03x02 - Episode 2

[bunniefuu]

This week is the trickiest challenge
we have ever set,

but who will have the moves
to get ahead of the pottery game?

Yes! Checkmate.

Welcome to
The Great Pottery Throw Down.

Last time...
SHE SCREAMS

..Middleport welcomed in
a brand-new g*ng

of passionate potters...

Sweating. Just go for it.

..as they served up
a six-piece breakfast set.

You're stressing me out, man!

Despite an excellent throw down...

In second place is Tom.

..it was Tom who lost
a handle on things...

I'm just having a mini meltdown
at the back.

..and was the first to leave.

But it was body-builder Claire

who managed
to muscle her way past Rosalind...

Yeah!

..to win Potter of the Week...

You've done an amazing job.

..giving her that first spot
in our Throw Down gallery. Now...

Come on!

..the potters take on
a hand-building challenge

with the largest number of pieces
we've ever seen produced.

This is my worst nightmare,
this challenge.

Plus, a testing triple throw down
gets everyone in a fiddle.

Oh! But who will be knighted
Potter of the Week?

Sublime.
And who will be told game over?

You've got so much more to learn.

# Making time

# sh**ting lines

# People have their uses

# People have their uses. #

The potters return to the pottery
to face two more challenges.

When all is fired and done,

one will be named Potter of the Week
and one will be heading home.

Last time, I made Keith cry.
Wasn't that a privilege?

So, that's what
I'm aiming for this time.

The quality of
the other contestants' work,

it's really up there.

The last time I was here,
it was a bit stressful.

I need to up my game.

Coming back as Potter of the Week,

it has given me
a bit more confidence.

I'm keeping the pressure on,
obviously,

because that's just how I roll.

Morning, potters. Welcome back.

Now, for your first challenge
this week,

the king and queen of pottery,
Keith and Sue,

would like you to hand-build
a chess set.

So, a complete chess set
has 32 pieces,

so you've got
a really busy morning ahead.

So, potters, you've got
four and a half hours,

and your time starts now.

Potters, get potting.

OK, so...

Look at Claire go! Amazing.

I love hand-building
because you have so much freedom

and it's so versatile.

I do feel pretty anxious about this.
I like hand-building.

I just don't like doing it
under pressure.

This is the first time
hand-building,

so this is my worst nightmare,
this challenge.

This is the most
we've ever asked them to make.

This is a real
time-management challenge.

There's 32 pieces here.
It's a huge amount of work.

They've got to be sturdy.

If the king's going to fall over,

and he's got a fragile piece
on the top...

You'll lose the game before
you've even started. Yeah!

Each one is an individual
little miniature sculpture.

I want to be able
to see the potters incorporate

their own personality
in the pieces. Yeah.

These are classic shapes,
but our potters might decide

on making them
completely different characters. Mm.

They've got a myriad of techniques

to make these chess pieces
really come alive

and actually make me want
to play chess again. Aw.

Are you going to cry?
Probably, yeah.

THEY LAUGH

Together, the potters
need to hand-build

a staggering 352 chess pieces.

It's about eight minutes a piece,

but I'm doing all of the pawns
in one go,

so I'm going to have a lot more time
on the other pieces.

As well as kings, queens,
bishops, horses and castles,

there is 16 pawns each.

Normally, at home,
I'd throw these cylinders.

I'm struggling with the thickness
of everything,

so I'm going to go and have a go
on the extrusion plate

and see if I can get
something better.

Time is of the essence

because there's only room for
one chess master in the pottery.

I used to actually play chess
for my school back in Barbados.

Never won a match,
but I enjoyed playing it, though.

Ronaldo grew up in Barbados
as the son of two potters.

ON SCREEN: Hi. Wave. Hello.

And with his dad still living there,

he's picking up as many
long-distance tips as possible.

Yeah. That's the monkey teapot.

But I'll teach you that trick
sometime soon.

Ronaldo's chess pieces
will show off his Bajan heritage,

including a king shaped as
a traditional monkey pot,

a coal cooking pot for a queen,

and small wooden buildings
called chattel houses for pawns.

So, not only will we be able to play
chess with your pieces... Yeah.

..but we'll learn a bit more
about Barbados, really. Exactly.

So, we've got the monkey pot,
which we use to store water in.

The spout represents, like,
the monkey's hand reaching

and its tail being curved over.

Oh, I see. OK. Oh, wow. That's cool.

All right, we'll let you get on
cos you have got tonnes to do.

So, this is just an extrusion.

You can get a nice, even cylinder,
which is what I was after.

So, this is a lot neater.
Hopefully, I can get back on track.

Do you have to be dead strong? Yeah,
you've got to kind of guide it out.

Ooh, wow. That's satisfying,
isn't it?

SHE LAUGHS

You can have a go if you want.
Will you hold on to it? Yeah, yeah.

Oh, God, you've got to have
a bit of muscle, haven't you? Yeah.

Pottery wasn't Jacob's first love.

From the age of five,
he trained as a gymnast

and competed up to a national level.

His ambitious chess set design
is inspired by his Chinese heritage,

featuring complex
mythical creatures,

for his kings,
a fire-breathing dragon,

and a feathered phoenix
for his queens.

Dad came over when he was nine,

so I've always been brought up
more on the English side. Yeah.

So, when I started doing ceramics,
I was really interested in

that Chinese side.
Have you been? Never been.

Oh, you've got to go. I'd love
to go. I'd love to go. Yeah.

Kit has also taken inspiration
from his roots.

I am Cornish born and bred, yeah.

Cornwall's just very, erm...

I don't want to say boring,
but it is.

I'm making Devon and Cornwall.

They end up just arguing and
fighting about scones and stuff,

so it's just fitting
to put them on a chessboard.

As well as working
on his parents' turkey farm,

our youngest potter
fits his ceramics in

around working shifts
in a local cafe.

Two cream teas.

He's going for a sleek
and modern design

featuring the Cornish
and Devonshire flags

on opposing sides
to play on the local rivalry.

So, they're fairly simple.

Yeah, that's what I'm going for -
nice, clean, functional. Right.

The top of the queen -
where's that point going to go?

Just on one side, then?

Yeah, that's like a tiara.
Like it. Yeah.

You must have plenty of those, Mel.
Oh, yeah. Tiaras. Oh, yeah.

One for every day of the week.

I saw you driving in
with one on the other day.

Last week's
Potter of the Week Claire

is also keeping it simple

by sticking with
a traditional approach.

I used to play chess
many, many years ago.

My papa taught me how to play it,

and I have this really old,
traditional chess board

that belonged to him.

Body-builder Claire works in
a vast pottery supplies warehouse,

but her pottery hobby is
crammed into her childhood bedroom.

Claire's pieces will be
classically shaped characters

with a traditional
black and white glaze,

and the hexagonal plinths give a nod

to a place
that's close to her heart.

The Giant's Causeway
in Northern Ireland -

the rock formations
are just beautiful.

It was formed many,
many years ago from volcanoes,

and they're all hexagonal shapes.

I'm not really a hand-builder.
I'm a thrower.

So, just getting the 32 pieces
completed in the time will be,

you know,
gratification enough for me!

Matt hasn't even started
to cut out his pieces yet.

He's taking a different approach.

I'm putting some black stain
into my clay,

so that I can make the black pieces
just black all the way through

rather than having to add
some colour afterwards.

It's a risky strategy,
but if it works, it'll be worth it.

Former professional cyclist Matt
keeps up his fitness doing Acroyoga

with his wife Jess.

His Zen attitude to life
influences his pottery.

Matt's chess set will be minimalist

with abstract
black and white characters,

and he has a secret weapon or two.

I've got two saws that
I'm going to use. Steady! Steady!

OK. So, with the black pieces,
I'm going to use the wood saw,

which has quite a chunky blade.
Right.

The white ones, I'm going
to use a finer hacksaw.

So, playing with texture and...
You're freestyling?

I was trying to make it sound better
than that, but, yeah,
I am freestyling.

I have never, ever played chess.

My husband was a school champion.

I don't think he would want
to play with me.

I'm not forward thinking that much,
like he is.

Oh, they are nice with the legs,
aren't they?

Rosa loves crafting with
her children Frida and Frederick,

and even husband Gary
has embraced her artistic style.

Rosa's pottery is a bit...

It's not crazy, but a bit wayward.

THEY LAUGH

Her detailed design will feature
a whole cast of quirky characters,

including podgy kings

and snooty queens with red lipstick
and velvet slippers.

All these different chess pieces
have got different personalities.

I have my king.
He's got this big crown on,

so he's worn down
by all the responsibilities.

And the crown is so big that
he can't see out of his eyes.

And then he's got his queen
and she's all really uptight.

But she's so uptight,

she can't see what's going on
under her feet.

Rosa isn't the only one
with an elaborate plan.

My design is very detailed.

Sometimes, I feel like
I'm digging myself a hole.

I don't think about
how I'm going to do it

within the time that we have.

Freelance illustrator Sampada

also runs workshops for adults
with learning difficulties.

Are you going to mix this colour
with that colour? Yeah.

She's hoping to bring
the character to her set

with hand-drawn decoration
on each chess piece

to illustrate the lighter and
darker sides of your personality.

So, you have the facade
that you put on

when you're in, like,
normal, day-to-day life.

But then you have
your inner, like, self

that you don't show to anyone.

Wow. What's your inner Keith like?

Same as my outer Keith, I'm afraid.
Gosh, I was hoping he was quieter.

No. It's all a bit basic, really.

OK, potters, one hour down.

You've got three
and a half hours left.

SHE MOUTHS SILENTLY
Plenty of time!

It's not plenty of time at all.

With the clock ticking,

most of our potters have started
with the smallest chess piece.

I'm moving on to the pawns.
I have trouble saying that word.

I don't know why.
I want to keep saying "prawns".

SHE LAUGHS

So, this is the hardest bit,
is getting pawns, pawns, pawns...

SHE LAUGHS
The pawns!

..because I decided to add details.

My pawns are my prawns.

Sorry, my prawns are my pawns.

The inspiration is all from the sea.

I was a quite serious scuba diver.

Grandad Leonard takes the plunge
three times a week,

open-water swimming
and scuba diving.

And it's underwater
you'll find his chess set,

including 16 prawn-shaped pawns,

pot corals for his rooks
and hammerhead sharks as kings.

Each will be decorated in
shimmering glazes of green and blue.

That's so fun! So, all of
the animals that I'm going to make,

I've actually had contact with
underwater.

What, personally? Personally. OK.

The king is my hammerhead shark.
Right.

And the hammerhead sharks,
these are pictures I took.

You took that?! Yeah. Oh, my...!
I took these, as well. Wow!

And they're not that aggressive,
are they?

They're not aggressive at all.

I mean, really, all they want to do
is eat baby fish.

Don't we all? I like a fish, me.

You're not alone, Keith.

There's definitely something fishy
in the pottery.

Leonard and I are doing
a similar thing.

He was very sweet
and tried to show me his designs

and I said, "Leonard,
don't show me, don't show me!"

The differences?
I think mine are more seashells.

But Leonard and I have a lot
in common. We both swim, so...

We've had a nice time.

OK, yes, it's a competition,
but we're friends, too.

Flea's design is a chess set reef
featuring octopus and coral,

decorated with shell
and sea urchin shapes

created using spring moulds
she made at home.

I'm using urchins and things like
that to create this cool texture.

Rosalind has also come prepared
with items from home.

These are the textures
that I'm using. Right.

Where are they from? These are from
these antique pieces of glass.

My husband makes lovely

pictures and windows
with the old glass and lead.

Oh, OK. And he ground these down

so I could use these textured tiles
in my studio. Fantastic.

Oh, he sounds like a goodun.
Oh, he is. Yeah. Oh, good for you.

He's a keeper.
THEY LAUGH

Rosalind will be creating
a chess set with a vintage feel,

and she's hand-sculpted
bespoke moulds

that she'll use to form the faces
of her main characters.

There's quite a lot of detail
on there, as well.

It's really rather nice.
I think he looks a bit like William,

who's going to be our next king.

Oh, I see. OK. And the lady one
looks a bit like Kate.

THEY LAUGH

She's not the only one who's created
pieces with a real-life likeness.

Rainna's pawns are
a dead ringer for...

Little mini poo-poos.

My pawns are little snails.

So, they don't really look
like snails at the moment.

The inspiration is from my garden.

It would be really nice to play
chess in the garden, wouldn't it?

Her plan is to recreate
her own garden

with birds for kings,
watering cans for bishops

and butterflies for castles.

If I was a chess set piece,
I would be a butterfly.

I suppose cos I just sort of flitter
in and out of things.

Off I go.

OK, potters, you've only got
one hour left. Just one hour.

What's happening? I feel the time,
like, creeping up now.

You all look like
you've got quite a bit to do,

apart from Kit.

Fettle, fettle, fettle.

SHE LAUGHS
Chilling.

Fettling is sponging it down,
like, smoothing.

I'm just starting
the heads of the dragons

just to make sure
I can get all the detail

and pick up every little
facial expression.

I have got a queen. I've got a king.

16 pawns, four bishops, four nights.

Still got all of the stuff to do.

I mean, I need to do one, two,
three, four, five, six, seven.

32 is the magic number of pieces...

KIT: I've finished
and I'm just looking busy now.

..but that alone is not enough.

Right, this is the ultimate test.

Size matters, as each piece
must also fit neatly

on the squares of their chessboard.

Their sets need
to be fit for purpose

or it could be game over.

BLEEP! They're really tight,
you know. Oh!

Try.
HE LAUGHS

Take a bit more off.
Got a bit overexcited earlier.

I was like, "I'm going
to make a massive bird."

I'm going to have
to do that again, amn't I?

Maybe I'll do, like, half a bird.
Well, I ain't going to have this,

so I might as well
just chop a bit off.

How long have I got?
Half an hour? 20 minutes?

Potters, you have
only got ten minutes left.

Is that it? I'm running!
Pushed for time.

My hands are shaking so bad
at this stage, as well. Stress!

HE WHISTLES

Last little touches now.

Just making sure
everything's nice and neat.

I'm going to need to forget
about adding details

because I can always do that
in the glazing part.

There's so much detail.
You've got an amazing eye.

Which one's Prince William?
Here he is. He's handsome, isn't he?

He is. He's balding!
Tiny little bit.

Just a tiny little bit! You've got
him with a receding hairline.

I'm not sure whether
to panic yet or not.

Potters, you have one minute left.
That's it. Just one minute.

Ah!

Ready to put it
in the drying room now.

Why did I do this to myself?

Don't give up, Sampada.

It's either, like,
go big or go home.

Everything has to be in
the drying room at the end of time.

You cannot leave anything out.

Musn't forget one octopus.

I know you said
you were to the wire.

You're giving me hot flushes.

Ten, nine, eight...

Come on, Jacob!

..seven, six...

Come on! ..five, four...

Shall I take it?
Keep going. Keep going.

..three, two, one!

Yes! That's it! End of time!

Game over.

11 potters times
32 chess pieces each

equals 352 hand-built pieces
in the drying room

all ready to be fired,
but Leonard has missed a piece.

What is it? What are you missing?
A pawn. Left it on the bench.

31 pieces got put
in the drying room.

Just sad that that one pawn's...

Oh!

In between the stages of their main
make, the potters will face a second

challenge, meaning another
chance to impress the judges.

And today we're continuing
with small-scale form,

but this time at the wheel.

It's a bit special this week
because we have got a guest judge,

and he's got a big talent
for making small things.

Please welcome to the pottery
master potter, Geoffery Swindell.

Geoffery, welcome to the pottery!

Yeah, great.

Originally from Stowe,
Geoffery Swindell has made a name

for himself in miniature pottery.

Taking his craft to new heights
requiring precise execution

and delicate slip work.

His pieces can be found
across the globe in museums

and galleries, including
the Metropolitan Museum of Art

in New York.

I'd like you to throw three
shapes - a bowl, a cylinder

and a narrow-necked bellied pot

They've got to be miniature,
porcelain and coloured. OK?

The first thing I'm going to do
is make the bowl.

So down into the centre
and then expand that out.

Do you find you're using your
fingers in a completely different

way when you're making a piece
this small? Yes.

Normally on a pot, you would use
the knuckle on a finger inside.

With this you've just got to use
finger ends.

So I'm going to remove the clay now.

The next stage is the slip.

I'll just put a few spots on and
then just spin the wheel.

You got a very instant,
very lively quality.

Right. So take that off. Just don't
try and get the wire through,

if he doesn't want to go through,
don't worry about it.

And put it down.

OK, so the next one is the cylinder.

So just bring up.

Working with porcelain, Geoffery,

it's one of the hardest clays
to work with, isn't it? Yes.

Like a combination of ice cream
and jelly.

I often call it the mother-in-law
of clays. The mother-in-law.

Yes. Really good. Treat it with the
greatest respect. Yes.

So I can just bring that out.

Then just try and put some
colour onto the rim.

I'm now going to use one
of the green colours. If just draw

that up, can blend it into the
yellow.

Just leave that quite neat
and tidy and just remove that.

So here we go again. The
narrow-necked bellied pot

is about the most difficult thing
a potter can make.

So again, I'm going to lift this
into more or less a cylindrical

shape before I make the belly.

So now we start to take the neck in.

I'm looking for quite a neat and
tidy symmetrical shape,

getting some slip on there.

Right, so take that off.

Geoffery, that looks wonderful!
And that's it.

So, your three pieces need to be
no taller than that,

which is six centimetres.

So you are judging this blind,
so you have to leave the pottery.

We'll see you a bit later.
Right. OK. Good luck. Thank you.

Potters, you have 40 minutes to
throw your three coloured miniature

pots and your time starts now.

Let's do this!

Never worked with porcelain on the
wheel. Pretty tricky.

It's like throwing a really soft
marshmallow.

I'm gonna go for the bowl first
to start something simple

and then the more complicated
shape.

I wanted this challenge to be
something large, telling myself

in my head, it's large.

Need a really steady, fine hand
for working with this.

(BLEEP) Need to try that again.

What height is it supposed to be?
can't be more than six centimetres.

So let's get some colour on there!

Geoffery made it look like quite

a simple process, but can be too
difficult, right?

I'm just trying to keep
a steady hand, really.

That'll do.

This is gonna be so hard
because it's very wet.

Kind of like scooch it under there.

Get out. Get out. Ooh.

A bit wobbly.

Look, you've done a little bowl
already.

Super hard cos it's so tiny.

So that's one bowl down,
gonna move onto my cylinder.

What I'd like to do is make it tall
and thin.

But it's got to be six centimetres.

Is this even a cylinder? I don't
know.

Isn't it the eye of the beholder,
they say?

So hopefully Geoffery likes it.

He showed a very light touch
of hand.

I haven't achieved that in two
bowls yet. We'll keep going.

That is 26cm. I've got to stick to
the brief!

Ta-da! Having fun with this.

Go for a bit of yellow.

I think I got my first legit shake.

Oh, God. Ah!

Ah, damn it.

Now gutted. Gonna have to go again.

OK, potters, we are halfway through.

Done my first one and forgot
to colour it.

So that's gotta be done again.

Got a bowl, half a cylinder.

Now I'm starting on the bellied
vessel.

Rosie, you'll do well. Am I?
Is that your bellied?

If I have to ask, that's not a good
thing. No, it's not. Sorry.

Feel a bit like I'm playing
Operation?

I'm terrified!

The trick to lifting these off,
is clean, dry hands.

Should have had dry hands.

Everybody, you've got ten minutes
left.

I need to get my the skates on.

I think I'm a little bit behind.

I just need to get this knocked out
now and try and do the cylinder.

(BLEEP) Potters, you've got five
minutes,

you need to pick one of shape.

Boom. If you think you've got time
to throw another one, please do.

Get another one done. I'd like to do
this blue one again.

I've got to do my cylinder.
Oh, I'm speeding.

I'm speeding and it's not good.

Come on, now, because we've got
less than a minute.

Pick your favourites and get into
the front of the pottery, please.

Oh, wow. Now, which one now?

Come on! Pfff!

Oh, my God, my leg's gone dead.
SHE LAUGHS

OK. That's time up. Excellent.

You need to step away.
Step away from the clay!

They look so lost, don't they, on
the ware boards.

Tiny little pots.
Kit, yours are fantastic.

Stop it.
LAUGHTER

Geoffery is looking for
three perfectly-formed

and symmetrical and miniature pots.

Hello again. Hello.

No taller than six centimetres.

And decorated with a beautifully
coloured slip.

Maybe a bit too good, really.

I think you could put me
out of business here. So...

I left the really tight spout on the
top of that. Yeah.

It's actually very difficult to do.

That's the best of the three.
Yeah, the bowl is pretty good, too.

The cylinder a little bit messy
around the base.

Should I measure it?
That comes under six centimetres.

Well, those are really beautiful.

Nicely made, precise, accurate, rims
are all good, all cut off nicely.

I think a good colour combination
there, too. Yeah.

Another beautiful set there as well.

Very difficult to do this,
to pull that out. Yeah.

Got a very narrow neck that.

When I demonstrated I didn't go
that far to make a neck

as narrow as that because I didn't

think you'd be able to do
it so really good. They've done it.

And this set, particularly good use
of the slip and the colour.

Very neat. You know, cutting these
tops off without needle,

it probably looks fairly easy on the
wheel, but it isn't easy.

Not quite so ambitious, those, with
the use of the slip.

Would have been good to just try to,
on the cylinder there,

just further that down a bit more

so it wasn't quite so messy.

Much too thick, really.

And the decoration doesn't work
on that.

Again, rather thick-bottomed bowl,
cylinder,

a little bit squat and dumpy.

But the decoration is good.

Taking it off the wheels has been a
bit difficult for this person,

that one a bit messy around the
base. Very nice little bowl there.

It's a little bit big, but
it's the best of the three.

Let's have a look.
That one is over seven.

And now we've really got miniatures.

Look at that little cylinder there,
brilliant.

Decoration is really lovely.
Very expressive, isn't it? Yeah.

Picasso-esque kind of rim. Yeah.

Excellent decoration
with the spots in there.

Let's have a measure.
That's actually nearly seven so,

way over on there. OK.

And final one. That one's a bit of a

milk churn shape rather than a
cylinder.

And I would've liked seeing
a slightly longer neck

on that one to really qualify
as a narrow-necked bellied form.

The judges will now rank
the potters' mini vases

from worst to first.

OK. In 11th place...

Who made this one?

Right. I think you've generally had
a problem getting them off.

Number ten. Who made those? I did.

Well, the bowls are a bit heavy in

the base and the shape isn't
quite right there. Really.

Rosalind is ninth. Renaldo is eight.

Sampada is seventh.

Jacob is sixth. Yeah.

Flea is fifth.

Rainna is fourth. And Kit is third.

And in second position...

Beautifully made. Who's that? Right.
Superb.

Everything's really crisp and neat.

I'm not sure whether those are drips

or attempts on the decoration,
but it works.

Sometimes these things happen.

And in first position,
pretty obvious now, it's this one.

Who's that? Really, all excellent.

I particularly like this one.

To take that flange over there with
this very soft porcelain clay,

not have it collapse.

Then on top of that, go and squirt

slip on it and then run
a brush over it.

Really, that's kind of madness,
you know, to do on that scale.

So I really admire your courage
on that one.

Excellent. Thank you.

They were so complimentary about

what I just made.

There's no other way to feel
about it. Just buzzing.

I'm honestly delighted after that
challenge, I can't believe I got

second and I'm just so happy.

If I talk, I'm gonna burst into
tears!

Um, no, no. I did feel a bit
emotional.

Um, it wasn't a good session today.

Are you gonna get the door?

Over the last 48 hours,
kilnman Rich has overseen

the delicate firing
of the largest number of pieces

the potters have ever produced.

Apart from Leonard's
forgotten pawn prawn.

My time's going to be easily managed
cos I've got one piece less.

Good morning, potters.

Now, your chess sets are ready
for decorating.

You've got a buffet of oxides
and glazes to finish your pieces

before the final firing.

We want to see
two contrasting sets here.

Think about the identity
of your pieces.

So, potters, you have
three and a half hours

to decorate your chess sets

and your time starts now.

Yay! We've survived.

Everything came out,
nothing blew up. So I'm happy.

Yeah, I'm really happy.

There's no explosions, no cracks.

No.

It's a minor crack.
Glaze will fill that in, hopefully.

Oh, boy.

Looking tight.
Bit bigger than I thought.

I really need to hope
that they shrink a lot more

during the second firing.

There's a little wobble
on some of the bases,

but we'll bring it in
with the glazing.

Look...

You should have fettled more.

Rookie, rookie mistake.
Rookie error! Yeah. That's it.

What have we got?

Is it lame that
we get excited over glazes?

Like, ooh! There's a colour.

I am putting lipstick and some
little red shoes on my queen.

You want to give them
a bit of life.

So these are some of the characters
I normally use in my illustration.

I'm going to add a bit of detail
and hopefully it will just make

a little bit more three-dimensional

and not just flat blob.

Hello, Rosalind.

How are you finding all your pieces?
Have they come out OK?

Yeah, they survived the firing.

Good. And I'm not
going to do anything fussy

because I want textures to
really work here. Yeah.

How are you going to
differentiate the two sets?

I've got a light and a dark.

It's a honey yellow and
it's an emerald green.

Oh, brilliant. OK.

So they're semi-translucent?
Antiquey-looking. Yes, they are.

You love your antiques. I do, yeah.

So I'm going to do
a little antique set.

I'm going to keep it really simple.

It's all based on yin and yang,
like peace and harmony

and order and chaos.

Jacob's not alone.

Several potters are opting
for a classic monochrome chess set.

So one half of the board,

I'm going to have it matte black and
then the other half, gloss white.

For the darker side of his sets,

before firing,
Matt stained his clay black.

The colour on the black stain
could be better.

But with the addition of some
iron oxide it'll pull through

all the crevices and all the little
marks I've made with the saw.

It's going to be the black
with a hint of colour,

white with a hint of colour.

Bam! Nailed it. Hopefully.

The rest of the potters
are going for a colourful approach

using a combination of oxides.

So a lot of the colours that
you see, you don't want to trust it.

There's more to these glazes
than meets the eye.

They're completely different
when they're fired.

This is black.

What colour is this?
It's white. Yeah.

No, that's white.

Because the true colours
only show after firing.

At this stage,
it can be a guessing game.

So this one's a...

..grey glaze?

So this is cobalt
I'm going to put on now.

So these are going to be green.

And these are going to be blue.

So you're putting cobalt
on the set, or copper.

No, no.

Copper on these and cobalt on these.

Are you certain
that's the right colour?

No, no, I am.

These colours
just look the same, don't they?

They do at this stage. Yeah.

I'm just going to go
and reconsider my options.

Is that OK? Yeah.
Of course it is. Yeah.

Yeah. You need to get it right.

I'm pretty sure.

So I can't remember
bloody what I've done.

WHISPERS: I don't know!

Just putting a little bit
of copper in little areas.

So this will go green
and then bits of it will go black.

So the idea is that one side
is going to be the pinkies,

the yellows, the corals
of the Caribbean.

And the other side
will be the greens of Europe.

Morning, Leonard. Hello, Mel.

These are looking good.

It reflects when you're under
the water and you look down,

you can see these geometric
patterns that are created

by the sort of wavelets.

The other side has got
their blue camouflage on.

That's very imaginative.

I like your style.

These are my pawns.

Pr... pawn prawns!

Unfortunately, there's one missing.

You really are going to have
to excel yourself on decoration.

So I'm going to be doing the colours
of the Barbados flag,

which is blue and yellow.

The majority of one side will be
yellow with, like, a hint of blue,

and then it'll be
the other way around.

So I do have to be careful
not to contaminate the two,

because then it will be green.

My pieces are based on
the Devon and Cornwall flags.

So, green and white
and black and white.

I'm leaving the decoration
quite simple.

I got some new tape, sticks better,
hopefully give me a crisper line.

Everything needs to be ex*cuted
to the highest of standards.

It's what Keith wants.
Going to make him cry!

One hour left, everybody.

Just one hour left.

Crack on!

So I'm just carving out
details from the glazes.

It's very delicate work.

Tape is working a treat.

These ones here are for sea glass.

The octopus will have
jewels in his head.

I've finished already. Feel like
I must have forgotten something.

I'm one away from
having a complete set.

I have one, two, three, four, five.

Still have more things to do.

I think some of my stuff
is like, wobbling,

so I might need to sand it.

But I don't have time.

Potters, you have ten minutes left.

Ten minutes? All your chess pieces
need to be on your bars,

on your benches
at the end of the challenge.

I think the king and the queen,
I just left it ambiguous.

There's a bit of a gamble
because I'm not too sure

how it's going to turn out.

These are shells I've collected
off the beach, so I'm just going

to decorate the edge of the board.

I'm sticking my shells to the base.

No, she's not.

Oh!

I'm kind of going
for that, like, old look.

I'm spraying the black and
the glaze onto the pieces.

It's going to really bring them
to life a bit more, man.

I'm on the scrounge.

Make yourself at home, Leonard!

Thank you!

OK, guys, you've got one minute.

Remember, every piece has to be
on your bar and on your bench.

Rosa? Yes?

Are you all right?

Yes. I'm just double checking
all my bottoms.

I have a feeling that the details
I'm adding might not show up.

Come on, Rainna. You must have
sanded them bottoms by now.

I'm fine. Yeah. I'm fine.

Five, four,

three, two,

one. Time's up!

OK, potters, take your pieces
down to the kiln for firing

and be really careful.

Under stress you'll forget anything,
you'll forget your name.

So I don't know how completely
the pieces are going to turn out.

The only thing I'm worried is
it might bleed in together

so I'm praying to the kiln gods
that nothing like that will happen.

The chess sets will now have
one final 24-hour glaze fire

in the kiln.

Anything could happen
tomorrow at judging.

It might be checkmate for me.

I'm feeling a little uneasy.

Having a missing piece is difficult.

This obviously puts me
close to going.

Over five days of meticulous
handbuilding,

decorating and two firings, our
potters' unique chess sets

are finally ready for judging.

I have to say, potters, I think your
chest sets are unbelievable,

but it's not me you've got to
impress.

OK. OK.

Hi, Matt. Ey up.

When I saw you making these,
to me they just looked like

a pile of stones but it's absolutely
wonderful! Yeah.

I want to pick it up.

And the contrast that you've got
between the black side

and the white is great.

You can see the different techniques
on each piece and the way

you've carved into the clay with the
different saws.

You don't have much choice to pare
the shape when you're working

with a wood saw!

As part of the pleasure of this set,
that it looks very easy and simple,

but, actually, it's... pared back
and simple is hard.

If the Flintstones played chess...

THEY LAUGH

..this would be the set!

Every single piece has their own
character and the decoration

and the application of it really
accentuates that.

For the queen's little foot peeking
out underneath her robe,

it really brings the whole set to
life.

You got muddled, didn't you, as to
which side... Yeah.

..was the copper up side...
I was pretty sure.

..and which side was the cobalt?

Luckily I had done it right!
Well done. Well done, Rosa.

Really nice.

Scale slightly off, for me, with the
pawns, but loving the watering can.

It's a good mix of handbuilding
skills.

CHESS PIECES CLATTER

Oh, gosh!

What have you got to say about the
stability?

This is a rocking bird. Yeah?
Nicely picked up!

THEY LAUGH

Does this one rock as well, then?
Yeah, they all rock!

They all rock!

THEY LAUGH

I think, overall, there is an
impact.

It's a really strong differentiation
from one side to the other.

They were looking a bit ropey when
you were actually making them

and, actually, you've really brought
them to life in the decoration.

But these are too big,
they're too snug,

they're like a terrace block
of houses, aren't they?

That's understandable.

The level of detail is fantastic
and you've managed to get

the scale absolutely right.

You've got the king's top hat just
slightly taller than the queen

and you've got that lovely arch at
the back there.

You made these faces as well.
Yes.

The actual finish is really nice.

It's just so amazing that you can
get a lump of wet clay

and then in a few hours,
you can have a whole chess set.

Well, not everyone can take a load
of clay

and in a couple of hours produce
an amazing chess set. Oh!

But you can because they are truly,
truly wonderful.

Thank you.
Well done, Rosalind.

The pieces in the way you've
stylised them is great.

The proportions are pretty good.

But I look at this and I get a bit
annoyed, actually.

Quite frankly, 32 tubes on a chess
set is not good enough.

Well, I wanted to make something
functional,

ergonomic, nice to play with.

You're young to the game of pottery
and you've got

so much more to learn.

You remind me of me when I was
your age.

HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

HIS VOICE BREAKS: And it was
confidence that kept me back.

And I see that in you and I don't
want the same thing

to happen to you.

You've got it, just show everyone
else you've got it.

You've got me at it now, Keith!

THEY LAUGH

Seriously, that's why you remind me
of me.

But obviously,
I'm far more attractive!

THEY LAUGH

To pare it back and produce
something that's extremely well-made

and, actually, it looks very
professional.

I want to play with this set.

I want to do that.

I like the... I'll match you!

They're brilliant.
Thanks, Claire. Thank you.

Let's pull him away before he says
anything at all that's not positive!

There's a lovely coral effect within
the piece.

You'd use your sea glass in the top
of that.

There's a really nice pool where the
glass has melted.

I think it's very pretty, but I just
find that they're a little bit

difficult to handle...
That's really sharp.

Are you going to be bleeding by the
end of the chess game?!

Yeah, what a game! Yeah, thanks,
Flea, cheers. Thank you.

Thank you.

We had a little bit of drama with
you.

You are one piece short of a chess
set, aren't you?

Ten seconds at the end of the make
was where it got me.

Sure, sure.

Well, the scale is nice.

There's a nice curve on the back
line.

What I do like about them, Leonard,
is this nice square base.

I think it adds something to the
piece and obviously

it makes it more stable.
Mm-hmm.

The glaze worked really nicely on
that.

I just wanted to see more modelling
skills with your figures.

If you go forward in the
competition, you know,

let's see a bit more flamboyancy.

I produced a functional chess set
and I can understand...

Which is important.
..you think your wish for...

Yeah.
..that flamboyance.

Maybe I'll be given a chance to,
er...

HIS VOICE BREAKS: I'm going to do a
Keith! Oh, no!

HE LAUGHS

..given a chance to do that.

Well, cheers, Leonard.

It's quite hard to tell the
difference between those two.

Were you hoping for the
illustration... Yeah.

..or the glaze to really tell us
which is the king

and which is the queen?

Yeah, I think I heavily relied on
the glaze.

Obviously, illustration is one of
your strong points

and there could have been a bit more
illustration on there.

It doesn't really have a three
dimensional presence,

it's just very flat.

Whatever you see on the front is the
same as on the back.

And, of course, the stability of
them, the pawns are supposed

to be representing what?

The flower buds. Ah, right, OK.
Yeah.

Yeah, this one hasn't grown so much,
has it?

When you really stylise a chess set
and you're not going to do

the easily recognisable chess
pieces,

your concept has to be really,
really strong.

Obviously, the process you've chosen
here hasn't really shown

your illustration skills to the
fore, has it, really?

You've managed to make a very,
very tactile chess set.

I want to pick these up. Yeah.
I want to play chess with these.

And the weight and the proportion is
absolutely spot on.

Thank you. Brilliant!

It's a real centrepiece, isn't it?
Yeah.

Were these moulded?
No, just by hand.

By hand?! Yeah, yeah.
These look incredibly similar.

I've never made this many in that
amount of time.

There's lots of detail in there.

You've got that depth going on
there, which is really nice.

There's lots of character and I
think they're wonderful.

You've really excelled yourself.

Sublime! Brilliant! Thank you.
Yeah.

Gorgeous! Thank you.

WHISPERING: Nice one!

I'd love to be Potter of The Week
but, you know,

it's not up to me!

I can only do my best.

I've made him cry but for
the wrong reasons.

I put a lot of effort into getting
here and I'd love to get through.

My little errors are jeopardising
that.

Some of the comments they said,
it made sense

because that thing that I made
there, I don't even know what it is.

So I do feel like, "Oh, I could be
going home."

Potters, our judges have made their
decisions.

Keith, would you like to deliver the
good news first?

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

..Jacob.

THEY APPLAUD

Well done.

Now it's time for the sad news
because one of you

will be leaving us, and this week
that person is...

..Sampada.

I'm so sorry.

Give us a cuddle!

OK.

I think the fact I even made it this
far is...

..I feel like that's something I
really feel proud of myself.

And, also, I think meeting all these
different individuals

and just making friends.

Well done! Sorry, darling, it's very
lonely having you here.

It's been great, yeah.

It was so sad to see Sampada go,
she's worked really hard,

but clearly her skills are with
illustration and graphics.

She's really got to get to grips
with those three dimensions of clay

because that's what it's all about
at the end of the day.

I'm feeling mixed emotions,
like a bit sad,

but also, I don't really blame the
judges for, like, letting me go.

I'm feeling very sad for Sammy,
actually,

but I'm pleased that I'm going
through for the next round.

Really, really wonderful.

It's a big, big surprise and a big
step up this time, so...

Yeah... I've lost my head, really!

Jacob's winning chess set becomes
the second piece to be displayed

in our Throw Down Gallery.

Jacob, for me, was Potter of the
Week because his skills

with his hands and his affinity with
the clay,

well, it was sublime, it was poetry.

I'm going to celebrate by going out
and having a pint

and then go into my room and prepare
for the next challenge!

So, yeah.

Next time, it's Raku Week...

I'm plunging.

..and some animal magic.

Come on, duck! You can do it.

A spot test that
layers on the pressure...

Oh, that was brutal!

..as temperatures rise and cracks
emerge.

I just knocked the wing off!

But whose animals will be best in
show?

Oh, no!
Gosh, I lost the head!