06x07 - Endangered Animal Sculptures and a Tall Vase

[bunniefuu]

It's week seven here at the Pottery,
and our six remaining potters

are making metallic-looking animal
sculptures.

And not only that, but they will be
firing them in an oil drum kiln.

Take it away, boys!

Welcome to
The Great Pottery Throw Down.

You're really good, guyS!

You're not hitting it. I am, I am.

You're not hitting it either.

What?

But.. .there's still music.

Who's playing?

Last time, the potters tackled
enormous table lamps...

You've got nine kilos of clay
on your wheel. ..and decorated

delicate Venetian masks.

It's funny how you start shaking
when it's not much time left.

Jon's Bristol vista claimed him his
first Potter of the Week.

Genius. It's brilliant, mate.

But while Derek's Giant's Causeway
failed to light up the Pottery...

Well, it's certainly dark.
Yes, it is dark.

...it was George's Cornish coastline
that crumbled.

Oh-h. ..and he became the latest
potter to leave the competition.

One final goodbye to the Pottery.

This time...

just trying to wash his bottom.

...it's survival of the fittest.

O-h-h-h, no! ..as our remaining six

go wild for
Endangered Animal Week...

I'm channelling my inner sloth
today.

...and tackle a Throw Down first...

We're going to burn you!
..with one of pottery's most

exciting and unpredictable... That
is frightening! ..firing techniques.

Lots of fire and flames -
what could go wrong?

Who will keep a cool head?

Time for a quick Brazilian.

And who will melt
under the pressure?

Why didn't I do the chimpanzee?

Week seven - Sculpture Week,

and Endangered Animals.
Who doesn't like animals?

I've never clone an animal sculpture
before.

This is definitely a new challenge.

I'm probably on a red list in terms
of endangered species here.

I keep managing to cling on.

I think I've just scraped through
somehow and I'm going to give it

my all today.

Good morning, potters, and welcome
back. For your main make this week,

the judges would like you to make
a metallic-effect animal sculpture.

They would like you to pick
an endangered animal, and your piece

will be fired in an oil drum.

Keith, any advice for our budding
zoologists here?

Now, your endangered animals
want to look realistic.

So really consider that texture,
like feathers, scales or fur.

That all-important metallic look
will come from oxides

in the decoration.

The surface of your sculpture
is integral to how those oxides

will sit on your animal.

So think carefully about
the interaction with the textures.

You have seven hours to make and
refine

your metallic-effect animal
sculpture, and your time starts now.

Off we go. Got my tiger on today.

If there's ever a time to wear
the tiger, it was now.

But James might be referencing
my tiger later.

I am looking forward to doing this
one. Come back when I'm trying

to do the face and it might be
a different story at that point.

Capturing a live organic animal
in clay.

It's going to be a risky business.

We're hitting this hard
this morning.

Here we are, Animal Week.

Endangered Animal Week.
Yeah, absolutely.

We've asked our potters to make
sculptures using hand-building

methods. They might choose
to slab build elements.

They might choose to coil build,
or they might create sort of pinch

pots, which they piece together.

But it's all going to be about
how they build in energy and life.

We've asked for a realistic
interpretation of the animal.

Those proportions are crucial.
Ancl I'm really interested to see

how they approach creating
surfaces and textures.

I mean, I love this piece here.

This maker has kind of created
the essence of feathers through sort

of just applying little pinched-out
pieces of clay. Yeah.

So beautiful, so subtle.

We've asked our potters
to use oxides

for that ultimate metallic effect.

So that texture they've created
in the build stage, we want

it to be enhanced.

I love the alternative firing.
Any excuse to get some fire out!

Hi, Derek. Hi, Derek. Tell me about
your endangered animal.

I am making a black-footed ferret.

Ancl where do they reside, usually?

They are in the prairies in America.
They were thought to be extinct

at one point, so they're trying to
reintroduce them.

Ancl how are you with this kind
of build? Are you

in your happy place with hand-building?
Oh, sculpture is not my thing at all!

I've never sculpted an animal
this size.

Having narrowly evaded an extinction
of his own last week, Derek

is hoping he can realistically
capture the ferret's slim body

and cheeky personality. As well
as wire whiskers and fluffy tail,

he'll also be providing it
with an important

means of survival.

So their problem
is they're susceptible to a plague

and they all die off. They die off,
right.

So the way they've discovered
to help them,

they need to get them a vaccine,

and the best way of doing it
is by mixing the vaccine

with peanut butter. Brilliant.

And the ferrets go,
"Oh, peanut butter! Good!"

So my ferret's holding a little jar
of peanut butter and a spoon.

I was wondering where the humour
was going to come in

in your make, and it's brilliant.

No, wonderful.

Derek's ferret isn't the only
animal getting snacks.

I've chosen to make a red panda
because they're really cute.

I'm adding some bamboo cos that's
what they eat. That's part

of the problem, that they're
losing some of their bamboo forests.

Those are the pieces of bamboo?

These... Gah... They're quite thin,
aren't they? I've got

some thicker ones. Phew!
Thank goodness for that!

They're going to be kind
of attached up to a point,

and then hopefully that will give it
enough stability.

Lois will decorate her bamboo shoots
with hanging ceramic leaves.

She's been inspired
by her children's favourite animal,

a real-life panda that the family
often visit at their local zoo.

These are my red pandas from home.

Oh, they're adorable!

What's their names?
Jacob and Samuel.

When I started thinking about making
a red panda, it started

to remind me a bit of them
because they are always up trees.

The longer that I go along in this,
the more we're missing each other.

So it's really nice to do something
that reminds me of them.

I'm just starting to make the bottom
of the body with just sort

of a pinch pot and then I'll coil
up from there.

Starting out with slab building,
so they're all the same thickness.

Whatever hand building method
they use...

He's coil built from the ground up.

...the potters must ensure their
animals are anatomically correct.

One little wrong shape somewhere,
and it will just look weird.

At the moment, it looks like a very
bad plant pot

and not much like a ferret.
But it will do.

But the taller they go...

I'm coiling up and up and up to get
the shape.

...the more they must control
the consistency of the clay.

I need to take the time,

probably heat g*n this a little bit
before putting the next coils on,

just to give it that stability.

Too wet and the sculptures
won't hold their form.

I'm a bit nervous about
using heat g*ns.

I don't want to dry it out too much
because I want it to be pliable

so that I can get that surface
detail in.

This is going to be
a Galapagos penguin.

It's the only penguin north
of the Equator, and it's endangered.

So it's really sad to think
that we might not be seeing

Galapagos penguins any more.

In her homage to the endangered
sea bird, Helen's hoping

to emulate its familiar regal pose.
As well as carved feathers,

her sculpture will feature webbed
feet and a long, sharp beak.

What are your sculpturing techniques
like? Is this something

that you've clone before? I mean, I
did have a little practice and I had

to cut his head off and put it back on again,
so I'm hoping I won't have to do it this time.

They're quite a simple form.

They're like a sort of torpedo,

but with simplicity, there's, like,
nowhere to hide, isn't it?

I think it's a tough choice,
you know, just so recognisable,

so it's going to be challenging

to make sure all of those
proportions

are sort of exactly right. Yeah.

I keep on looking
at my sketch and looking back

and looking at the sketch. Well,
good luck. Yeah, good luck, Helen.

Why did I choose a penguin?!

He's coming together now, I think.

It's nearly face time.

I am nervous because as soon
as you put the head on,

can't put your hand inside any
more.

You know, I want to make sure
that I get the proportions right.

He's slightly on the chunky side
of ferrets.

I think getting the limbs on
would make me feel slightly

better about it. He's got no arms.

So my animal's the sloth. A pygmy
sloth is one of the types

of three-toed sloths. They can be
found, like just grasping a tree.

I need to, like, envision it,
be like, OK...

I'm channelling my inner sloth
today.

Then, hopefully, it'll become
a sloth.

Caitlin hopes to create the lazy
tree dwellers' wiry fur, long arms

and large curved claws.

But she's had to rethink
how she will capture

its distinctive posture.

Sloths are typically seen hanging,
but I couldn't have it swinging

on a big long branch because that
wouldn't fit into the oil drum.

So what I've done is I've popped him
sitting on a chopped-down tree

because the reason they're
endangered is due to deforestation.

Just to clarify, you're making this
out of clay?

Yeah, I am. But the majority of the
weight of the sloth

will be on the tree trunk structure.
OK.

So hopefully, if I can make
the structure sound enough,

then it should be OK. Certainly no
lack of ambition this week. No.

I wanted to push myself
for this week, so...

Well, I hope it works well for you.
See you later.

Caitlin's not alone in offering
her animal some extra support.

I'm going to be making a tiger.

One of the most endangered tigers
is the Sumatran tiger.

I was thinking about doing it on all
fours, but horizontal you've got

this weight in the middle that's going to sag,
so I'm trying it on two legs against a tree.

In his tribute to the smallest tiger
species in the world, James

is creating an entire scene,
complete with a small bird perched

on top of his tree.

He's hoping to earn his stripes
with an intricately

decorated fur coat.

I would like to try something
which has got quite distinct pattern

to it to make my life a bit easier.

Do you think that makes it easier?!
I dunno,

I kind of feel like actually some
of these stripes might present quite

a challenge with it. As long as I can
get a differentiation between the two.

Yeah. I'd be happy with it.

I see you've got an inspiration.

The smallest tiger in the world.
The smallest tiger.

And actually they're extinct
because people have sat on them.

Whilejames and Caitlin rely
on trees to bolster their animals...

Oh, the tiger's up.

...jon once again has donned
his engineering hat.

My plan is to make a pangolin - the
only scaled mammal that there is

in the world. And I thought, as a
structure engineer,

I should make it cantilever. I'm
trying to keep the head quite

light, the arms quite light,
and then I can get some more mass

into the tail. So it's using its own
tail weight to hold its front up.

But until his pangolin's legs
can carry its own weight, John's

relying on a former. It's just
trying to create that upward slope

so you can hold the body whilst
the legs go on. Once they're dry

enough, I can remove that and
it will just all balance perfectly.

That's the plan.

As last week's Potter of the Week,
jon is pulling out all the stops

with his ambitious design.

He'll recreate the pangolin's unique
scaly appearance using a special

home-made tool in another bid
to impress the judges.

What did your wife and kids say
when you've won Potter of the Week?

They'd just got some fish and chips,
when they got home and saw the text.

My son stopped and ran around the
house shouting "yay" apparently,

so he was excited.
Oh, that's lovely!

Or maybe it was "yay" for the fish
and chips. Might have been.

Yeah, it could have been that.
I scream "yay" around the house

when I get fish and chips.

Potters, don't be tired.

Conserve your energy
for you're only halfway through.

Halfway through.
Still got a lot to do.

I wonder how much...

How is my penguin?

He's slumping a bit.

He's got a bit of a bear belly.

I think he looks very cute.

I'm partial to a bot of beer belly,
I must admit.

Are you? Oh, OK, then. Yeah.

If creating their bodies was
tough...

It's really quite big. I'm going to
have to put him on a diet slightly.

...the potters now face the trickier
task of getting their facial

features just right.

It's quite crucial, the face,
isn't it?

He needs to have chubby cheeks.

He's having a little bit of a nose
job, this one. The more I shave off,

the lighter the head is, the less
likely it is to tip over.

The sloth's face and their facial
expressions

are absolutely hilarious.

But his home is getting chopped
down, so I don't really want him

to be all cheery.

So the expression of the tiger
is going to be pensive.

Just looking up, studying the bird.

Yeah, he's starting to look cuter.

But while the others strive
to capture their animal's

characteristics...

This is painful!

I'm trying to make him look
less like a duck.

...Derek's ferret is still missing
an important detail.

This is going to be a head.
Oh, THIS is?

What's that over there, then?
That was a starter head.

Oh, right. I see.
Looked too much like a dinosaur.

Also weighs about 6kg.

It could be a really big nose.

What, for the...?

No, like this way.

Well...

Oh, I think he's got a cold.

SHE MIMES KEITH: Potters,
you have an hour and a half left.

Hey. You been there
the whole time?

Yeah. Yeah.
We've an hour and a half left.

Oh, right. Yeah.

Just going for it now.
Trying to get the stripes in.

The whole of the body
will be covered with the scales.

Made this out of an old, broken,
external light from outside.

Hopefully do the job. Whether
it's fur, scales or feathers...

I've started just smudging on
extra bits of clay

and that will just make him
look fluffy.

...the textures the potters create
at this stage are crucial

to the success of their sculptures.

I really do want to get
the texture across.

Sloths are so wiry, and the
direction of where the hairs go

is so important.

I can see that Caitlin is now
starting to put some surface

texture on there. Yeah.

Ancl it looks as though it's sort
of coming alive.

Every little hair changes
the look of it.

Applying the right texture
to that surface is really going

to help us recognise the animal.

But they've got to be bold.

If it hasn't got that energy and
that life and that sort of sense

of realism now...
Yeah. ..it's never going to have it.

No, no, no, no.
They do have a strict pattern,

so it's important, I think,
that I try and keep that.

There's not much opportunity to kind
of get detail in with the oxides.

No. So that texture is the only
thing that's

going to be carrying
that decoration.

What I'm hoping will happen
with the oxides is that the places

that have a deeper texture will be
blacker.

Anything that's black striped,
obviously really,

really churn up the surface so that
you can get as much oxide as possible.

Ancl that should make it darker.

If there's lack of texture,
then the oxides are just going

to look so flat.

So every inch of this sloth, bar
its bottom, is getting scratched.

I think it looks good.

It's about as fluffy as clay
gets, isn't it?

Maybe I'll let the boys adopt him.

He's got a head! Yeah!

I mean, it's
slightly lizard-like, but he's on.

Oh, God, Jon, that's going
to look so good!

It's turned out quite well.

Oh, mate! It's also...

Potters, you've half an hour left.

Oh-h-h, no!

Right. I've got to get on with
this texture now.

It's fur time.

He's a big sculpture.

I don't think there's any point
in being subtle with him.

It's bamboo time, I think,
and I'm using some nichrome wire

to attach the leaves so that maybe
they have a bit of movement in them.

I love how every single animal here,
they may be endangered,

but it's not for the want of a good
meal. And I'm thrilled about that.

I watched a video online and
it showed me how to make eyes,

so I'm going to give it a go.

That looks a bit like an eye.

This is his little peanut butter
jar, which is going to go

in his hand.
They like peanut butter!

They should be quite sturdy now.
They're quite dry.

We shouldn't have too much problem.

If we do, then he ate the bamboo,
and that would be that.

The bird, I don't know whether to
look down on it

or he's looking off so he's not
bothered by the cat.

Might do it so he's looking off.

This is the crucial moment to remove
the former and find out if I've got

enough clay in the right spot,
really.

Oh, class, Jon.

It's still there. You're still
there. You're still standing.

Oh, well done!

Something's drastically wrong.

I think the penguin's probably about
the third of its original size.

Do the penguins have a mafia?

Because I think we've got
the God penguin here.

This is Kev. Don't mess with Kevin.

In my experience,
Kevins are very untrustworthy.

Really? Are they?

Time for a quick Brazilian.

Is it a girl or a boy?

I'm just tyring to find out.

It's hard to sex a pangolin.

I wouldn't know.

I'm just trying to straighten out
this wire to make him some whiskers.

I probably haven't got
very long left, have we?

Potters, you've ten minutes left.

Ten minutes left.

And just a reminder that your
sculptures must be

in the drying room by the end of
the session.

Just the claws now. Getting there.

I might put some whiskers in.

They usually have three
or four prominent whiskers

and then little, tiny, finer ones.

Oh.

Let's just finish this.

They have three claws,
but they're very thin and sharp

and they look slightly like ivory,
really.

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

Parts of it look like a penguin.

It's not a photographic reality
of an animal, but I hope it's got

personality and tells a story.

Final two minutes, potters.

Start bringing your animals
into the drying room, please.

Why didn't I do the chimpanzee?

Come on, Kev.

"Hey, Kev. Respect me!

"Respect the family!"

There you go. Meow!

No sudden movements. Boo.

Ten seconds, potters.

Ten seconds. Back to your benches,
please,

in a non-sloth-like manner.
Any real sudden movements,

and the bamboo snaps.

I'll be very careful with him.
Thank you.

Five, four, three, two, one.

Oh, yay!

Well done, potters. Great day's
work. Go off and have a rest.

Potters dismissed.

Well clone, mate.

Well clone.

I'm really actually really pleased
with what's come out the other end.

I think he looks great. I don't care
what happens now.

It's not quite right.
But it's a penguin.

It's got some texture on it.

It's got two feet, got two wings,
two eyes.

One's a bit up, like...

I think the texture worked out
really well on it

and it didn't fall over when the
former came out,

so couldn't have done much better,
really.

Done alll can and hopefully
I've made it well enough

so that it comes through the firing
relatively unscathed.

Before the potters get to see
the fired results

of their endangered animal
sculptures...

Oh, there's a wheel, look.

...Keith and Rich have lined up
a second challenge for them.

Surprise!

And as usual, they have no idea
what's in store.

Welcome back, potters.

This week, your second challenge
is a Throw Down.

The judges would like you to make

the tallest thin-necked vase
you can.

And someone who is no stranger
to dizzying heights himself,

our darling master potter Keith,

please take the wheel
and show us how it's done.

OK,
this challenge is all about control.

So you've got a kilo of clay.

Really make sure that you prepare
the clay properly,

spending a bit of time
getting it all the same consistency

all the way through.

So I'm just diving down.

I'm making my base.

I'm already thinking of that thin
neck that I want to achieve.

So I'm just bringing it up.

It looks like you're keeping
that clay kind of moving inwards.

Absolutely. Yeah.

You don't want that clay
to run away with you.

As you start collaring in that clay,

you're basically pushing
it into a smaller area.

So you don't want that clay
to bunch up.

You don't want that rippling effect,

you know, where the clay is so
condensed, it sort of goes back

on itself. just pushing
that clay upwards to get

that lovely thin neck.

Ancl what we're really after is
the body of the pot to be shorter

than the neck.
The neck wants to be a lot longer.

Ancl we want that lovely, elegant
silhouette of the pot.

That's 24cm, but the actual neck
is about 14cm.

So that's the ideal ratio there.

Well, it's me, isn't it?

Obviously.
Yeah, it's the ideal ratio.

So we want a nice long neck,
a lovely silhouette,

really nicely finished off.

And control control control.

OK, then. Back to your benches,
please.

Thank you, Keith.

Potters, you have been given

15 minutes to make the tallest

thin-necked vase you possibly can.

And your time starts now.

Panic!

Hoi! Off to a flying star.
Yeah, really focusing.

I've never made something
that thin before.

I don't know if I'm delicate enough
for it.

Is this a second challenge you enjoy? I
do enjoy throwing, but you make it so thin,

it might easily ruffle. Ruffle?
Or whatever the term was they used.

He said ripple, but I like ruffle. Oh,
ripple! I prefer ruffle. It sounds like

it's clone on purpose as well. Let's
hope it doesn't ruffle.

Yeah. I'm just going to open up,
collar in,

and then hope for the best.

Nothing to it, really!

The worry is to lose it on the way
up now and get it off centre.

Very hard to collar in
when it's all wobbling.

That centring is so important. Yes.

Has to be spot-on centred.

To do this, you need to be relaxed.

This isn't a relaxing scenario!

Even already it's knocking off
centre.

I'm just going to go with the flow
of the clay.

I've tried making some finish neck
vases and ended up generally

with a lot of collapse. It's a worry

if you lose it, cos you've got
no way of getting it back.

So you strike me as a man
who is throwing many

tall, thin-necked vases.

I've thrown a few of these.
Bet you have.

Is this going to be the tallest?

I'm hoping
it's going to not be the shortest.

Trying to keep quite a bit of clay
at the top, so I've got

something to play with.
Once I've started collaring it in,

I can't then change
the bottom shape.

So it's trying to get
that silhouette to be nice.

Jon is looking very controlled.
Yeah, the coning in.

You're one of the first
to bring up the neck.

Well, that means I probably
got in too early. Not at all.

It means you're actually obeying
the time constraint.

Well, there is the time constraints,
yeah, there is that.

I'm just collaring in the neck.
Potters, you're halfway through.

Halfway through now.
Oh, my God! Right, OK.

Take a picture now, because this
could go wrong in a minute!

Have you made anything
like this before?

Not as big as this, but I have made
long-neck vases before.

What's the clay like?

Very soft, very pliable,
very sensuous.

No, I think I'm getting
carried away now.

I'll leave you to it.
I'll leave you two alone. Thank you.

It's definitely got
a longer neck than body.

Isn't it amazing how they
all approached the same task

in a different way?
Yeah. It's incredible, isn't it?

Maybe go a bit quicker.

Whoa, not that fast!

James is really... Uber-slow.
..trying to control. Uber-cool.

Concentrating, but he really needs

to bring it in to make that longer neck.
Yeah.

Oh, God.

This is so scary.

Are you going to try and make it
a bit higher?

Well, if we're too tall, it's just
going to come off in my hand.

We don't want that.

I don't think I'm going to beat
Keith. That's a bit weird,

the shape down there,
that wasn't really the plan.

I think I'll do a bit of tidying up
down there,

before the time gets too tight.

Potters, five minutes to go.
Five minutes to go.

What?! That's plenty of time.

The narrower that neck gets, the
sort of more any imperfections

are exacerbated. That's right. When
you don't want it to do is

start wobbling around at the top.

Caitlin's brought it up. Her rim is

now really quite uneven.

This is so unstable at the moment.

If I can take this off, if possible.

I think she probably wants
to be trimming it first.

That was not nice. Do you reckon
any of these guys are going to beat

you in terms of height?

They might beat me on height, but
they'll never beat me on elegance.

I'm not looking up. I'm not going to
look at what everyone else is doing.

I've got to get it a lot thinner,
though.

I'm not going to risk it any more.

Remember, elegance
is what we're looking for.

They don't ask for much, do they?

You can see a ripple in mine,
that's the thing.

Nearly done. just need to tidy up
the base. OK.

You have one minute left.

One minute left, potters!

I'm just shaking!

I daren't to go any higher.
Still keeping on going.

You might as well push it
to every last bit.

Gah! We're down to the last ten
seconds.

You can do it with me.

It's quite thick at the top, so I do
have more... Ten, nine...

...but I'm not going to.

...six, five...

Wire off. ..three, two, one.

Down tools. Down tools.

Step away from your thin-necked
vases!

The potters will now bring
their vases up, ready for Keith

and Rich to judge.

They'll be looking for good
proportion with an elegant

silhouette and long, tall neck.

Oh, look at that size of mine.

We. dumpy-

OK, Keith and Rich,
it's time to see which potter

has put their neck on the line.

First, Helen.

Well, look, Helen, it's beautifully
thrown,

and you've got a nice,
elegant shape on there.

If only you'd been able to get
that neck slightly taller

and a bit thinner. it just looks
a bit like you've got more volume

at the base that hasn't then gone
into the neck.

Jon. Very, very long.

Very straight. It's a bit cupcake.

Definitely a single-stem vase!

You wouldn't be getting much more
than that in there,

but credit to you.
You've got a lovely form there.

Lois, lovely straight neck there.

Really controlled and not
a bad thickness to that neck.

I quite like the form
at the bottom here.

You know, you've got a nice curve
into the neck and you finished

it very beautifully
against the board.

OK, moving on. Derek.

It's really nicely finished off.

It's a bit short.

I think the relationship is OK
between the neck and the base.

I'd agree. It is a bit of a stumper.

Yeah, just not quite as tall
as we were looking for.

Moving on. Caitlin.

Lovely long neck.

That's what we were looking for.

You've kind of slightly lost it
at the top there, in that rim.

Gets a bit of a wobble on,
doesn't it?

Ancl yet the transition between
the body and the shoulder

into the neck is really nice.

Nice and fluent. So, James.

Really nice form. But the neck!

You should have made it longer
and thinner.

Yeah, just a bit more collaring in
at the bottom,

bravery to just push that clay in
a little bit more.

But very good attempt.

I mean, the thing is that when
we get to this stage, you all do

really exceptionally well

and it's just that narrowing
of the margin between all of you,

it's just getting more and more
finite.

Now Keith and Rich will decide
who has pulled Top Potter

and who has fallen short.
In sixth place...

...Derek. Yeah.
Aww!

It just could have been taller.
Yeah. You know that. Yeah.

Helen is fifth,

James is fourth

and Caitlin is third.

So, in second place...

...jon. I don't know
whether your engineering sort

of skills came in there,
but it's really long and straight

and really, really tall,
which is what we were looking for.

Ancl so that leaves Lois.

Bloody hell. You've got a nice
long neck on there.

The wall of the neck is a nice
thickness.

It just feels like you've got
a lot of control on there.

So really well clone, though.
It's brilliant. Thank you.

Yeah. I can't freaking believe that!

That, to me, is like the
ultimate...achievement.

Ahh... Not again.

Yes, again.

Everything crossed for my ferret,

which is a phrase I didn't think
I'd be using in life.

The potters are back...
Loads going on today.

Loads of things are just new,
exciting, different, and today

is going to be
one of those really fun days.

...and after the first firing,
they're ready to start

decorating their endangered
animals...

The oxide decoration isn't something
I've clone before,

so that's going to be fun.

...but they've no idea
whether their sculptures

have survived the kiln intact.

If my penguin comes out
of the bisque firing upright,

I'll be absolutely amazed.

Oh! Oh!

I mean, that penguin was endangered.

I think now it's pretty well
extinct.

Oh, look.

Oh, bless them. They all came out
really nice.

Oh, he's sunk right down. Look.
Oh, yeah.

How's his bum doing round there?

A bit of cracking there.

Best scenario - no cracks
whatsoever, and I'd be really happy.

It's standing up in one piece.
Stood up. Looking good.

No cracks? Oh, there's a crack.
That's not a surprise.

So decoration today.

So what we're getting is some black
stuff, some more black stuff

and then slap it on.

That is my approach today.

Potters, your animal sculptures are
now poised and ready for decoration.

Keith, any words of wisdom?

You're only using oxides
for decoration. No glazes at all.

But really think carefully
where you apply those oxides

to really achieve that effect
that you want.

You might choose to brush on
and wipe back, or you might choose

to brush on and leave that oxide
to sink into some

of the more textured areas
on the surface.

But just consider the most
appropriate method to create

that convincing metallic effect.
we're looking for. Potters,

you've been given

one hour to decorate
your animal sculptures,

and your time starts...

“Now!

Oxides are metal elements
combined with oxygen that come in

powder form. Copper - let's have
a bit of that.

When combined with the heat

and reduced oxygen of the oil drum
kilns, they should produce that

sought-after metallic lustre.

Well, I've got a mix here
of manganese with copper

and a little bit of iron.

That should give my ferret
a nice metallic effect.

My plan is to work a load of red
iron oxide mixed with manganese

onto the main areas
of the red panda.

Ancl then I'm going to put
like a higher concentrate

of that with a lot more manganese on

for the really, really dark parts.

I'm going to go for lots of coats
on the black and then I'm going

to wipe back on the white areas,

so you get a little bit of
highlight.

When it comes to the application,

the potters must strike
a fine balance.

I'm going to slap it on really thick

and I hope I get that metallic
effect.

Too thin, and they won't get
the metallic look

the judges have demanded.

Mine is so full of ridges,
it's quite hard to get the oxides

to run the way you want them.

Too thick, and it may mask any
details on their designs.

I'm going be painting lots on.

I am not at the moment
thinking about sponging back.

It has to be really thick.

Hi, Kevin.

He's slumped a bit. He's in one
piece.

He's in one piece,
and he's adorable.

He's still very angry at me.

He's not happy, is he?

Poor old Kev.

As well as giving a metallic finish,

the oxides will also add
a hint of colour.

Manganese gold.

That's quite good for highlights
if you put it on thick.

The colours I've chosen to put in,
I hope that it will come out

more on the browny-blacky side

as opposed to a bluey-blacky side.

But while certain oxides are known
to produce certain colours...

I've gone with mainly the red iron,

just because I think that's my most
likely to turn a bit orangey.

The reduction technique they'll use
when firing

means anything could happen.

With oxides, it's not
what you see is what you get -

it's unpredictable firing
in a kind of DIY kiln.

Everything about it is
a bit unpredictable.

Now I've put a little spoonful
of that in there and I mixed

it with some copper carbonate.

So that's like the green bits,
showing up green now.

I'm sure they won't be green
when it's fired.

So I put some copper on.

It's very green. Copper usually
goes green, but with manganese

and copper together, when it's
really strong,

you can get a bronze effect.

What's this...? I know. Yeah,
it's green. I'm just playing around.

It's a good chance to experiment
and find out what happens.

You look different.
My glasses are off.

Should you be decorating
without your glasses?

I don't know. Should I?

Potters, you're halfway through.

Halfway through.

My sloth's got so many bits that
it's really difficult to access.

An hour really isn't that long
to create the texture

that you want to create.
I keep spotting little white bits.

Want to make sure I haven't missed
anything.

Trying to get it on
nice and thick now.

A bit on his nose, a little bit
on the tops of the eyes

and now just trying to get it
all around the claws.

They say make it nice and thick.
Might as well make it thicker.

So, this is my third coat.

I've put two layers on. I'm hoping
that's enough to, like, make it

quite thick, but not overwhelm the
textures that are on there.

Once their animals have been coated,
the potters may choose to wipe back

the surface
to highlight its texture.

I want light edges to the scales and
darker on the inside.

If I wipe with a sponge at the high
points, they'll get wiped off

and the deeper points will stay
dark.

So just trying to pick that out
without trying to take some

of the surface away. So I'm wiping
back, and then add some

of the manganese gold onto
some of it and see what happens.

I'm just going to try and get
a contrast between the really deep

metallic colour and the white bib.

I haven't sponged back.

Everyone's sponged back.
Quick - sponge back!

No, don't. It'll look fine.

I wanted it to be metallic.

Potters, you have five minutes left,
five minutes left. Oh, my God.

That's how much
oxide you're washing off.

You're washing off a hell of a lot.

A little bit of manganese gold

to highlight his flippers.

Better that I don't have much longer

because I think you'd just fiddle.

Just trying to wash his bottom.

I'm going to put it on some wadding,
but it'd be better

if it didn't stick. And that's it.

I'm not doing any more.
I'm just going to leave it.

Yeah, I might do a little bit more.
I need to stop wiping back.

What am I doing?

I mean, now, after all this,

he's going in an oil drum.

I mean, enough's enough, isn't it,
for a penguin?

Ten seconds. Ten, nine...

I'm going to touch up.
A little bit of manganese gold.

...five, four, three,

two, one.

I'm still going.
Stand away from the sloth!

With their animals coated
in oxides, the potters

will now go straight
to the courtyard to begin

the firing process.

And in a Throw Down first,
they'll be using improvised

oil drum kilns.

Potters! Yoohoo!

You're very obedient. I like that.

OK, potters, you have your animal
sculptures here,

and let's get them fired up.

What you see before you are six
modified oil drum kilns.

Now, you're going to be responsible
for putting your pieces

in and out of the kiln.

You've got a spy hole on the side
with a brick you can remove

so you can look into the chamber
to monitor the firing.

Right, we have master potter Kevin
on hand to guide you through

safely and successfully.

You have one hour to assemble
and pack your oil drum kiln.

Let's get started.

Oh, let's go, then!

Who wants an apron?

My awareness of this sort of
nonsense is...

Arms in those two holes. ..bad.

As each potter has their own kiln,
they alone will be in control

of firing their work.
Yes, it's well exciting,

if it goes well!

Shall I put my animal in now? Yeah!

OK.

She jUST goes in
but she's not got a lot of spare.

Have his bum facing the fire,
which is there.

Want to go that way.

I lifted him up and his tail decided
it wasn't going to go with him.

I'm just checking that I can see
where the cones will go.

Instead of thermometers, the potters
will be using

special pyrometric cones to monitor
the heat inside their kilns.

Like that. Ancl put them on top of
that,

otherwise, you won't see them.

As each cone melts at a different
temperature, they must be clearly

visible throughout the firing
process.

The cones melt, so you have to make
sure when they melt

that they don't stick on the thing
that you're next to.

What happened to him?
Little part of his tail fell off.

So it... You know.

Meh, does it need a tail? No!

I mean... Famously,
ferrets don't need their tail.

I think their tails moult
every winter.

Be good.

Bye!

We're going to burn you!

All set. Burner is attached to gas.

Blocky thing is in the blocker.

Top is on.

It'll be fine.

Ready? OK, let's go.

Kevin, don't k*ll me.

Whoa!

You like this? Yeah, I like fire.

Whoa. On now. Gas mark six.

Lots of fire and flames -
what can go wrong?

Yeah. just a small bit of burning,
but... Yeah.

CHUCKLING

With their kilns fully fired up...

You've got about 15 layers on
underneath it, that's why.

...their endangered animals face
their ultimate test of survival.

It's cranking up now.

In one of the most unpredictable
processes in ceramics, temperatures

can reach over 1,200 degrees
centigrade.

And first in the firing line
is Caitlin.

I'm ready to burn things! Good
stuff, yeah.

Are you at red heat? Yes.
So when I checked in my bung hole,

I could see that it was
a good kind of colour.

My plan is to get all this wood in,
to get that reduction cranked up.

Yeah, fabulous.

To generate the metallic reactions
the judges are looking for,

the potters will use a firing
technique known as reduction.

Ready! Ready, ready.

Adding wood to the kiln
creates flames, starving

the chamber of oxygen...

Magic. ..causing the metallic oxides
to revert back to their metal form.

You pop your bit of wood in.
No worries.

Whoa! That is frightening.

Whoa, look at that!

Oh, there we go again.

Yeah, real green.

It's like the Northern Lights.

That's the copper
and the copper carbonate.

Green is copper.

That's the oxides doing
their thing in reduction.

I love this. It's great.

This is so fun.

What kind of oxides have you put
on there? So, I've put manganese,

black iron oxide and I put some...
little bit of cobalt as well.

What are you trying to achieve, do
you know? A lustrous penguin!

Really... Yeah. Yeah.

Something with a metallic
finish would be nice.

With the reduction process under
way,

timing and temperature are crucial.

I'm going to check my cones now,
to see if they bend over.

But, as they can't see their
sculptures...

One's gone and the other one's
starting to go.

...the potters are having to rely
purely on the three pyrometric cones

they've placed inside the kiln.

They're special cones that,
once they hit a certain temperature,

a very precise temperature,
they'll go like that.

None of the cones have melted yet,
so I'm looking for at least

the first two to have gone down,
and the last one to be starting

to go, which is hopefully about
1,260 degrees centigrade then.

Ancl that means hopefully
it's going to get the right effects.

Getting the desired metallic look

depends on how much heat
they expose their sculptures to...

The higher we go, we're more likely
to get more reaction from the oxide,

so that's what I'm going with.

It's quite hot now, isn't it? Yeah.

It looks hot. I want it well clone,

not rare or...

...but too hot, and they risk
damaging their pieces.

If all three cones go down,
it's getting too hot

and there's a risk there that
that might start to affect the clay

and the sculpture itself might start
to move and slump.

The first one's fully over and
the third one's going a bit.

I'll give it maybe five minutes.

You just don't want to push it,

cos stuff starts cracking at higher
temperatures and slumping and stuff.

So hopefully I got it
just about right, but we'll see.

The third one's just starting to
move now,

so I think it's probably time to go.

When the third cone starts
to melt, their sculptures

will have reached optimum
heat exposure...

It's getting very, very close now.

...and the potters will need
to cut their gas supply.

WHoa! I'm turning off.

They've all gone, all the cones
have gone. They've gone?

They've gone floppy. Turn it off.

We need to turn off this one.

Oh, sh*t, mine's gone.

Mine's gone. I want it off.
Yeah, off.

Have you switched yours off now?
Yeah, mine's off now.

So your third one had bent as well?

Yeah, that actually happened a lot
faster than I thought it would.

The kilns will now cool overnight.

Tomorrow... Open her up,
see what's there.

So until the morning,

the effect of the firing
on their sculptures remains unknown.

My dream outcome is that when I get
the panda out,

it's kind of really metallic.

I'm worried I didn't put enough
on there, so I'm a bit nervous.

But the dream would be
like a golden panda.

But I don't think that's going
to happen.

It's a bit hotter than I was hoping
to get to, so hopefully it survived

that and maybe I'll get some really
interesting effects from that.

It's just that waiting game now.
You've got to go to sleep tonight

and go, "Woo, it's Christmas
tomorrow!"

Except you're going to get
a massive ferret

with a broken tail as a present,

whether you like it or not.

It's judgment Day.

The potters' sculptures have cooled
overnight and are ready to be freed

from their steel cages.

Right, morning, potters.

ALL: Morning, Rose!
If you all go to your kilns.

Release your animals.

Release them into the wild!

Are you ready for the penguin?

Shall we do it?

Oh, look! Look at that metallic.

That's amazing, isn't it?

He's still pretty stumpy, isn't he?

He's had a few beers, look.

He's got a great sheen, though.

He has got a really good sheen
on the back.

WOW!

He's really silvery.

The manganese gold hasn't come out
at all, though.

The fur looks really good, though.

It's got some sort of shine to it
in a way.

I'm bringing up a kiln shelf.
Oh, no.

That is a real shame.

I mean, I still like him.

He's been nothing but trouble.

Don't get a ferret, kids.

They are just annoying.

Whoa! OK!

Let's have you out, then.

Oh, I like him!

Wow! That worked better
than I thought it would,

I think.

Ooh! That's gone quite metallic.

You can see some shine off that,
can't you, from a distance?

So, yeah, she's worked quite well.

Oh, no. It's all in loads of pieces.

He's joking!

The gold's come out really...
THAT is metallic. It is, yeah.

I wanted the bronze effects
on the tiger, and it's all mottled,

which I didn't expect that.

So that's a nice added bonus.
So pleased, so pleased, so pleased.

The potters now finally face
the judgment of Keith and Rich

for a place in the quarterfinal.

James, would you please bring
your animal sculpture

up to the judges?

Wow. It's certainly metallic.

Yeah.

Proportionally, the whole stance
on the tiger and that trunk really,

really works for you. And also
a decent structure for the whole

thing to stay together.
That's a really good idea.

That little black bird is beautiful
and it kind of creates a narrative

in the whole piece.

The one thing is you've lost perhaps

some of the texture that you worked
hard to put in

to create those stripes.

Because the application
of that oxide was so thick

and it has started to flow,

it's kind of covered a bit
of that up.

But the lustre that you've got
with some of that manganese

in reaction with the iron
and the copper is unbelievable.

It just creates a real feast
for the eyes.

Yeah. You should be really proud
of that, James.

On first appearance, the quality of
the build is really great.

I wasn't entirely sure how
you would be able to incorporate

that posture into something that's
not upright or hanging, but I think

you've achieved that
incredibly well.

I really do love the claws,
and the fact that they're holding

that trunk is just
really, really well observed.

The application of the oxide looks
quite monotone,

but what has worked beautifully is

the texture you've created
on that fur.

It just catches the light so well.

I think it's amazing.
Thank you. Really well clone.

Helen, please bring Kevin
up to the judges.

There he is.

It's slightly off,

that kind of observational skills.

But with a penguin, it's so hard
to emulate that stance perfectly

because it's such a well-known
animal.

Just a little bit more finesse
on the neck.

If you'd just been able to sort of
stretch the neck out, it would have

given the whole structure a bit more
energy, I think.

Yeah. But there are some
lovely, lovely attributes.

The eyes are really lovely.

And, you know, some of this texture
has worked really nicely

in that firing process.

You've got all this metallic
going on here.

That works really, really well
for you.

He slumped down. I think if I'd have
supported him a little bit,

he might have had a bit more
stature. We'll never know.

Well, you live and learn, don't you?

Yeah. Ancl you would then incorporate
that into your next Kevin

that you do. Yeah.
Maybe you do Karen.

Yeah. Karen next, for Kevin. Yeah.

As a structure, Lois,

it's absolutely wonderful.

The proportions are right,
the stance is right,

and all this texture is really,
really good.

I'm loving this tail here.

You just work with the clay
in such an intuitive way.

I love the texture you've created,

all these kind of pieces of clay

that you meticulously added on.

This area here. His cheeks.
It's just beautiful.

It's just got that lovely material
quality of the clay.

Yeah, that's it. It still feels of
the animal and recognisable.

I just loved doing it so much.

But you sense that love
in what you've made.

I think it's really wonderful.

It would have been so good
just to see a little bit

more reaction, a bit more fluxing
of those oxides...

It would have, yeah.
..to get that more metallic feel.

But you can't fault it as a build.

You know, the bamboo works so well

and makes a noise.

I made a wind chime, accidentally!

Wow. It's the Godzilla of ferrets.

He's a big fella. Yeah.

Do you know what, Derek?

It's bloody brilliant. Yeah.

All for the wrong reasons.

It just really makes me laugh.

It's great!

You've certainly been ambitious,
but lost your way a little bit

in terms of the proportions.

But, you know, he's happy!

That's the main thing.

He's eaten all that peanut butter.
Well, that's what it is.

Yeah. Yeah.
I know the tail has come off here.

Yeah. But the main structure,

it's actually fairly sound.
I really love the claws.

They've gone really,
really lustrous.

I love the way you've incorporated
the whiskers.

There's some great textures
going on.

It's just perhaps lacking
some of that metallic look.

The amount of oxide on that surface
perhaps isn't quite there.

Mind you, I don't think we had
enough iron oxide

to probably cover it. No.

But I do like it, though, Derek.

Just maybe not quite what we were
asking for, but well clone, Derek.

Thank you.

It's absolutely wonderful.

You've captured the stance
of the animal, the texture

of the skin on the top, and the
claws are just so super-smooth

because of the oxide
that you've used.

It's just sublime. Yeah, definitely.

I think it's wonderful.

It's instantly recognisable
as a pangolin.

You've emulated that shell-like
quality so beautifully.

They feel like scales.

You've gauged the thickness
of that oxide perfectly.

It's got a lustre on the main part
of each scale and it catches

the light, that beautifully
subtle kind of texture.

Ancl, you know, Jon, I just
have to say, every week

you're just giving us a little bit
more and more. Yeah.

That's not like me at all. That's
not what I go and make

in the garage, not at all.
It's bloody brilliant, mate.

I just love the fact that your
character and your personality

is coming out
through what you're making.

Thanks. Thank you, )on.

Thanks.

That was very positive.
Great feedback.

Everything I liked about it,

they liked about it,
so it's all really good.

Well clone, Jon. Rich said that he
got a sense it was made with love,

and that resonated with me actually,
because the way you feel

when you're making something,
it kind of shows in the end thing.

Ancl I just really felt happy
about that red panda.

Quite fun to get the sort
of feedback that says basically,

it's really terrible.

But laughing. Bless him, he was
slightly flawed from the start.

Sculpture's not my thing,
but I gave it my all.

I think it would be fair
if I went home this time.

Ancl yet it's not over
until the fat penguin sings.

Yeah. Sing it, Kev.

What a week for our potters!

Who do you think did really well
this week?

Jon. He's really flourishing.

Every week, he's just pushing that
little bit harder.

Ancl his pangolin was just amazing.

He got that lustrous metallic look
and it just really, really worked

with that surface texture.

Well, I thought Lois had a fantastic
week, the way she'd created texture

by adding on little pellets
of clay, the surfaces,

it was just so well thought out.
Really well observed.

Ancl James, the metallic finish
that he managed to get

on that Sumatran tiger was
just amazing.

But, for me, Caitlin just didn't
quite get it with the metallic look.

No, it was a bit flat, wasn't it?
Yeah.

I don't think the alternative firing
worked that well for Caitlin.

And we have Helen with Kevin
the penguin. She had some lovely

metallic qualities, but that sense
of realism, the proportions,

they just weren't quite there.

Talking about a sense of realism,

correct proportions...

Derek's!

I love it! I just love it!

It's brilliant! I love it.

It's the best wrong thing
I've ever seen!

If we were after
an abstract sculpture,

perhaps it would have been
on the money.

And he didn't do too well
in the second challenge.

No, he didn't. Who is in line
for being Potter of the Week?

Well, Jon, for me, one of them.

Lois. Andjames. Going into the
quarterfinals now, lads,

so take this seriously.

So I'm off. Willl get you more hot
chocolate? Yeah, please.

I think we might need it. I think...

I think there's only one left.

Welcome back, potters.

The judges have made
their deliberations

and the results are in.

Potter of the Week goes to...

...jon. Yay! Well done, Jon.

Ugh, now the really awful bit. The
potter who is leaving us today is...

...Derek.

I'm shocked, I tell you! Shocked!

I'm so sorry.

Oh, it's... Honestly, it's fine.

I'm very happy to go out
on that ferret.

You know what?
You should be proud of it.

And, you know, your character
that you've brought into the Pottery

has been emulated
through what you've made,

and it's just so sad to see you go.

I'm going to miss you.
I'll miss you.

I'm obviously sad that I'm going,
but I'm more happy.

Just having been here for this long,
having met all these amazing people,

having done incredible, weird things
with clay -

it's just been
the most fabulous experience.

And I'll go away from here with some
of the greatest memories of all.

It's been great.
Nice to meet you. Thank you so much.

Yeah, thanks. Lovely.

I think I've been thrown a lifeline,
and I owe it to Derek as well

as to myself to make a blooming good
job of the next challenge.

I'm going to miss Derek a lot.

He's a great guy.

And as Derek makes his way home,
Jon's pangolin becomes his second

piece to enter
the Throw Down Gallery.

So pleased to be Potter of the Week
again, twice now,

and the same as Lois and James.
How the hell did I manage that?

Jon, he's really proud
of what he's doing, rightly so,

and I'm genuinely excited to see
what he can give us next week.

Made it to the quarterfinal.
It's got a name now, this stage,

so it's brilliant to get to that.

I think I've done myself proud,
so I'm really pleased.

Yeah. Wow. Quarterfinals! This
week, I've really enjoyed it

and I hope I can enjoy the next one
as much

because I think it's going
to be a little tricky.

Next week I'm going to have to go up
two gears.

There's not much in it now. Yeah,
it's a bit frightening, really.

Next time, our potters are tested
to the limit...

Would you agree this is the hardest
challenge you've had?

Yes.
..when they're set a caffeine-dosed

Radical Challenge...

If this isn't radical, I have
no idea what is.

...and face down the bucket of doom.

Yeah, that one's pants as well.

But who will drink a cup
of victory brew...

Wow! That is a really good pourer!

...and become Potter of the Week?

They're great.
They're really brilliant.

And who will be going home
and back to reality?

Oh, my God!