
I love the stance of it.
I think it's just got
such presence.
I think all of the angles,
the way you've got that sharp
edge to the glazed surface,
and then the cups that
kind of sit at a slight skew.
The one thing
that does leap out at me
is just the fact
that you can see
where you've obviously
dipped it at an angle,
you've got
that double coat of glaze
and that started to bubble.
The first thing I see
is proportionality.
The tea bowls are slightly
too large for the teapot,
although I do like
the tea bowls.
The form that you've got
in there is really, really nice.
The teapot,
it's a bit sparse in places.
But I wanted it to be
predominately black.
The cobalt needed perhaps
knocking back a bit
with some manganese
or perhaps a bit of red iron.
Cobalt is maybe
a little bit too much
and it just looks a bit untidy.
- You've got no lugs.
- They're in my pocket.
But I quite like this binding.
We really like it. We think
it probably looks better.
Ten out of ten
for inventiveness.
It's such a definite,
affirmative design.
You've got some lovely
lustrous work going on there.
I love the copper.
If you thought about
what you wanted to see
from a raku firing,
it's those beautiful
rich coppers.
Some of the beautiful
brushstrokes you've got
going through here
and the way
that the craze cuts through,
it gives you that effect
of a farmed landscape.
It's just beautiful.
That's kind of the best example
of a conscious design,
working with
all those attributes
that we get
with the raku process.
- Thank you.
- Very clever.
- I'm not a quitter.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
That brushwork
has got real energy.
It really feels
that it's of the sea.
I love the tea bowls, I think
they're a really beautiful form,
and they sit comfortably
in the hand.
The teapot,
it's a bit too modern for me.
OK, the elephant in the room
is obviously the thermal shock
there has split that in two.
And you've taken the choice
of using a very synthetic handle
to tie in with the teapot.
For me,
it doesn't quite marry up.
We've got the white glaze
partially glazed.
We've got the faceting going on.
Then you've got
all that kind of attacking it
with color and oxides
which hasn't quite worked.
I love
some of the mark-making.
I wonder whether
some of this thicker underglaze
kind of really sits comfortably
with some of that mark-making.
That's what I'd change.
That's what I'm disappointed in.
The teapot itself
as a form works really well,
but it's a bit of a gym dumbbell
in weight, isn't it?
It's no mean feat to throw forms
and then cut away those facets.
I like the fact
that this texture is different
from the top half
of the tea bowl.
That works really, really well.
I would have liked to have seen
more reaction there.
Yeah, so would I.
It's just that copper
not really working for you.
- That's a bit disappointing.
- Yeah.
I think the application of
the glaze is just a bit thick,
and I think you can see that
on the teapot,
and then the glaze just doesn't
bond properly when you apply it.
Your teapot
is quite weighty as well.
We'll go weight training
with that and Anna's, I think.
- We'll just, like, you know...
- Perfect.
Well, Christine,
the subtlety that you've got
with that white glaze
and that underglaze
has worked really well.
- It's fantastic.
- Thank you.
They're just beautifully made,
and I think the way
you've chosen on these tea bowls
to have this beautifully
rounded bottom,
that just feels lovely
in the hand,
and then
this lovely chamfered edge
just so you can put your fingers
in it, it's a beautiful form.
I even love the fact that
you've done this slip trailing
under the surface,
because it just adds
to that depth and that feel.
It's just got such
a lovely tactile quality to it.
I was so... I was so...
I was so worried
about seeing you decorate this,
and I was thinking,
oh, she's done it again.
But it's worked so well.
- I'm so relieved for you.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Thank you.
- Well done, lovey.
Yes.
I think I might be staying.
I was a wreck in the early
weeks, for goodness sake.
It was like, am I going home?
Yes, I think I'm going home.
But now I don't think I'm going.
My mum'll be on the edge of her
seat right now watching this.
The only other person that
made Keith cry was Christine.
I'm gonna say that makes us
in the top two.
I've got a chance, I've really,
definitely got a chance,
and if not, I've got
a really nice tea pot
to take home with me.
There's definitely still
a chance that I could be going.
It feels a bit 50/50.
I would really like to stay.
I mean, you know,
you'll have to kind of
drag me out, you do know that?
Keith and Rich must now decide
who will be raku's
potter of the week
and who will have to leave
the competition.
It's so exciting doing raku.
So you had a nice time
in the yard?
I had a lovely time
watching people burn stuff.
And what was so interesting, and
it always is when we do raku,
is that the people
that have never done it before
sometimes have beginner's luck,
like Christine, for example.
Yeah. Someone else
who had a great week was Tom.
Yes, it just felt
well thought out, from the form,
to the decoration,
to the way he'd ex*cuted it.
He really upped his game.
So, Tom and Christine,
they also did pretty well
in the second challenge
with Florian Gadsby.
- Yeah, second and third.
- Yeah, second and third place.
But then first in that challenge
was Lucinda,
who also had a great time
with the raku,
if it wasn't for her lugs
falling off.
- You don't say that every day.
- You don't.
But the rest of the design
was really, really strong,
and very purposeful, wasn't it?
Yeah, I mean the copper on those
hills, it was just beautiful.
And who do you think
didn't have a great week, then?
Unfortunately,
Miles didn't really achieve
that sort of great reactions
that you get
within the raku firing.
I'm not sure that Nick's handle
worked terribly well.
He had this lovely
kind of flowing brushwork,
but then this handle
was really manmade.
And Jenny, she didn't have
the best week either.
The white raku glaze
was a bit thick.
The concept was on point.
It was just the execution.
Right, I'll leave you to it.
You better get "crackling."
- Oh, well done.
- Crackle. Crackle glaze.
It's a joke
about crackle glaze. OK.
Potters, let's start
with the good news.
This week's potter of the week
showed an incredible
eye for detail.
The potter of the week is...
Tom. Well done, Tom!
Yeah, brilliant.
- Well done. Well done.
- Thank you. Cheers, mate.
Now the rubbish bit.
The person
leaving the pottery is...
Miles.
We're so sorry, Miles.
- It's OK.
- So sorry, mate.
I will miss you.
Miles, we're gonna miss you
so much.
- Yeah, me too.
- Well done. Well done.
- Yeah.
That was actually
really sad and really sweet.
- Yeah, thanks, mate.
I learnt so much with being
kind of nerding out big time
on all things about ceramics.
You can't do that
with normal people.
You can only do that
with other potters.
So it's been amazing.
And they're all
such a lovely bunch of people.
I'm gonna miss them so much.
You've been such a fantastic
presence in the studio.
You've just got
just a wonderful aura about you,
and I just wish you all the luck
in the world in your making,
and it's just such a loss
to see you go.
Oh, gosh.
I'm just gutted to see Miles go.
He's just been such a support.
I expected to go.
I feel a bit guilty
that I haven't gone.
He's a legend. He was
like the glue to our group.
You know, he bound us all
together and was so funny.
He's had me in stitches, he has.
Tom's stunning raku tea set
is the fourth piece to make it
to our Throw Down gallery.
I think my mum will be
really made up, actually.
She was over the moon when
she found out I was on the show,
it was her who encouraged me
to go to art college
in the first place,
all those years ago,
so she'll probably
be grinning ear to ear,
which is a really nice thought.
I am gutted
Miles is leaving, though.
God,
it's been a great ride.
It's not
that kind of competition
where you're trying to sort of
elbow people out of the way.
It's kind.
I really love that about
this whole experience
is that it does bring out
a lot of kindness from people.
Next time, the potters get down
and dirty for garden week...
I'm trying to stay cool.
...as they face off creating
three small characters...
I don't mind gnomes. They just
look like they're up to badness.
...and throw themselves
into a huge second challenge.
Ugh!
Who will be crowned
potter of the week?
It's absolutely wonderful.
And who will be going gnome?
- One went splat.
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
05x04 - Japanese Tea Set & a Handle Pulling Challenge
Watch/Buy Amazon
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.