04x04 - Naked Raku & a Floral Challenge

[bunniefuu]

A trio of potters have left,

leaving just nine potters
remaining to face the heat.

It's raku week,
and in a first for Throw Down,

it's naked raku.

And as our lovely potters lay

themselves bare to the elements,
so shall I.

What? It's not naked-naked?

Welcome to the great pottery
throw-down.

Ta-da!

Rose, get me some trousers.

Last time, the Potters got fruity...

My actual plums will be
slightly larger...

..sculpting some juicy ceramics...

Cor, that's a big orange.

..and took on the blindfold
challenge.

I'm scared of the dark.

After judging the lemons, grapes
and bananas...

I really like it.

It's fantastic.

..it was Shenyue who won best fruits

and claimed her first
Potter of the Week.

And although Lee's bowls cracked
and Alon's rattled...

POTTERY RATTLES

..it was sadly Suze's who lost her
place in the pottery.

This week, it's naked raku...

I will be hiding over here.

..as the Potters are laid
bare to the raku flames,

burning hot vases and smelly
combustibles.

Are you getting a good whiff?

Yeah. And a guest judge
drops in for a floral challenge.

Ooh.

But who will come up smelling
of daisies? Absolutely fantastic.

And who will be smoked
out of the pottery?

Whoa. Whoa!

# Making time

# sh**ting lines

# The people have their uses

# People have their uses. #

The Potters are back to
face raku week,

the volatile Japanese
technique of firing,

where pots are taken
out of the kiln red hot,

and combustible's used to add unique
surface decoration.

And for the first time,
we're doing it naked.

I've never done naked raku before,
but it's going to be epic.

How do I explain naked raku?

Um...

Big, hot, scary, hot...

Little bit intimidated.
I'm fully clothed,

in that one, I know that much.

Terrifying and hot.

Yeah, this week is scary.

Good morning, potters.

Welcome to this week's Challenge.

The judges are Keith Richards,
as I like to call them,

would like you to throw a pair
of big, beautiful bulbous vases.

One large, one small with
a neck and a rim.

Now, Rich, we have never
done naked Raku before.

What exactly is it?

It's all about the naked
surface of the clay.

You need to make sure your vases
have beautifully refined, pristine,

smooth, burnished finishes.

Now, you're not going
to be decorating these

until the firing stage, when you'll
use your combustible materials

directly onto the
surface of the clay.

So you need to make sure you've
got a really high level of finish

cos there's no
glazes to hide behind.

We want bulbous vases here.

So make sure you really
push that clay out

from the bottom to
create that wonderful form

that we're looking for.

You have been given a
very generous two hours

to throw your bulbous vases.

And your time starts...now!

The judges have
demanded two bulbous vases,

one measuring 15 centimetres high
and another 30 centimetres high.

Big forms, uh, a little bit nervous.

I've been throwing for two years,

but I've never attempted
anything this big.

And they're going to be super stiff
because we want a height to these.

It's the highest I've ever thrown.

And I haven't actually thrown
it to height in any practices.

So, this could be a first.

So naked Raku is a first for us in
the pottery. It is, yeah!

We're talking about one of the
oldest processes known in pottery.

This vase, for example,

has been burnished to a
high gloss beautifully.

And then they've used
amazing combustibles on there.

This feather design is incredible.

It's a tough, tough challenge.

We want that bulbous form,

because that really lends itself
to the kinds of effects they'll get

from the naked Raku process.

And it's how they manage
to create that form.

Are they throwing in one piece,

or are they throwing in two?

That, for me, will show
me their throwing skills?

Yeah, cos let's face it,
two pieces could cause problems.

Any kind of seam,

when you get that thermal shock

bringing that vase
out of the Raku kiln,

could cause that
joint to just reopen.

Morning, Lee.

All right! Tell us a
little bit about your design.

Much like a lot of the things that
I do, it's kind of nature inspired.

OK. So you've got poppy seeds
that have the bulbous form. Lovely.

Ooh, yes. So I thought,
"I will put that into a pot."

So the "bulbosity" of the vase
is... Bulbosity?

The bulbosity.

Is that a word? It is now.

I've made it a word.

Lee will be burning his neighbour's
pet horsehair onto the surface

of his naked vases.

But before all that,
he needs to throw them.

So would you say, you
know, 30 centimetres high,

that's one of the biggest
things you've thrown? Oh, yeah.

Are you throwing these in
one piece? I'm going to try.

There's always that danger of
having a weak spot, isn't there?

As in life. Yeah!

Throwing the largest forms
the competition has seen so far

won't be easy.

Throwing in one
should be quicker, but,

it's pretty tough, not going to lie.

The potters need to
throw tall and wide,

carefully pulling the clay
up to achieve the height

before pushing it out to
form the bulbous shape.

The problem is when you
belly out, you lose the height.

It's a little bit of a push for me.

I have thrown things this
big, but not very often,

so I don't want to pull too
quickly and mess it up.

It's massive.

Shenyue plans to use smoke to subtly
decorate two tall and elegant vases

in the shape of symbolic teardrops.

The piece will represent
my journey into pottery.

So the teardrop represents
the blood, sweat and tears

that will inevitably come.

Still a long way off yet.

Throwing the large vase in one
reduces the risk of joints cracking

in the intense Raku firing.

It's just too big for
me to throw in one.

So, for Sal and Hannah...

Come on.

..throwing in two
sections is an added pressure.

I'm happy that won't come apart.

That could be famous
last words, of course.

Sal will use emu feathers and
horsehair to burn onto her vases,

which will each have a
narrow neck and a wide rim.

I want a really nice sort of
flat, wide... Right, yeah. ..top.

Keeping that much clay up here
to then take out, it's difficult.

It's all about placing
the clay in the right place.

In the right place, yeah.

To make sure you get that form
that you want.

But what the form that Lee wanted...
Wasn't quite the right shape.

..is proving a little elusive.

I've decided, having thrown this
to the height that I could,

it's not quite there,
so I'm going to do it in two.

But rather than complete the
vase with an addition to the top...

All right, that's it. Done. OK.

..Hannah plans to join her two
sections at her vases widest

and most vulnerable point.

Hi, Hannah. This is exactly
when I didn't want to see you!

Oh, really? Oh, all right.
Wait til you se.. We're off.

We've caught you at a delicate...

You've caught me at
an awkward moment.

So, what's going on?
What? This looks fab.

It's just how to get
this bowl into that bowl.

Hannah's aiming for an
ambitiously wide moon shape form

and will use lavender
and sugar as combustibles

to create softer marks
on her naked vases.

I just like this big... Bulbosity.

I-I...I'm not gonna...
No, it's bulbosity.

Is that what we're using now? It's
a new word. It's new term, yeah.

Oh, Lee? It's a real word!
I'm sure it is.

Bulbosity. It just, like,
instinctively appeals to me,

that shape, that big... Bulbous
shape. ..bulbous shape. Yeah.

But Alon is pushing
the bulbous boundaries

with a different approach.

My idea was to play
with the silhouette.

So I want to not have the
whole thing as one bulbous piece,

but have smaller
bulbous pieces within it.

If that wasn't complex enough,

he's planned a hidden
inverted neck on his small vase.

And both will be
decorated using an ancient

and potentially dangerous technique.

I decided to go with an Eastern
European technique called Obvara.

So you take the piece
straight out of the kiln

and you dip into the slurry
of flour, yeast and water.

And it bubbles and creates this
really interesting surface pattern.

And then immediately from that,
you quench it to stop the reaction.

Yeah. Which is obviously a risk.

So is there a danger it could
crack, then? Definitely, yeah. Yeah?

I mean, is this something you've
tried before? Never tried Obvara.

Brave as ever. Brave as ever, yeah.

Potters, that is one hour gone.

Oh, time goes so quickly!

Uh, steady, steady.

These will be, like, very,
very cool and intimidating pots.

My form might be one of
the most boring ones.

It's supposed to kind of
look like a dog sat down.

Oh, ruined.

Boo!

Adam has collected
fur from his pet pug, Egg,

and his friend's Labrador,
Duke, to use as combustibles

on his dog shaped inspired vases.

My pug is going
to be the small part.

So are we looking at this,
or are we looking at this? Um...

Have a look at that one over there!
That's a flat pug.

Egg and Duke aren't the
only pets in the pottery.

My inspiration is my budgies.

My short one is going to be, you
know, this big fat sleeping budgie.

And then the taller one
is going to be slightly leaner

and more like the
budgies when they're awake.

With their silhouettes
immortalised in clay,

Henry's budgies, Bonnie and Clyde,

have also donated their
feathers for decoration.

Whenever you're home alone,

they're always chirping away.

They stop you from
getting too lonely.

One potter has been
inspired by feathered friends

of a different kind.

So I've got my
little feather dusters.

So when I little, I'd help my
mum, you know, clean the house.

So these are the
things we used to use. Wow.

So can you tell us
about your design?

My pots are inspired
by the Greek pottery.

No, I haven't been to Greece.

I was going to ask you that!

Previously inspired by
Polynesia, America and Morocco,

this week, Jodie's off to
Greece with amphora shaped vases

with large, wide
shoulders and a narrow base.

It's the first time I've ever
attempted anything this big. Oh, OK.

And I can honestly say I
never thought I'd even try.

Well, there you go. It's amazing
what you can do when you try.

Well, that, start
getting emotional here,

but that's the
wonder of this process.

We push you, and you always
deliver, and it's wonderful to see.

Everyone, to be honest, they're
just really pushing themselves.

For the potters who've chosen to
risk joining two smaller sections

to make their larger vase,
it's the moment of truth.

I haven't really got
time to make another one,

so I've got to make
sure this is really dry.

If it's not dry enough,

it'll sag when I put
the other one on.

And it'll be ruined.

You've just got the
one chance to do it.

The top one's slightly
smaller than the bottom one.

Making sure the joints
are airtight is crucial...

Get in.

..if they are to avoid
explosions in the kiln.

I'm just making sure
I've got a really good seal.

I would've liked to
throw them more exact

and then have a really strong joint,

but I'm not totally
confident in my join.

Ugh!

I've joined at the top neck section,

and as far as I'm concerned,
that joint's a good'un.

But this flat top could
literally collapse at any time.

My fault, my design.

With their larger
pots out of the way,

there's no time for
the potters to rest.

I'm going to spend about
20 minutes to throw the small one.

So this one's going
to have an inverted lip.

This is the smaller one.
Still a long way off yet.

But these shapes are based on
a seaweed called bladderwrack.

Inspired by family
trips to the seaside,

Peter hopes his seaweed will
be the perfect combustible

to burn onto his pots.

You've never done Raku before?

No, so really looking forward to all
the fire and explosions, and...

expl*si*n? I sincerely hope not. No!

No, we don't want explosions. No.

Potters, guess what?

You have half an hour left.

Oh, I've got to the speed this up.

Whoa.

All part of the plan.

To achieve the
naked finish required,

it's essential their vases
are as smooth as possible.

How are you getting on?
Oh, look at this.

I've got very rough surfaces,
so that's going to make my life

a bit harder tomorrow. And my
clay's still wet, so, sorry.

Might be a little while.

Yeah, I've got quite a bit to do.

You can see this
clay is quite rough.

Trimming off any
excess clay is vital.

If their walls or
bases are too thick,

the extreme heat of the Raku
firing could cause them to shatter.

Carry on. I'm just trying to
get it as thin as possible.

It feels like I've got a lot.

That's a big tool you've got there.

Just saying.

Yeah.

Oh, no!

Oh, my God.

Nothing ever goes smoothly.

With time marching on,
hitting the right height

is proving a tall order.

How high is yours? Not high enough.
No, nor is mine.

Needs to be 17 or 16.

And it's 20.

My pot is not the height
that I planned on it being,

even, sort of, worst case scenario.

So now is dissecting
my chuck to make a foot.

Just making sure that I've
got a decent sized foot ring on.

It is susceptible to coming off.
Yeah. Well, yeah.

I can see him having
a napkin ring, basically.

Come on, start putting stuff
into the drying room, please.

Listening! Lee, you were
always my favourite. Thank you.

Alon, you were always
my favourite. Ha-ha!

Come on now. Come on now.

Adam, did you just put extra clay on
the pot? I might have done.

Oh, Shenyue, look at that.

Is it a bit like a catwalk?

Oh, is that how you do it?

Come on! Hannah, how are we doing?
I'm done, I'm done.

Ten, nine... I'm going,
I'm going, I'm going.

..eight, seven...

Can store it this way round?

As long as it balances.

TOGETHER: ..three, two, one.

Woo! Get out.

Well done! You have finished

this stage of the challenge.

Ah, Hannah banana.

Potters, dismissed.

Well done, everyone.

Right in the last
minute, I decided to add

that little bit of extra
height with a double rim.

That's a new thing.

Oh, my God, mine is so bad!

I have no idea what that
second challenge might be

because this is naked Raku,

it might be naked modelling.

But, yeah. I want this one to go.

I need one good week.

While the potters could plan
for their first challenge,

the second is always
a complete mystery,

and this time there was
even more of a surprise...

This week, we have a very
special guest judge. Ooh.

Please welcome Rita Floyd.

Come on in.

Hiya! Hi!

Stoke born and bred, Rita Floyd

has been making bone china
flowers for over 40 years.

She's considered one of the
finest floral ceramic artists

working in the country

and her work is showcased
all around the world.

Wow. Oh, wow. Whoa.

OK, so as you can see, we're going
to be making bone china daisies.

OK? Lovely.

You're going to make three -
one opened, one partly opened,

and one closed like a bud.

So, this is bone china.
It's beautiful clay to work with.

Why is it called bone?
Like, is there bone in it?

Yes. Yes.
MAN LAUGHS

Cattle bone. Yeah, it's cow bone.

You just put a dab of oil
on your fingers,

and that just stops
the clay sticking.

You've got a little marker - now,
that will give you a pattern

and there's your little daisy petal.

Oh, wow. And do you find, Rita,

that you break off just
the right amount of clay?

That just comes naturally,

because I trained when I was
15... Right. ..when I left school.

Making flowers, about 30-odd dozen a
day, cos you were paid by the dozen.

Every petal needs to be
very, very fine at the edges

to get that beautiful
bone china look.

That's really important.

So, there are nine petals
for the daisy,

then we do the middle on the mesh,
just on a tea strainer...

..and then the petals go on.

Obviously, I suppose the spacing of
those petals is quite important?

Very important that you get the
proportions and the spaces right,

because if you don't, you won't get
a completely round-shaped daisy.

Wow. So, what I'm gonna do now,
I'm just gonna bob these leaves...

That leaf just adds a little bit
more depth, doesn't it?

I think so. Yeah.

Now, this is an important part.

Keep squeezing underneath,
getting rid of all the thick clay,

then you've got that
beautiful flower shape

and then just roll it

and then you've got your...
That's like a magic trick! ..stem.

APPRECIATIVE MURMURS
Oh, that's gorgeous. That's amazing.

So, I used to make
60 flowers an hour. Wow.

I won't expect 60 today.

OK - potters, back to
your benches, please.

OK, judges, you will be
judging blind,

so if I could ask Rita and Keith,
Richard, to please leave.

OK, then - listen up, potters.

We are giving you 30 minutes.

Oh! Your time starts now.

This is my nightmare.

It's too...little.

It's not something I've
ever done before,

and I don't know if you've noticed,

I'm not the lightest of fingered.

I do love doing delicate work.
Anything hand-built, that's my bag.

Hopefully, if I calm down,

this should be something
I can actually do.

HE GASPS
Just dropped it on the floor.

I liked daisies. I got one
tattooed on my side.

It's a bit mad.

Ahh, what the hell is this clay?!

The clay is like...wet chewing gum.

One minute it won't
stick to your hand,

the next minute it is
stuck to your hand.

I just don't wanna use too much oil.

To make these delicate petals
that stand upright

do what you want is quite tricky.

Don't like that one.

Rita makes it look really simple...
..and it isn't simple.

You have to work this clay quite
a bit before you actually use it.

If you work it too much,
it's gonna just flop, so...

I pride myself on being able
to keep them nice and stiff.

I'm gonna do the
open one first, I think.

Oh, wow, so that is
the middle of the daisy.

WHISPERING: Oh, I love this.

You really, really need
a delicate touch,

and, at the moment, I'm just trying
to get the shape of the leaf.

Oh, my God, this one's
pretty terrible.

What's going on here? Not
flower-making, that's for certain!

Look at this fella!
We need some water.

LAUGHTER
Maybe singing to it would help.

# Daisy, Daisy, give me
your answer, do...

# ..go and make flowers,
not like Peter do. #

Potters - no time
to smell the roses.

Ten minutes gone! No. Oh, no way.

What?

How did she make them so quick?

I'm just trying to
attach the leaves.

One, two...three.

That's a terrible flower,

to the point that I'm just
gonna start another one.

That's the tester.

CHUCKLING: Terrible.
So flippy-floppy.

Does that look like a daisy? No.
More like a sausage on a stick.

They're so fiddly!

How did she...? Kind of,
just went like that, go ooh...

Oop.

Oh!

Dropped it on the floor.

Yep, now I'm panicking.
I haven't got one done yet.

I don't think half an hour was
enough time to get so...

Oh, are you kidding?

I've managed a really hideous daisy
and I'm doing the next one now.

I'm onto the middling one that's
supposed to be half-open,

and I can't understand what
the difference is between that

and the full one.

At the minute, I'm just
hoping I've got something

that looks like a flower!

I only have one done.

I tried to double-petal it cos
I thought it would look cool,

realised it takes double the amount
of time - probably a big mistake.

WHISTLING

How are you getting on?
Oh, I've got two.

That's good. You need three.
I know, I'm getting there.

So, I need to make one more,
which is the bud.

Oh, my God, they're so ugly!

Potters, you have
five minutes remaining!

Peter, don't take it out
on the tea strainer.

Aah!

Five minutes to make
these monstrosities

into beautiful flowers.

Oh, here we are.

That one was a bit chunky.
This is looking better.

Chunky flowers!

PETER SIGHS

I'm on my last daisy, which
will be the closed daisy.

Right, I've forgotten how she
did the last one, now.

Oop, that's too much. Ahh!

Just alternating the petals, trying
to do something a bit different

cos I feel at this stage
I need to try and stand out.

That is one minute remaining.

Ahh!

Think I'm going home soon.

You must bring your three daisies

to your board at the
end of this minute.

WHISPERING: Go, go, go.

Gonna get these done.

Good man, Alon.

First one down.

That's the worst thing
I've ever done in my life.

Thank you, Peter.

Excellent work.

We have Henry coming up.

His ones are so good.

Adam... Oh, my word.

Wonderful, Hannah.

Come on, Jodie!
We're only missing one.

You've got it, you got it...
Five, four...

Go, go, go! ..three, two...

..one. Time is up!

Wow. Well done, potters.

Rita will now judge her
bone china daisies,

but she won't know whose
belonged to whom.

I'm so proud to see you
making my daisies. Aw.

Absolutely brilliant.

Thank you. Thank you.

She's expecting three - one in bud,
one half-open and one in full bloom.

Rita will now rank the potters'
daisies from worst to first.

So, in ninth place,
whose is this, please?

They're just not quite the round
shape that I was asking for

for a daisy. Your petals just
a little bit out of shape.

Then, in eighth place,
who's this, please?

You've just used a little bit
too much oil on your clay

and it's slipped all over the place.

In seventh place, whose is this?

Little bit thick under your heads,

and I was looking for a closed-up
bud, but really, really good try.

So, number six?

OK.

You haven't got the
clay from underneath

to make your stem form so it flows,

but nice shape and you've got
your petals tapered in nicely.

Aw, thank you. OK, well done.

Number five?

Very well done.

Now, look at the colours there,
they are lovely, how they contrast.

Your middle is a little bit
big for a daisy.

Got a nice-shaped bud.

I like how you've done your
double petals as well. Excellent.

So, who's number four?

OK.

I love these.

They look like they're moving.

Just two of your petals there
weren't quite tapered-in enough,

but I do like the shape of
all your flowers. Well done.

OK, so in third place...

..who's this, please?

It's me.

Your middle on your big daisy's just
a little bit big, but it's lovely,

and I do like the
length of the petals.

Very well done.
Thank you. Excellent.

OK, the runner-up.

Who did this one, please?

Me!

Absolutely fantastic. Thank you.

The shape, the size of your petals,

then I love how you've done
the different colours. Well done.

Thanks. And the winner...

Well done.

Thank you.

Absolutely beautiful.

I love that bud.
It just looks so natural.

Very, very well done.

Well done.

What a great week to do well.

Can't kick me out now!

Well, they could. Famous last words.

They were awful.

It was like trying to manipulate
butter with sausages.

and after 24 hours in the
drying room,

their vases are leather-hard and
ready for burnishing.

Go on in, Lee. Thank you, Adam.
Thank you very much.

Oh, it's not as hideous as
I thought it was.

Let's get burnishing. Ooh!

Burnishing is the process that will
give their creations

a perfect smooth finish,

putting the naked in naked raku.

It's going to be quite relaxing,
this, I think.

And the smoother their finish,

the better their combustibles
will show up when raku-fired.

If I get a shiny pot at the end
of this,

I'm going to be elated.

I might do a little dance.

A raku dance.

The potters face three and a half
hours of backbreaking work...

This is slow, tedious work.

My arm's k*lling already.

It's only three and half hours.
We can do it.

..and the rougher their surfaces

after yesterday's refining stage...

Your arm's going to be aching.

Oh, I know!

..the harder they will have to work
today

to achieve the finish the judges
expect.

The thing that I've made difficult
for myself

is that I had to spend quite a lot
of time trimming it,

which made the outside of the
pot really grainy.

Yeah, I've got a big job to get
this whole thing polished.

Polishing compresses the surface
of the clay,

giving naked raku its
telltale shine.

It's going to look so shiny.

You'll think there's a transparent
glaze on there, hopefully.

But it's actually just the surface.

And to achieve that shine,

the potters can use almost anything
smooth.

I'm burnishing with a stone
and a spoon.

I'm going for the double whammy
here.

I'm getting the leather and
the hand burnish.

These are my nan's spoons.

I always remember 'em,
when I was little,

cos I'd help her wash up.

So when she passed, then I made
sure I kept all the spoons.

I'm really trying hard not to think
about Jodie's spoon collection.

It's a spoon-off! We have got a
spoon-off going on.

Shenyue is really pulling it
out of the bag,

with the contents of Lee's pockets.

You've got your poop bag.
Yeah, from Lee.

They're handy because you need them
that size.

Lee, can I pinch a bag? Yeah, yeah.

Aw, thanks.

And the exchange of tools is
catching.

Has anyone got a spare stone?
I've got stuff.

I'm using a shammy that Sal
has lent me.

And this was going to be my stone.

And Sal, she was like,
"Adam, that stone is pants."

Oh, is it? Which I'm now going to
lend Shenyue so don't say...

Oh, here you go. Oh, thank you.

I'll just ruin my pot, it's fine.

Potters, one hour gone.
One hour gone!

Wow!

Initially, I thought, "That's quite
a long time," but it isn't.

You have to polish so carefully.

Those minutes are ticking away.

Have you seen Sally's?
Yours are so shiny, Sally!

LEE GASPS
Oh, no!

My rim's just broken.

Oh, God, I'd almost finished there
as well.

Sal, what shall I do?

Do you think I should stick it
back on?

Yes, you need to get some
wet tissue.

Let that bit of that pot absorb a
bit of moisture.

And then stick it back on?
Yeah.

Are you with me? OK.

She's a good egg, Sal.

I knew she'd have a solution.

But it's obviously disappointing.

I'm not going to get the finish
that I wanted,

but I just need to try and make the
best of it.

I'm going to change my name
to the Clumsy Potter.

For the final step in achieving
a perfect naked finish,

the potters must add at least three
layers of thin clay slip

called terra sigillata.

You paint it on, and it's only the
very finest particles of the clay.

So it's awesome stuff.

Buffing each layer before applying
the next...

So it's had a couple of coats.

Burnish, burnish, burnish.

..the potters create a beautiful,
shiny, polished finish.

Yeah, it's getting there.

This is the most physically
exhausting thing we've done

so far in this competition.

HANNAH SIGHS

Ladies and gentlemen potters,

you have ten minutes left.

I'm buffing like a demon.

Lee's buffing like a demon.

It's just going to be a question of
just being

very careful on this rim.

Look at that! Oh!

Her arm has been a complete blur for
the whole three and a half hours.

I've just not seen anything like it.

I'll just say that Sal and Peter
are putting their stuff

into the drying room.

One more minute, Lee.
I'm coming!

I'm just wiping my bottom.

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

..two...

..on-n-n-ne!

Well done!

It was so much more difficult
than I thought.

Like, I am sweating.

My arm didn't stop.

Yeah, I think I need a bit of a...

..massage.

How much stress do I cause myself?

Hopefully it'll survive the firing.

Fingers crossed.

48 hours later, and it's time for
the first ever naked raku

firing in the pottery.

Absolutely everything is exciting
about raku -

the smoke, the fire, the smells.

Morning, potters.

Raku, anything can happen.

You can overdecorate. You can ruin
it with just one thing.

If you're bottom of the pack,

there's a fair chance you're
on your bike.

The vases have been bisque-fired
overnight

and are ready to face their ultimate
test of strength

against temperatures of nearly 1,000
degrees centigrade.

Morning, potters. Yoo-hoo!

Up here.
TOGETHER: Good morning.

As you can see, our raku kilns
are ready,

and joining Rose today is our
raku expert, Andrew.

Hi! Take extreme care at loading and
unloading your vases

from the kiln. It's incredibly hot.

And this is a very intense firing.

Be mindful of how you use
those tongs.

We really don't want to see any
breakages at this stage.

Sal, Lee, Peter - you're up first.

Let's go. Let's do this.
Good luck, guys.

Lee, did your rim survive?

It's still on.

There's a hairline crack
down one side.

Come on, let's go.

Excited. Really excited.

I'm not going to go too far.

I'll make sure I can get the
tongs in there.

Good luck, little dude.

OK, Rose. Fingers crossed.
Fingers crossed.

Turn it up.
Not too quick.

There it goes.

Sounds like a jet engine.

Raku kilns reach high temperatures
quickly,

so timing is critical.

The potters must decide what
temperature to heat their vases to

and when to take them out.

We're at 600. We're going to crank
it up. Yeah, yeah, yeah!

If their vases are not hot enough,

the combustibles won't burn
at all,

but too hot and the combustibles
will burn too quickly

and not leave any decorative marks.

891?
Come on, let's go.

SALLY STUTTERS
Don't fall over.

OK. Whoa!

Whoa!

Sal now faces a race against time
to decorate her vases

before the surface cools.

So I reckon three minutes.
Oh.

I'm just putting some sugar on.

The sugar's a good temperature
gauge.

The combustibles burn at different
temperatures,

so getting each one onto the vase at
the right moment is crucial.

I just want not too much of
anything, really.

I quite like them slightly
minimalist.

I think that's enough.

I've made another difficult shape
to pick up.

I want the feathers to look like
they're tumbling down

the sides of the pot.

I'm very happy with that.

There we go. I'm good.
CHEERING

Centigrade's at 920.

OK, that's fine.

It's still on! The rim's still on!

Woo! Hot pot!

Oh, holy moly!

Moly!

I'm only putting horsehair on it.
Look at it burn!

Lee's horsehair is making more than
just marks on his vase.

Are you getting a good whiff, guys?
Yeah.

We're certainly getting it, yeah.

Yeah, you're so far up, isn't it?
Yes.

This is the big boy!

With this one, there's going
to be more

at the bottom than the top.

You need a hairy bottom.

It's hard to know when to stop.

Does it make you more nervous
or less nervous, seeing that?

More nervous now.
More nervous?

I'm there now.

Well done, Lee!
Wahey!

OK, Peter, we're at 944.

Let's go!

Oh! Ooh!

CHEERING

I've got this is spike because
I want the inside of the pot

to go really, really black.

This is the stuff from Margate.

I've got some donkey hair.
Donkey hair?

Yeah, that's nice.

I'm ready to rock and roll, yeah.

The sugar should crystallise
and burn black.

That smell's amazing, that sugar.

I'm hoping that the seaweed is going
to introduce

some reds and some pinks.
Oh, my!

That does not mix well with
the sugar.

It's a bizarre colour coming out.

Doesn't look good, does it?

That'll do.

Oh, no! It's just come off.

How has that come off?
It's just thermal shock.

Right, we're at 910.

Take it out.
She's hot, so she is.

Next up, Hannah is using sugar and
lavender

to create a multilayered pattern.

I want to have mottled, dark areas.

Oh, wow.

Oh, it smells lovely.

This smells of a hot day
in Provence.

Shenyue is aiming for a simple
smoked effect.

The combustibles underneath are just
letting that fumes

come out nice, isn't it?

Sawdust, so that hopefully it'll get
quite a nice smoky bottom,

and then I'm just going to use
horsehair.

Keep it simple.

Woo!

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

Adam will immortalise pet pug Egg,
burning his fur

onto a small vase...

I just want to make sure there's
some smaller markings

down at the bottom.

..giving Henry an idea.

There's a hair cut happening
over there.

Snip it all off. He's decided to use
his own hair as a combustible...

SIOBHAN SCREAMS

Nice!

You've got plenty of hair here.

I'm so excited!

..as well as feathers donated by
his pet budgies.

Little, tiny baby feathers.

Oh, there we go!
Woo!

And he's not alone.

Good grief.
Focus, Jodie. Focus.

Jodie is using her favourite
feather duster.

Oh, wow!

So now it's going to be Henry hair
all the way.

I never thought that I'd be using my
own hair to do pottery,

but I'm so happy that I am
because it's so cool.

That one's on, but that one
burnt off.

They're burning off!
It's too hot.

Oh.
It's all about timing, isn't it?

Are you sure you want to go again?

You've only got three feathers left.

Oh, stay on, stay on, stay on.

Nice.

Do it. Do it.

That stayed on. Yes!

Woo! Right, horsehair now.

We're too cold now.

There's no more I can do to it.
Done.

Done! Woo!

Oh, thank goodness, it came out.

Seriously, like, the adrenaline
then.

And then there was one.

Alon has brought to the pottery
his own yeast brew,

which he'll use in his risky obvara
technique.

It's just flour and water and yeast.

It's been fermenting for, like,
seven days.

OK, are you ready?
I'm ready?

Uh-oh!

Mr expl*sive.

If everything goes according
to plan,

the mixture will create a bubbling
liquid design.

The danger, however, is the sharp
change in temperature

could cause thermal shock...

I will be hiding over here.

..with potentially devastating
results.

The reaction of the yeast burning
onto the hot surface

is then fixed by plunging
into water.

That clay is bombproof.

Ready for the big one? Let's go.

Dipping it in.

OK, be careful, please.

My nerves can't take it.

Oh, my God, it's so beautiful!

Well...
CHEERING

..that looks amazing.

It worked!

Unbelievable.
So good!

Woo!

It's judgment time as the potters
present their naked Raku vases

to Keith and Rich.

Lee, please bring
your naked Raku vase

up for judging.

Oh!

Oh, I'm so clumsy!

I would say you've got more of that
bulbousity that you were looking for

in the smaller one,
than you have the bigger one,

but your rim profiles are very good.

Yeah, I know you had a bit of
a problem with this particular one.

Yeah. You can just about see
where that problem was.

I mean, you've got a reasonably
good burnish as well.

You can see some of the lines
where you've obviously

applied the slip.

And I would just question whether
there's enough mark making

going through the middle.

The forms are sublime. To throw
something as fine and as flat

as that shows either complete
recklessness or complete and utter

bravery. You can tell that
you've timed that just perfectly.

You've kind of captured alchemy
in time, but you've got...

It's from the tongs.

I should have put a feather over it.
Shove a feather on it. Yeah.

Honestly, Jodie, that sort
of yin and yang of a feather.

Absolutely brilliant.

These were sort of Greek inspired.
Yeah.

Thou you haven't been to Greece.
No, no.

And you haven't ever thrown
that high before.

About 20, I'd say was the most
I've thrown.

It is a little bit
on the weighty side.

God, it's a m*rder weapon.
It's really heavy.

That spoon of yours has come
into its own.

For me, it's these small feathers.

You've managed to capture that
at just the right heat.

They're so detailed and this hair
has worked really well.

Yeah, you should start bagging
it up and selling it.

As a set, you have got
that bulbousity

but you have got different rims.

I just knew the height wasn't there,
so I thought...

Add a bit of clay on.
And that's Duke's hair, is it?

That's Duke's hair.
Brilliant, brilliant.

You can see that you've perhaps...

Oh! Da da da!

Perhaps a slight joining issue.
Yeah.

Crikey. Wow.

Actually, that's quite nice.

I mean, it does, somehow
it does work better.

I mean, yeah, it's lucky that
that survived the Raku, really.

I love the shape, they're very
Neolithic, and the weight

of that is really nice.

You've got beautiful subtlety
to the surface.

It is like looking at the star
at night.

It's so deep.
Thank you.

Out of all the potters that were
working, you were the least

confident about this.

But you've done brilliantly.

Really, really wonderful.

Thanks. Yeah.

Absolutely brilliant.
Thank you so much.

Absolutely fantastic, the way
you've got that smoky finish there.

I look at these and I just look at
them and I just know straight away

that you've been so conscious
and so thoughtful

about how you were going
to apply that stuff.

And exactly the kind of bulbous vase
we were looking for.

Thank you.

Every time we say to you, just rein
it in, you know, you push too far.

But I've got to commend you, in
terms of the surface decoration,

you've done so incredibly well.

You take risks, but this has really
paid off absolutely tenfold.

And the fact the thing didn't crack
is a testament to your making.

In terms of the form,

this one doesn't have a neck.
Inverted neck? Inverted neck!

You see, there you go again.

You just try, you're pushing
the boundaries, aren't you?

Although they're both bulbous
in their own way,

they're quite different.

Has something happened with the base
of this one?

Yes, I had a small ring
on the bottom.

It just came off. OK.

But I love your inventive use
of combustibles because, you know,

we asked for a rim and actually
putting that carbon inside

is a good way of highlighting
that rim.

Fantastic. Genius ideas.

So, what an interesting seven days.

That's the nature of filming safely
during a pandemic

and where we left off was
with our naked Raku pots.

Who, for you, stood out, Keith?
Shenyue is one of them.

Those pots were just amazing.

She didn't do too well with the
second challenge, however.

Her oily flowers unfortunately
got her eighth place.

They weren't great, were they?

But then, you know, you have Hannah
who came first.

And what I love about Hannah is
that she hasn't been the most

confident of people,
and those pots were just amazing.

Her surfaces were exquisite,
that terra sigilatta

was just burnished so well.

I suppose we have to talk
about Alon.

Well, for once it really paid off.

It really stood out from everything
that everybody else had done.

Who do you think is in danger
of going home?

Well, I mean, Adam's were really
a sort of game of two halves.

Game of three halves, really.

Well, it was by the time
I'd finished with them,

unfortunately, but actually
the combustibles were beautiful.

How do you think Peter got on?

What really didn't pay off for him
was the lack of throwing skills.

But apart from that, I mean,
they've all had such

an amazing week, really.

It's going to be tough
to pick between them.

Hello, lovely potters.

I know it's been a bit of a long
week, but we are back and delighted

to see you all.
OK, then.

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

It's Hannah.

And actually, the good news
doesn't end there.

After the weirdness of this week,
the judges have come

to the conclusion that it
would be unfair to send

anybody home this week.

So we expect to see you all
back next week.

Potters dismissed.

Potter of the week, it's great.

I don't know, I kind of,
I can't quite believe it.

It's quite surprising.

There were so many good pots.

It's like being given the best star
in a class like, um, well...

Hannah's naked Raku vases
take fourth place

in our Throw Down gallery.

The amount of definition
and subtlety she got

with that decoration was fantastic.

I don't just hope it helps
boost her confidence.

I love Hannah's pot, so I think
she really deserved to win.

And I also think the judges
gave me really nice feedback

on my pot as well.

So I'm just really excited
to keep making.

It's a really nice week because
no-one's gone home,

so all back in the house together.
That's really lovely.

Just all good news all round.

Next time...
Hi, potters, it's Dolly here.

..there is music in the air
as our potters go head-to-head...

Oh, my gosh, that is wobbly.

..sculpting a bust
of a musical legend.

Oh!

It's the most ambitious sculpting
challenge they've faced.

I'm cracking more pens here.

And can anyone hit the high note
in the spot test?

Ah, just give up.
OK, I've had enough.

Who will be crowned
potter of the week,

and who will be bottom
of the charts?

Oh, I could feel that.

I'm sorry, Dolly!