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No this isn't the bit between the programs

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in the 1960's.

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This is The Great Pottery Throw Down.

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Pottery is all around us,

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irreplaceable in our daily lives and none of us

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can live without stuff made from clay.

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And these are clays maters.

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Ceramic artist, Kate Malone, and Master Potter,

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Keith Brymer Jones, have championed

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Great British Pottery for decades.

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Pottery's almost as good as sex,

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it's so physical and so fantastic,

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on a good moment it's up there.

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Is pottery better than sex? No.

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Keith has been at the wheel for over 30 years,

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his contemporary tableware sells all over the world,

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and with Madonna and Brangelina as clients,

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he's now one of our most successful potters ever.

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I find that the simpler the design the more impact it has.

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There's quite often times when I've looked

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at a certain shape and it will move me to tears.

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Kate's stunning work can be seen in museums

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and public spaces all over the world,

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and in the homes of renowned art collectors and rock stars.

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I'm chasing that next glaze,

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that next color I haven't invented yet.

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I'm chasing that next interpretation of nature.

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Now they're both chasing a new dream,

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to find the next champion of British pottery.

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And it's going to take 1,600 kilograms of clay.

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1,200 degrees centigrade.

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It is completely on lap with the pottery gods now.

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500 unique and

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beautiful items for the home.

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35 grueling days.

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Exhausting, and moreish.

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With 10 passionate home potters.

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You look quite at home there I must say.

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Is that so?

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But will a champion emerge?

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You ain't finished the task!

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In the Great Pottery Throw down.

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Come on!

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Has that one shrunk really quickly?

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This is where the panic kicks in.

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Don't try and touch it up, just dip and pray.

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That's not supposed to happen!

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Oh my god this is going to be a disaster.

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Its day one of the first ever search for

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Britain's best home potter

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and we're in the spiritual home of potting.

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This is where it all began, in Stoke on Trent

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and what better place than the longest,

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continuously running pottery in the whole of Stoke on Trent?

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Who knows how many thousands of beautiful crocks

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that serve the British dinner table passed over these cobbles?

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There's a bottle oven out the back there,

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Stoke was covered in bottle ovens in the old days.

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In fact there was so much smoke from them,

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you could hardly see your hand in front of your face.

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The middle port is living now, it's still making

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and it's using all the great techniques.

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Hundreds of years, piled one upon the other.

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If this location doesn't inspire the potters, nothing will.

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All our home potters

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have come disguised as ordinary people.

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Pot plant.

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Jim is a painter and decorator

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from Bognor Regis.

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I think there used to be stereotypes in pottery.

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Older fellas, bearded.

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Sally-Jo is an interior

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designer from Hampshire.

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I'm probably not what people think as a typical potter.

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James is a vet from Bristol.

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It is quite primal, it's a very sexual feeling

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when you're working with clay.

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Retired Major, Tom, feels exactly the same way.

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I can tell you, it takes me a lot longer to throw a pot.

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Mum of two, Jane,

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from north Wales, is just as keen to get her hands dirty.

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I'm a farmer's daughter, generally quite a mucky kid.

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Sandra's a community project manager from Leeds.

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I sew, I knit and into pottery. It's normal isn't it?

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Mum of one, Joanna,

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is a Parish Councillor from West Sussex.

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I make pots for myself, it's almost kind of spiritual.

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Matthew's a Teacher from the Yorkshire Dales.

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Pottery, you definitely don't do it for money.

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Because you'll never be a rich potter.

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Raikah is a former fine arts student from

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Chalfont St. Peter.

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I just fell in love with something,

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which is messy and so earthy.

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And Nigel is a builder from Bakewell.

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My work colleagues,

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most don't believe that I actually make pots.

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So that's our 10 potters,

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but what will they be making first?

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Look at you all, you all look gorgeous!

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It's so exciting. Welcome then to Middle Port Pottery.

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I can't wait to see what incredible creations

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are going to be birthed in this very room by your hands.

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Big moment now, you've got to meet the judges.

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Morning people!
Hey.

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Hello everybody!

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Hiya, Potters of the World Unite!

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I'm actually tingling with excitement,

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I'm so passionate about ceramics and I know you all are.

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I'm feeling emotional actually now.

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I've got hankies today.

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This is how it's going to work, okay?

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Each week one of you will be named Top Potter,

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one of you, sadly, will be going home.

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So it's going to be pretty tough, okay?

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So we'll begin with the first ever Main Make,

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this is your mammoth task.

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It's going to take four days to create this, Keith,

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okay what have you got in store?

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Right, the first main task is to throw a set of five bowls.

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The finished bowls have got to fit inside each other,

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and they've got to be fired, decorated and presented

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to us at the end of the week.

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Okay, Sally? Good luck.

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Good luck to you too.

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Creating five stackable kitchen bowls

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from scratch is an epic task that will take four long days.

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First the Potters need to throw the bowls on the wheel,

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then the bowls will have to harden in the studios

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drying room and be put back on the wheel

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to be trimmed into shape.

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Then they'll be fired in the kiln for 24 hours,

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decorated with glaze

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and fired again for another 24 hours.

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And then they'll have to present

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all five bowls to the judges.

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Look at these beautiful examples on the table,

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this one here with the beautiful rhythm,

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the space between the bowls is almost as important

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as the bowls themselves.

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And these, the continuity of the size,

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it looks like one has been born out of the other one.

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Are the nest of bowls going to sit up,

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look up like an ordinance survey map?

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Are some of them going to apply a lip?

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Are some of them going to distort them in some way?

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It'll be very interesting to see if any of

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our potters just give us that something a little bit more.

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But they've got to have that continuity.

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And then of course there's the glazing.

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Look at this one, really, really subtle

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on the inside and lovely texture on the outside.

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Sometimes less if more and in which case

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they'll be showing us the fact that they're designing

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with clarity, but on the other hand,

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you can cover every surface if you want.

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This is a great challenge they can show us minimal

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design skills or they can show us everything they've got.

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In this first stage, the potters have

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just two and a half hours to throw 5 kitchen bowls

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on the wheel and get them into the studios drying room.

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Oh gosh.

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They're all working with the most common clay

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on the planet, urban-ware.

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Either a common red like you'll find beneath

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your garden or a manufactured white urban-ware.

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That's one.

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Depending on the final look they're hoping

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to achieve for their bowls.

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When this clay fires it should end up

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as a classic clean-ware, the color should be stunning.

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It's different in here. I'm hot.

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I normally pot in a garage and its freezing.

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Pottery is a complete escape, I love the feel on my hands,

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even in the winter when it's bitterly cold in the pottery,

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and I just love the idea that you're taking this piece

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of mud and you're creating something

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that could last thousands of years.

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Before I left home, my kids said,

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"Daddy just one thing, don't embarrass us."

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If any of major Tom's kids are watching-

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Now I need to work some clay.

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This next bit is a bit odd.

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He's wedging the clay,

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a potter's trick for getting rid of any air bubbles.

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Air often will be wet, as a certain relative humidity,

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a certain amount of moisture associated with it.

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And if you heat that ware and you've trapped

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some moisture in it, it generates steam,

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you'll get massive expansion

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and the ware will simply explode in the kiln.

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Even if they think they've wedged enough,

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the clay still isn't ready to be thrown.

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All I can hear in this room is-.

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What's going on with the slapping?

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Well they're preparing the clay, they're balling

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up the clay ready to throw on the wheel.

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Slapping is quite necessary.

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Is slapping the technical terminology for it, Jane?

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Slapping is the technical term. Yes.

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It's actually wedging the clay and getting it even,

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so you don't want hard lumps and soft lumps

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within the same piece of clay.

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It does get quite rhythmic, you can hear potters doing that.

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If ever your neighbour's net curtains twitch at night,

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what's happening at Jane's house?

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No, well, I've got cows with my next-door neighbours

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so they don't mind so much, they quite like that.

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My Dad and my brother work on the farm together

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and in this empty little shed, my brother

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had his eyes on it and I just got in there first basically.

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Dad bought me my wheel for my 30th birthday,

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he hadn't got a clue what to buy me,

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he's a fan of online shopping

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and he's always been quietly supportive.

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I was just proud of her

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for plowing her own furrows as they say.

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How are you feeling about this task?

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Yeah, I'm little bit nervous.

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- Right. -Yeah really.

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What you most worried about?

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I think it's just that the quantity of clay really

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to assign to that first bit of clay.

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It looks like your head is really busy.

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So we're going to leave you in peace.

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- Yeah, thank you very much. -Good luck, Jane, good luck.

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Lovely to meet you both, three.

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They've wedged, they've slapped,

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but now potting starts to get really mucky.

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I'm just trying to center the clay,

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which can be the trickiest bit under pressure.

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Clay that isn't properly centered

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will form lopsided bowls.

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So you bring the clay up, it's centering

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and it helps the particles to be in the same direction.

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Once centered, the clay can be shaped

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into a bowl like form in a process known as throwing.

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Why is it called throwing?

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I used to think it was about throwing down the clay

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on the wheel, because often a thrower

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would have an assistant who would throw the clay down.

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It's actually derived from an old English word throwen,

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throwen meant to twist or turn.

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As the wheel turns the potters

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can start pulling up the walls of their bowls.

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Thick walls will make heavier, unattractive bowls

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but pull too thin and the walls will collapse.

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Starting with the small ones first, and work my way up.

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Just to kind of settle myself in really.

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I'm a little bit nervous, so I thought it was

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the wrong time to start with the big one.

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And I'm going to start that one again too!

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I've thought I need to do the big one first,

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because I do big pots, and then I can sort of

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train myself to do the smaller ones.

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I'm still undecided as to whether to go small

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to large or large to small.

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The theory behind that is,

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I can work myself up to the big one.

260
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,000
Nigel has brought a bit of a builders yard

261
00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:24,000
to the studio.

262
00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:26,000
That has been cut to a shape.

263
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,000
That shape will go round the bottom of the pot.

264
00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:30,000
He's made his own tool

265
00:11:30,000 --> 00:11:33,000
to decorative foot on his bowl as he throws it.

266
00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:39,000
It come off the wheel, I didn't get it secured

267
00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:40,000
well enough.

268
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:42,000
This is where the panic kicks in.

269
00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:45,000
That's the easy one gone wrong.

270
00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,000
Need to get the first one under the belt.

271
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:50,000
Lovely.

272
00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:52,000
My first pot is a bit bottom heavy

273
00:11:52,000 --> 00:11:54,000
but it's only going to get better.

274
00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,000
90 minutes left to throw five kitchen bowls

275
00:11:59,000 --> 00:12:01,000
and get them into the drying room.

276
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,000
I want to whistle those pots are so good, Tom.

277
00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:04,000
With every bowl thrown-

278
00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,000
Size matters.

279
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:09,000
27 and a half.

280
00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:10,000
Unless the potters measure

281
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,000
as they throw the bowls won't be the right size

282
00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:14,000
to stack inside each other.

283
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:16,000
It's working to exact measurements

284
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:17,000
is the difficult bit.

285
00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:20,000
16 and a half by eight and a half.

286
00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:21,000
But it's not just a case

287
00:12:21,000 --> 00:12:22,000
of getting the tape measure out.

288
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:24,000
They're the same height, they're not meant

289
00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:25,000
to be the same height.

290
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:26,000
Has that one shrank really quickly?

291
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,000
As clay dries, it shrinks.

292
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:32,000
Obviously you've got to take into account shrinkage.

293
00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:33,000
Normally it's about 10%.

294
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:36,000
With everything with pottery, there's always a theory

295
00:12:36,000 --> 00:12:38,000
but relativity's never quite the same.

296
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:41,000
I need to throw to at least 17 to allow for all the shrinkage.

297
00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:44,000
This is nowhere near what I want it to be.

298
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:46,000
But some potters have given themselves

299
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,000
even more to worry about.

300
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:49,000
Yeah I'm making a set of mixing bowls,

301
00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,000
so a good sturdy rim, and expanse.

302
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,000
It gives the bowl a bit of character,

303
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,000
but it's also a sort of functional.

304
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,000
When the bowls are inside each other they

305
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,000
should all sort of line up and all smile.

306
00:12:58,000 --> 00:12:59,000
So it's a nice, nice part.

307
00:13:01,000 --> 00:13:03,000
Matthew is also making a few additions.

308
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,000
I would say that's a lovely wavy line,

309
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:08,000
has it got an official name?

310
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:10,000
So it's called slip-trailing, so slip-trailing.

311
00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:12,000
Slip trailing? -Yeah.

312
00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,000
It's not an underskirt is it? That's a slip to me.

313
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:17,000
I imagine he isn't uncomfortable with his underskirt.

314
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,000
What is it slip?

315
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:20,000
Slip is a liquid clay, it's watered down.

316
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:22,000
It's so simple a technique

317
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,000
and it's used all around the world in country pottery.

318
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,000
They've always used the fact that you get red and white clay.

319
00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:28,000
Do you like doing this, Matthew?

320
00:13:28,000 --> 00:13:30,000
It's something that, it appeals to me.

321
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:33,000
It's kind of like traditional Mediterranean style

322
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:34,000
and like medieval English.

323
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:37,000
I think it's good to source inspiration

324
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:38,000
from lots of different places.

325
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:41,000
- I wish you luck with it. -Thank you.

326
00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:43,000
Wish you luck with it. Well done.

327
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,000
At the throwing stage, Jim's inspiration

328
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:46,000
is a little more straightforward.

329
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,000
I haven't chosen anything that's going

330
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:51,000
to be overly complicated or testing.

331
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,000
I'm trying to let myself in gently.

332
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,000
Potting is a quiet zone, I have kind of a mixed existence

333
00:13:57,000 --> 00:13:59,000
if you like, there's times when I'm quite loud.

334
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,000
I'm the lead singer in a band called

335
00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:04,000
Slim Jim and the Wild Cards.

336
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,000
♪ Shake rattle and roll ♪

337
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,000
It's the opposite of my potting, it's the noisy part

338
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:09,000
of my personality.

339
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:10,000
Oh Jim, gives us a song.

340
00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:12,000
I will do at some point.

341
00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:15,000
Oh it's nice and warm in here, nice shapes.

342
00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:16,000
Getting there.

343
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,000
That's nice -Just relax.

344
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:20,000
Half an hour to go.

345
00:14:20,000 --> 00:14:22,000
Oh no, that's really annoying,

346
00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,000
they're completely different shapes.

347
00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:26,000
One of Sally-Jo's bowls

348
00:14:26,000 --> 00:14:29,000
doesn't boast the curvy look she was hoping for.

349
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,000
It's too straight on the sides. Ugh.

350
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,000
Okay, the two big ones to go!

351
00:14:35,000 --> 00:14:38,000
Whilst Matthew tackles his smallest bowl-

352
00:14:39,000 --> 00:14:41,000
The larger the bowl the more intimidated I'm getting.

353
00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:42,000
Most of the other potters

354
00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:45,000
have left their biggest until last.

355
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:48,000
Take a deep breath and see what happens.

356
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,000
They involve wrestling

357
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,000
three kilograms lumps of clay-

358
00:14:51,000 --> 00:14:56,000
Right now the clay is dominant, it doesn't want to get in line.

359
00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:57,000
Just like my kids.

360
00:14:57,000 --> 00:15:00,000
Even if they've managed to center the clay,

361
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:03,000
pulling thin walls for a larger bowl is even harder.

362
00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,000
The difficulty with throwing big bowls,

363
00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:08,000
is when you've got the force of the wheel spinning round,

364
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:10,000
the further out you get,

365
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:11,000
the centrifugal force gets even higher.

366
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:15,000
So your bowl just automatically wants to spin off the wheel.

367
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,000
Come on. -Oh! Nip.

368
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,000
It must of just got too dry. Ridiculous.

369
00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:27,000
So the clay needs to stay nice, nice and moist

370
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:28,000
as it turns round on the wheel,

371
00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:31,000
and I let it get too dry and I pulled it too fast,

372
00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:35,000
and try not to panic too much, and just do another one.

373
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,000
Great view, Tom!

374
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:41,000
Am I giving you a good view?
Thanks.

375
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:43,000
Tom's not the only one struggling.

376
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,000
It's not quite big enough, so it's probably going

377
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,000
to shrink to slightly under size and if it's not good enough then

378
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,000
there's no point handing it in.

379
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,000
Oh god, that breaks my heart. Because we have time left,

380
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,000
so I'm going to try and do another one.

381
00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,000
You've got about 10 minutes,

382
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:01,000
you can do this bowl in 10 minutes, okay?

383
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:04,000
I can't I have to give up.

384
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,000
No don't give up, just keep going.

385
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:08,000
The clay for Raikah's largest bowl

386
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:09,000
still isn't centered.

387
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,000
I feel like I just want to rub your shoulders

388
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:12,000
or do something, do some sort of-

389
00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,000
- I'm fine, it's just- -Reiki on Raikah.

390
00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:17,000
I'm sending you my sisterly love and strength.

391
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:21,000
- Oh you're so sweet. Thank you. -Keep going.

392
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:22,000
Well I've done the five bowls, put my feet out

393
00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:24,000
watch everybody else panicking.

394
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:27,000
This is the last one.

395
00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:38,000
It is what it is now. It's done.

396
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:43,000
I think it's going to be, going to be all right.

397
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:49,000
That's it, finished, yes! Last one done.

398
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,000
Come on!

399
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:58,000
I'm leaving this room.

400
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:01,000
Okay, everybody you have two minutes, two minutes left!

401
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:03,000
It's not really everybody it's just Raikah.

402
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:04,000
You can do it!

403
00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:07,000
We've got to shut that drying room door,

404
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,000
Stop her now it could collapse anyway.

405
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,000
Raikah, get it off the wheel!

406
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,000
Well done.

407
00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:17,000
Yay!

408
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:23,000
- Aw bless her. -I can't even hug you!

409
00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,000
Please?

410
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,000
Sorry.

411
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,000
I've seen some beautiful bowls go past me this morning

412
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,000
Might have to get out of here as soon as,

413
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:31,000
it's too intimidating.

414
00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:36,000
Slightly wider by a couple actually.

415
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,000
I think from here you can be quite pleased with yourself.

416
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,000
We're half way through the first day.

417
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:49,000
Middle Port's been working round the clock for 150 years

418
00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:50,000
and whilst their bowls dry,

419
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,000
there's no rest for our potters.

420
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:55,000
They're about to be tested on a traditional technique

421
00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,000
that's older than Stoke itself.

422
00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:00,000
So then Potters this is your first ever spot test.

423
00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,000
Each week as your work is drying, you're going

424
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:07,000
to be tested on a particular potting technique

425
00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:10,000
and this week I've heard it's a really tricky one.

426
00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:14,000
Its handles, and it's a technique particularly specific,

427
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:15,000
it's pulling.

428
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:18,000
If you'd like to carefully pull off the hessian cloth.

429
00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:21,000
You have two different types of mug in front of you,

430
00:18:21,000 --> 00:18:25,000
one is a contemporary type and the other's a traditional type.

431
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:29,000
We want to see two sets of 10 identical handles.

432
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,000
These guys aren't going to be in the room

433
00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:31,000
whilst you're doing this, okay?

434
00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:32,000
Afterwards they're going to come back and judge

435
00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:36,000
them without knowing who's handles they're looking at.

436
00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,000
Okay, judges you can leave. See you in a little while.

437
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,000
Potters we need 20 handles, two different styles

438
00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,000
and you've got 90 minutes.

439
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,000
This is tough, this is deep end.

440
00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:53,000
The tecnic I am going for is trying to get 20 handles

441
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,000
on 20 mugs, and that's it.

442
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,000
Handles are a really important element of pottery,

443
00:18:58,000 --> 00:19:00,000
they're aesthetic and functional.

444
00:19:00,000 --> 00:19:02,000
When you look at a handle,

445
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,000
even if they've been made hundreds of years ago,

446
00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:07,000
you connect really with that potter's hands.

447
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,000
And you can see that makers thumb mark of somebody

448
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,000
who lived maybe 300 years ago.

449
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:13,000
It's quite a traditional technique, the pulling

450
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:16,000
of a handle, and it'll show real control

451
00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:18,000
and consistency with someone's hand.

452
00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,000
Pulling handles is the ultimate test

453
00:19:22,000 --> 00:19:24,000
of potter's instinctive feel for the clay.

454
00:19:27,000 --> 00:19:29,000
Now I know what you're all thinking, and you're not alone.

455
00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:32,000
There are some similarities between pottery and sex.

456
00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,000
Oh yes. Try pulling a handle!

457
00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,000
That's very rude.

458
00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:41,000
I wouldn't describe it as a sensual feeling necessarily,

459
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,000
it's a very pleasurable feeling.

460
00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:47,000
I love the feel of cool clay in my hands.

461
00:19:47,000 --> 00:19:49,000
Sensual or not, pulling is the best way

462
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:51,000
to encourage the clay to form a fluent

463
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:53,000
and naturally curved handle.

464
00:19:54,000 --> 00:19:55,000
I'm holding the clay at the top

465
00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:57,000
and then I'm wetting the clay with my right hand

466
00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:59,000
and just gently, with hardly any pressure

467
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,000
pulling it in a downward motion.

468
00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:04,000
The key with this is just confident draws.

469
00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:07,000
During pulling potters can create ridges

470
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,000
in the clay with their thumb.

471
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,000
Just adding a traditional flat top.

472
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,000
The ridges can add shape and texture

473
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,000
to the surface of their handles.

474
00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:18,000
God it's hard on the arm.

475
00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,000
You're doing it too quickly, that's why.

476
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,000
Oh Nigel, you look quite at home there I must say!

477
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:25,000
That's-

478
00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:29,000
You do, you're like in your own world. What a handle!

479
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,000
This is something I do on a regular basis!

480
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:36,000
That's very good, does your wife ever, do pottery with you?

481
00:20:36,000 --> 00:20:37,000
- No, she doesn't. -Does she not?

482
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:40,000
Don't know what she's missing, does she?

483
00:20:40,000 --> 00:20:41,000
Look, look you're going great. Guns here.

484
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:43,000
My wife enrolled me in a pottery just

485
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,000
so I wouldn't be home for one night a week on time.

486
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:49,000
Now I think pottery's taking over from work.

487
00:20:49,000 --> 00:20:53,000
So I'm not sure whether she's actually got what she wanted.

488
00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:56,000
Is this preferable to the wheel work?

489
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:58,000
It's as difficult, if not more difficult

490
00:20:58,000 --> 00:20:59,000
because you need to keep them all the same.

491
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:01,000
With the wheel you can alter,

492
00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:04,000
but once you've taken them off, they are what they are.

493
00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,000
There's a few that look similar-ish.

494
00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:09,000
There's a few that look like the BFG's ears!

495
00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:11,000
One hour to go

496
00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:13,000
and Jane's nerves are making her cautious.

497
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,000
Just thought I'd try and dry them with a bit of a curve.

498
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:17,000
I've laid them over the rolling pin

499
00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,000
so it's a more symmetrical handle.

500
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,000
I kind of leave them like that, just hanging over so the clay

501
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:23,000
just finds its own natural curve.

502
00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,000
I'm going to leave a little dip in the middle

503
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:27,000
because it's the easiest thing to do right now.

504
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,000
That's not supposed to happen!

505
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,000
You are half way through!

506
00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000
Gasps of horror, just 45 minutes left.

507
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,000
Sally-Jo has just moved from pulling to joining.

508
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,000
The handles are quite soft,

509
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,000
in an ideal world I would firm up the handles a little bit.

510
00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:44,000
Talking of firming up-

511
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,000
I'm just drying the handles,

512
00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:47,000
some people just put them straight onto the mug

513
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:50,000
and leave them soft, but I always work with mine quite dry.

514
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,000
Scratching the surface

515
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:56,000
and adding slip gives the handle

516
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:58,000
a sticky area to bond to.

517
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,000
To be honest, I am struggling.

518
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:01,000
And Tom and Joanna are trying

519
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,000
to give themselves an advantage.

520
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,000
Despite being attached, they're on the pull again.

521
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:09,000
I want to add some ridges again,

522
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,000
once I've attached them, with a little bit of messing around,

523
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,000
quite a hard technique to get them attached.

524
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:18,000
10 minutes, 10 minutes and then your mugs have

525
00:22:18,000 --> 00:22:19,000
to be at the front for judging.

526
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,000
I think the key to winning this task is seeing

527
00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,000
if you can replicate the same thing over and over again.

528
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:27,000
Well the thing is, I never do anything consistently.

529
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,000
Everything I do is very unique.

530
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:31,000
I've never done this shape before.

531
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:34,000
Should've done small ones really quick.

532
00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:36,000
Five minutes remaining.

533
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,000
Steady girl.

534
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:46,000
Normally on these I put like a little pip

535
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,000
for your thumb, just as a little decoration.

536
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,000
Heads down on this one, not looking up.

537
00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:01,000
Okay guys, we need to start getting our boards to the front.

538
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,000
You've got one minute.

539
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:04,000
I'm doing the traditional ones now.

540
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,000
Can we help each other?
No.

541
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,000
I was too slow in the beginning.

542
00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:12,000
I've got seven left to do in a minute, no problem.

543
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:18,000
Do you want a hand? -No, I'm good thank you.

544
00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:22,000
- Oh my god, this is going to be a disaster.

545
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:29,000
It's not going to be finished.

546
00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:32,000
Come on you've just got a few seconds, get them up there!

547
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,000
Chop, chop!

548
00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:35,000
Well done.

549
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:38,000
- Have they all got handles on? -No.

550
00:23:39,000 --> 00:23:42,000
They're the worst handles I've ever done in my life.

551
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:44,000
I tell you what they're going to rip us to shreds here!

552
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,000
They are, they're going to tell us, yeah.

553
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:48,000
This is where it happens isn't it?

554
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,000
♪ I'll take afternoon tea, afternoon tea ♪

555
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:53,000
The potters will now have their work judged

556
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,000
for the very first time, and Kate and Keith

557
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000
will have no idea whose handles are whose.

558
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,000
I hope you enjoyed this challenge. Tight on time.

559
00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,000
Yeah, it's about rhythm and consistency.

560
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,000
And board number one, I can see a true sense

561
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,000
of consistency there.

562
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:09,000
And there's a clear difference

563
00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,000
between contemporary and the traditional.

564
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:12,000
Yeah, no absolutely.

565
00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,000
They look pretty well joined, but not at the bottom,

566
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,000
the bottom hasn't been scratched.

567
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,000
What do you think of number two?

568
00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:20,000
I think that's quite high.

569
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:24,000
The proportions is too big for the actual mug itself.

570
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:26,000
And as far as the contemporary ones are,

571
00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,000
I wouldn't say they were that different.

572
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,000
Well these are looking pretty good.

573
00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:31,000
I love the fluidity of the handle.

574
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:34,000
I'm loving the proportion of the handle to the mug.

575
00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,000
That's great.

576
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:38,000
Lovely ridges on the pulling, lovely little curl.

577
00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:40,000
And again I'm loving this knob.

578
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:42,000
That's little gesture.
Yeah, absolutely.

579
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,000
Number four, lovely smudge,

580
00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,000
this tells a story of the finger

581
00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,000
and it describes the material, it was once soft.

582
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:50,000
They're quite thick, quite heavy.

583
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,000
Yeah that would be my only comment really,

584
00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,000
they're a bit on the thick side.

585
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,000
So onto the next one. A nice pull.

586
00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:58,000
The thickness of the handle.

587
00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,000
Very much in proportion with the mug itself.

588
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,000
The contemporary shape I would struggle with a handle

589
00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000
that low on a mug. Number six.

590
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:08,000
The proportion of what they've tried

591
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:10,000
to do with the handle shape and the thickness

592
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,000
of the handle is way off.

593
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:14,000
And there is again on the traditional.

594
00:25:14,000 --> 00:25:15,000
Okay, next one.

595
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,000
So this actually has a sense of animation to it.

596
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,000
KEITH; It's quite a bold statement to do this,

597
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:21,000
and what about the traditional ones?

598
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,000
Well I think they've got a lovely lug at the top,

599
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,000
that's very generous.

600
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:28,000
The handle is slightly on the thick side.

601
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,000
Someone's shown a real spark of imagination here.

602
00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:32,000
The thickness of the handle in

603
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,000
proportion to the mug body is fantastic.

604
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:36,000
We talked about the ridges when you're pulling,

605
00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:38,000
the ridges are there,

606
00:25:38,000 --> 00:25:41,000
but as an extra thing the ridges are twisted.

607
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,000
Again with the traditional ones,
nice proportion to the mug body.

608
00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:46,000
Lovely ridges again.

609
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,000
Number nine.

610
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:49,000
The person who's done that is fairly confident.

611
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,000
And a very lovely curved, fat ridge.

612
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:54,000
I've got a slight problem with the contemporary shape.

613
00:25:54,000 --> 00:25:56,000
They have been brave with their proportions.

614
00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:59,000
That's really brave Kate, that's really brave that one.

615
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,000
Last but not least.
Well, what a shame,

616
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:04,000
this is the only one of the 10 boards,

617
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,000
well whoever it was hasn't managed to finish.

618
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:08,000
Although the work is good, the pulling's good.

619
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000
They've really wanted to try

620
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:12,000
and get a sense of fluidity in the handle there.

621
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:13,000
Yeah, lovely sprig.

622
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,000
And I'm liking the contemporary ones as well.

623
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:18,000
I'm liking this heavy, thick trench down the middle of it.

624
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,000
But you ain't finished the task!

625
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,000
Kate and Keith will now reveal

626
00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:28,000
whose mastered pulling and whose touch has let them down.

627
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000
number 10 I'm afraid is this one.

628
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,000
That's mine.

629
00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:33,000
Obviously you didn't finish the task.

630
00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:34,000
I understand.

631
00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:36,000
9th place was this board here.

632
00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:39,000
The proportions to the handle to the mug shape

633
00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:41,000
was just a little out.

634
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,000
Nigel is 8th,

635
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:45,000
Jane is 7th, James 6th, Matthew 5th

636
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:47,000
and Joanna is 4th.

637
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:49,000
Third place is these ones here.

638
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,000
They're mine.

639
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:53,000
We love the boldness of the contemporary shape.

640
00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:55,000
So is it going to be Tom or is it going to be Jim?

641
00:26:55,000 --> 00:26:57,000
Who is your winner?

642
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:00,000
Tom.
Well done.

643
00:27:03,000 --> 00:27:04,000
Well done, Tom.

644
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,000
How did Tom just edge it?

645
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,000
There's a beautiful clean pulling and the ridges,

646
00:27:09,000 --> 00:27:11,000
and the cheeky curl, it's just a winner.

647
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:12,000
Absolutely.

648
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:13,000
And you can actually go and have a breather now,

649
00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,000
a well-deserved rest for a few minutes.

650
00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:17,000
When you come back though you can get your bowls out

651
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:18,000
of the drying room.

652
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,000
See you in a little bit, go and have a rest.

653
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:21,000
Well done!

654
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,000
♪ Makin' time ♪

655
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:32,000
It's eight p.m.

656
00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:35,000
and it's taken seven hours for the bowls to dry.

657
00:27:36,000 --> 00:27:38,000
They're now leather hard and ready

658
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:40,000
for what potters call, turning and trimming.

659
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:43,000
So if some of the potters put their pots

660
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,000
in the drying room and they were sad about them

661
00:27:45,000 --> 00:27:48,000
and worried, can you rescue a badly thrown pot,

662
00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,000
with a good bit of turning and trimming?

663
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,000
Yeah you can, yeah, you can.

664
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:57,000
The potters have an hour and a quarter

665
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,000
to trim all five of their bowls.

666
00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:02,000
When the clay's slightly drier it changes,

667
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,000
the water's leaving it, it becomes stiffer.

668
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:07,000
Like chocolate and you turn and trim it.

669
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:11,000
This is one of the favorite parts of the process for me,

670
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:13,000
because you really are getting to the crispness

671
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,000
of the pot and you're showing it come alive.

672
00:28:15,000 --> 00:28:18,000
A bit like, sort of giving it a bit of an uplift

673
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:19,000
before it goes into the kiln.

674
00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:23,000
- Really good potters, hardly have to turn off their pots,

675
00:28:23,000 --> 00:28:26,000
and clearly I've got a lot to turn off these pots.

676
00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,000
So you can see the line of the bowl there,

677
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,000
I want that line to continue

678
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,000
and I want to trim off the excess.

679
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,000
In the making of ceramics there's a certain continuity

680
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,000
in the tools that are used.

681
00:28:40,000 --> 00:28:43,000
Very simple, basic forms are used time

682
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:47,000
and time again from the earliest times to the present day.

683
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:52,000
A small simple tool out of wood, or a piece of gold perhaps.

684
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,000
The earliest ceramic objects in
fact were made 37,000 years ago.

685
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:00,000
The earliest wheel turn pottery appears to be made

686
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:04,000
in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC.

687
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:06,000
To participate in the making of ceramic objects

688
00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:08,000
is really to participate in tradition

689
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:10,000
that's really been part and parcel

690
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:14,000
of almost every civilization on earth.

691
00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,000
During throwing James had to rush

692
00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:18,000
to finish his largest bowl.

693
00:29:18,000 --> 00:29:20,000
If you've got some wobbles on the outside

694
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,000
you can just wait until it's a little bit dry

695
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:23,000
and then just trim it off.

696
00:29:23,000 --> 00:29:25,000
I enjoy the process of turning a lump

697
00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:27,000
of clay into a usable form.

698
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,000
I feel completely taken away

699
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,000
into a different headspace, basically.

700
00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:34,000
Day to day I'm a veterinary surgeon.

701
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,000
Typical day will be a mixture of consulting and operating.

702
00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:39,000
With a stressful job,

703
00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:42,000
going on the wheel and just letting it all flow out of you,

704
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:44,000
it's a pure therapy.

705
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,000
It's my version of meditation.

706
00:29:47,000 --> 00:29:48,000
I think turning appeals to me because this

707
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,000
is when it really comes together,

708
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:51,000
then you really see the shape that you're going

709
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:52,000
to have at the end of it.

710
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:54,000
When she threw it, one of Sally-Jo's bowls

711
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:56,000
didn't match her set.

712
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,000
It's slightly flat sided but I've managed

713
00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:01,000
to turn a curve in it which will mirror the inside

714
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:05,000
of this one, and this one does actually fit inside it.

715
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,000
So that's a nice surprise.

716
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:10,000
Matthew's also had a surprise.

717
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,000
You've got a bit of a problem here.

718
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:15,000
This happened after it had gone into the drying room.

719
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:18,000
Because Matthew applied too much slip to wet clay,

720
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:21,000
it weakened the rim of his largest bowl.

721
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:23,000
So there was moisture there, the shape's trying

722
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:24,000
to sort of split itself open

723
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:26,000
and you've had a slight weakness and it's worked with it.

724
00:30:26,000 --> 00:30:30,000
It's rather a beautiful crack actually. Congratulations.

725
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,000
Yeah, you're going to have to do something with that.

726
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:34,000
Just go bold with it.

727
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:35,000
Matthew doesn't normally

728
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:36,000
have an issue with large pots.

729
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,000
If I was a pot,

730
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:43,000
I think I would be a very large Alibaba jar.

731
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:47,000
They're the pots I find most challenging to make.

732
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:49,000
I got into pottery from a very young age,

733
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:50,000
both my parents were potters,

734
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,000
so I'd never really touched Play-Doh

735
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:54,000
in fact because there was always clay.

736
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:56,000
I'm just going to think about it,

737
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,000
stay calm and see what happens.

738
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:04,000
Most of the potters have waited until their bowls

739
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:07,000
are dried and been trimmed before they added slip.

740
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:10,000
I'm just adding to my time.

741
00:31:10,000 --> 00:31:13,000
And Sandra needs to impress more than most.

742
00:31:13,000 --> 00:31:17,000
Coming last in the spot test. That was a bit of a bummer.

743
00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:22,000
♪ Didn't turn away, when the sky was gray ♪

744
00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,000
I sing at the wheel, yes some call it singing,

745
00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,000
some call it don't sing.

746
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,000
My family have been very supportive actually.

747
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:32,000
They think I'm great. My work I mean.

748
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,000
Not so much me, but they love my work.

749
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:36,000
If you go to my friend's houses,
you'll see my work everywhere.

750
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:38,000
I make them buy it.

751
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,000
My confidence is a little bit gone.

752
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,000
So I'm trying to make up for that.

753
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,000
What time is it?

754
00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:48,000
15 minutes left guys of turning and a trimming.

755
00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,000
Trying to kind of give it all a soft rocky bottom

756
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,000
so that they all are together.

757
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:55,000
I'm turning off large amounts of clay,

758
00:31:55,000 --> 00:31:57,000
which I need to do on the two biggest bowls.

759
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,000
The clay in the largest bowls will be softer,

760
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:02,000
making trimming risky.

761
00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,000
Having to be really controlled

762
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:05,000
and taking your time with it, isn't something

763
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:07,000
that comes naturally to me.

764
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,000
I've got to be careful, if I press too hard

765
00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:11,000
it'll dip like that, if it's very soft.

766
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,000
The only thing that can happen

767
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:14,000
is that I'm too zealous going down inside

768
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,000
to get that foot-ring and if I do that,

769
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:18,000
go too far the bowl's finished.

770
00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:21,000
Too soft and you won't touch it with a turning circle,

771
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,000
too hard and you'll push it down and in.

772
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:25,000
So it is a balancing act.

773
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:29,000
He's managed to trim it but Matthew's biggest bowl

774
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:30,000
still has a crack problem.

775
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,000
Maybe I should disguise it with a handle?

776
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,000
In the kiln the crack might open up a bit more.

777
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,000
But in theory the handle might just hold it all together.

778
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,000
All I'm doing here is just try and create some texture,

779
00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,000
to give myself an interesting slip now.

780
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,000
Jim! -I'm repairing a crack.

781
00:32:53,000 --> 00:32:55,000
- You know what? You're not alone with the crack.

782
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,000
Yeah it cracked at the edge, dry clay and slip,

783
00:32:57,000 --> 00:32:59,000
- that's the trouble. -It's only a little crack.

784
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,000
It is and I'm filling that baby up as quick as I can.

785
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:04,000
Get cracking, couple of minutes and they've got

786
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,000
to be in there, you don't want them getting locked out.

787
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:12,000
Joanna doing a bit of juggling?

788
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,000
Doing a bit of juggling.

789
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:17,000
There you go, get them in there girl, they look gorgeous.

790
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,000
30 seconds guys, 30 seconds, get them in there please.

791
00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:25,000
Can I give you a hand?

792
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,000
You can do my darling, that'd be great.

793
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:29,000
Wow, they're beautiful.

794
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,000
Get those in the drying room please.

795
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:32,000
Chop, chop! Get in there.

796
00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:37,000
Five, four, three...

797
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:40,000
You need to get your pot in there quickly please, Jane!

798
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:41,000
Two...

799
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:44,000
one.

800
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,000
I was nice because it's the first day.

801
00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:51,000
Yeah, well done.

802
00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:58,000
Wow, a full on day guys, but you've been amazing.

803
00:33:58,000 --> 00:34:00,000
The next time you clap eyes on your babies,

804
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:01,000
they'll have had their first firing

805
00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:04,000
so we will see you in a couple of days.

806
00:34:04,000 --> 00:34:08,000
Day one of the competition lasted 13 hours.

807
00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:11,000
What a day. I am truly fatigued.

808
00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:13,000
It's the longest I've ever spent at the wheel,

809
00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:15,000
longest I've ever spent using clay.

810
00:34:15,000 --> 00:34:19,000
I somehow survived it, you know, I've got no cracks.

811
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,000
You're going to have ups and downs in it aren't you?

812
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:24,000
Exhausting, exhilarating and moreish.

813
00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:33,000
Day two is a frustrating

814
00:34:33,000 --> 00:34:35,000
down day for the potters,

815
00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:36,000
there's nothing they can do as their bowls

816
00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,000
are dried completely and go into the kiln.

817
00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:43,000
Middle Port had a whole army to get this job done

818
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,000
and they're known as kiln men.

819
00:34:47,000 --> 00:34:50,000
And here's ours, his names Rich.

820
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,000
This process is slightly nerve wracking

821
00:34:52,000 --> 00:34:54,000
because it's someone else's work.

822
00:34:54,000 --> 00:34:57,000
It's Rich's job to take the dried kitchen bowls

823
00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:59,000
to our kiln room and fire them.

824
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,000
I make sure that it makes it to kiln as safely

825
00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:04,000
as possible for that biscuit firing.

826
00:35:04,000 --> 00:35:06,000
A pot's first trip to kiln is known

827
00:35:06,000 --> 00:35:08,000
as a biscuit firing

828
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:10,000
and it permanently transforms the clay.

829
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:14,000
That process of going from the clay to the final ceramic,

830
00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:16,000
involves a whole host of rather complicated

831
00:35:16,000 --> 00:35:18,000
and different steps.

832
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:20,000
Initially you just boil off the water that's not held

833
00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,000
in the clay, and then as you increase the temperature

834
00:35:23,000 --> 00:35:25,000
you start to lose the water

835
00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:27,000
that's held in the crystal structure of the clay.

836
00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:30,000
As you increase temperature up to about 800 degrees,

837
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:32,000
you see we start to get vitrification,

838
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:36,000
a melting or fuse of the pot body and you form

839
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,000
that solid ceramic body that is permanent,

840
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:42,000
that is going to be there for thousands of years.

841
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,000
Well that's what kiln men hope, but at temperatures

842
00:35:45,000 --> 00:35:47,000
over 1,000 degrees C,

843
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:49,000
moisture, pour throwing, careless trimming,

844
00:35:49,000 --> 00:35:51,000
can all spell disaster.

845
00:35:52,000 --> 00:35:54,000
They're in one piece now, will they be in one piece

846
00:35:55,000 --> 00:35:56,000
at the end of the firing?

847
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:58,000
It might be nerve wracking but Rich actually

848
00:35:58,000 --> 00:35:59,000
has it pretty easy.

849
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:04,000
The old bottle kilns of years ago, burning coal,

850
00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:08,000
burning wood, it must have been terrible.

851
00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:12,000
The poor guys working in that gap between the bottle

852
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:15,000
that you see as the outside of the kiln

853
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,000
and the chamber of the kiln within,

854
00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,000
would have been stoking coal for hour, after hour,

855
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:22,000
after hour, in unbearable temperatures.

856
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:24,000
And in fact a lot of the workers would be paid

857
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:26,000
on what came out of the kilns,

858
00:36:26,000 --> 00:36:29,000
if it didn't come of the kiln, they didn't get paid for it.

859
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:32,000
You'd put a piece of rag, soaked in water,

860
00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:34,000
run in with a hook and you'd pull it out.

861
00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,000
While the kiln was going because you'd start losing money.

862
00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:46,000
Day three and the potters are back to discover

863
00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,000
how their bowls faired during the first firing.

864
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,000
Who for you are really shining?

865
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:54,000
So far, Tom is technically confident

866
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,000
but maybe he lacks a bit of imagination.

867
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:58,000
Rock-a-billy Jim.

868
00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,000
Said when he was making,

869
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,000
well I haven't stretched myself too far, but he actually has.

870
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:05,000
Sally-Jo is really a bit of a dark horse in this.

871
00:37:05,000 --> 00:37:07,000
Kate, who do you think is struggling a bit to keep up?

872
00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:10,000
It's Matthew. His shapes really top heavy,

873
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:12,000
he's just not showing us what he can do.

874
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:13,000
And then we've got Jane.

875
00:37:13,000 --> 00:37:15,000
I noticed her right at the start, she was panicked.

876
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,000
Another worry for me is probably Sandra.

877
00:37:18,000 --> 00:37:21,000
Raikah's hand skills don't seem up to the mark.

878
00:37:21,000 --> 00:37:23,000
We've actually been shuffling

879
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,000
our opinions through different stages.

880
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:28,000
You never know what comes out of that kiln.

881
00:37:28,000 --> 00:37:29,000
Our kiln man, Rich,

882
00:37:29,000 --> 00:37:32,000
has brought the biscuit fired bowls back to the studio.

883
00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:34,000
Deep breath.

884
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:35,000
Everything now rests on

885
00:37:35,000 --> 00:37:37,000
what lies beneath the hessian.

886
00:37:40,000 --> 00:37:42,000
Oh, it's not bad.

887
00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,000
Okay, this looks good.

888
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:49,000
Oh I've got a crack in my base on the large one.

889
00:37:49,000 --> 00:37:51,000
I'm quite glad it hasn't split in half really.

890
00:37:51,000 --> 00:37:52,000
Not cracked.

891
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,000
Four or five present, correct, a bit heavy but.

892
00:37:55,000 --> 00:37:57,000
- Not cracked. -Really pleased.

893
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,000
Not cracked.

894
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,000
It's a good start, phew.

895
00:38:00,000 --> 00:38:03,000
- Oh my gosh. -Oh that's a relief!

896
00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:06,000
Oh. Cool.

897
00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:10,000
Oh!

898
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:14,000
I've got some rather lovely additions to my pieces here.

899
00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,000
It's a fact of pottery, you can't get too upset.

900
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:23,000
The potters now have two and a half hours

901
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,000
to decorate their bowls.

902
00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:27,000
Earthenware glazes are commonly a mixture of clay,

903
00:38:27,000 --> 00:38:30,000
silica and lead.

904
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:34,000
Once fired the blend melts to form a glass like decoration.

905
00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:35,000
But the potters can't be sure

906
00:38:35,000 --> 00:38:38,000
of how it will look until after the final firing.

907
00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:41,000
I'm planning to do some pretty simple decoration.

908
00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:43,000
Decorating it's not really my thing.

909
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:45,000
I'm not proficient at it, frankly.

910
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,000
Normally I just decorate with slip before it goes

911
00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:49,000
in the kiln, but I've got two hours.

912
00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:52,000
It's difficult to glaze it, because your hearts

913
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:54,000
not in it really.

914
00:38:54,000 --> 00:38:56,000
I have a plan, it's just formulating in my head.

915
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,000
Sally-Jo has set her heart on an abstract design

916
00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,000
with layered colors.

917
00:39:00,000 --> 00:39:02,000
I'm just putting on a base layer of a slip,

918
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:05,000
which you don't conventionally put on at this stage.

919
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,000
But I find that if I put it on now then the color

920
00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:09,000
on top flows much better.

921
00:39:09,000 --> 00:39:11,000
Color is such an emotive thing,

922
00:39:11,000 --> 00:39:13,000
I work as an interior designer and the colors

923
00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,000
you surround yourself with can make such a difference

924
00:39:15,000 --> 00:39:16,000
to how you feel.

925
00:39:16,000 --> 00:39:19,000
I don't go round creating bright pink houses or anything.

926
00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:22,000
But I like to take color combinations for my pottery.

927
00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,000
It's a really careful choice and it's got

928
00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:26,000
to come from within, for me it's really important

929
00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:28,000
that it feels quite fresh and I want it

930
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,000
to feel quite painterly, and at the end

931
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,000
I want the paint strokes to be seen.

932
00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:34,000
I'm not being literal, but I just want to try

933
00:39:34,000 --> 00:39:37,000
and get the sand and what we actually see in the horizon.

934
00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:39,000
Raikah's very simple design is meant

935
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:43,000
to reflect the colors of her favorite beach in Dorset.

936
00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:45,000
Clay can be anything you want it to be.

937
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,000
I'm a conception artist you know,

938
00:39:47,000 --> 00:39:51,000
so I build a lot of natural, organic forms

939
00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:53,000
and I feel the need to kind of,

940
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:56,000
to make it not just a pot but something else about it.

941
00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:00,000
I just made some stamps form make up sponges,

942
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,000
I just made some geometrical shapes.

943
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,000
Quite simple, quite basic.

944
00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:06,000
The green and the cream ends up as

945
00:40:06,000 --> 00:40:09,000
classic cream-ware colors, but with a contemporary shape.

946
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:12,000
The indentations in the base, when you scrape away,

947
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:14,000
the upper pieces will go cream.

948
00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:15,000
I was up in Whitby actually

949
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:16,000
when the inspiration came through.

950
00:40:16,000 --> 00:40:18,000
Being by the sea it all kind of,

951
00:40:18,000 --> 00:40:20,000
came to me straight away that it has to be a sea theme,

952
00:40:20,000 --> 00:40:23,000
so blues, whites, terracotta's,

953
00:40:23,000 --> 00:40:24,000
I just sort of thought that would be a nice combination.

954
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,000
Jane's inspiration comes

955
00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:28,000
from a little closer to home.

956
00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:31,000
These pots are ode to my granny's,

957
00:40:31,000 --> 00:40:35,000
so the design is from my grandmother's dress

958
00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:38,000
from the '60s and my other granny lived in Portugal.

959
00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,000
As regards to the crack, I can't see it

960
00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:42,000
so I'm just going to focus on the decoration.

961
00:40:42,000 --> 00:40:44,000
It's nice to get this far,

962
00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:47,000
and I'm glad the throwing is, is out of the way.

963
00:40:47,000 --> 00:40:49,000
I'm certainly not going to try and disguise the cracks

964
00:40:49,000 --> 00:40:52,000
by painting over them, that'll just look dreadful,

965
00:40:52,000 --> 00:40:55,000
so I'm going to ignore them and maybe they'll go away.

966
00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,000
Jim's hoping to bring what's left of his set

967
00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:01,000
of bowls together with a vintage woodland theme.

968
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:03,000
I'm roughly painting a background color,

969
00:41:03,000 --> 00:41:05,000
and then I'll refine that with a fine brush

970
00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:09,000
and a darker color to make a more finished leaf design.

971
00:41:10,000 --> 00:41:11,000
One hour to go

972
00:41:11,000 --> 00:41:12,000
before the potter's bowls need

973
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,000
to be ready for their final firing.

974
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:15,000
I'm going to try and use bold colors,

975
00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:17,000
one color per bowl and I'm thinking

976
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,000
about a way of introducing the colors I use on each

977
00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:21,000
of the bowls into every bowl.

978
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:24,000
Matthew's finally found

979
00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:26,000
some enthusiasm for decorating.

980
00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,000
This is an iron oxide, so I'm trying to reflect

981
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,000
what I did originally on the outside of my bowls.

982
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:34,000
Oxide's change color in the heat of the kiln.

983
00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,000
I'm surface decorating with cobalt oxide.

984
00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:38,000
The thinnest of layers

985
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,000
has the potential to produce rich

986
00:41:40,000 --> 00:41:43,000
and more organic looking hues than a premixed glaze.

987
00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:46,000
Although it doesn't look like anything at the moment,

988
00:41:46,000 --> 00:41:47,000
this come out the most brilliant,

989
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:50,000
beautiful blue on white.

990
00:41:51,000 --> 00:41:55,000
I did have a plan, but we have also got some oxides

991
00:41:55,000 --> 00:41:56,000
so I'm thinking on my feet a little bit more

992
00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:58,000
and I think I might change the plan a little bit

993
00:41:58,000 --> 00:41:59,000
to see something different.

994
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:05,000
30 minutes guys, you've got half an hour to go!

995
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:07,000
I've got to finish on time.

996
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:09,000
I don't want to decorate too much,

997
00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:11,000
in case it just looks like a mess.

998
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:13,000
Raikah's decoration

999
00:42:13,000 --> 00:42:15,000
has become even more conceptual.

1000
00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:17,000
Because this one has a wobbly base,

1001
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:18,000
I've written wobbly base on it.

1002
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:23,000
I think this is perfect, so I did "Perfect" on this.

1003
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,000
I keep just adding more to it,

1004
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:40,000
so I think I've overdone it now and I've really got to stop.

1005
00:42:40,000 --> 00:42:41,000
Five minutes guys, then we're going

1006
00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:44,000
to get these babies down to the kiln.

1007
00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:50,000
For their final preparation for the kiln,

1008
00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:54,000
the potters decorated bowl should be coated

1009
00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:56,000
in transparent glaze.

1010
00:42:56,000 --> 00:42:58,000
The secret is, don't play with it, don't try

1011
00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:02,000
and touch it up, just dip and pray.

1012
00:43:02,000 --> 00:43:04,000
It contains silica, which when fired will turn

1013
00:43:04,000 --> 00:43:06,000
into a thin, clear layer of glass.

1014
00:43:06,000 --> 00:43:09,000
Deep breath, because I run a serious risk

1015
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:12,000
of losing this part of the pot in the glaze.

1016
00:43:12,000 --> 00:43:15,000
I don't want the judges peering through the hole.

1017
00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:16,000
Drum roll please.

1018
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:21,000
Easy as we go.

1019
00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:27,000
Oh look at that, it stayed in.

1020
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:31,000
After 72 hours the potter's kitchen bowls are

1021
00:43:31,000 --> 00:43:33,000
at last ready for their final firing.

1022
00:43:33,000 --> 00:43:35,000
Bring all your pots over.

1023
00:43:35,000 --> 00:43:38,000
As I handed the bowls over to Rich, I felt like these

1024
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:41,000
are my babies, you know, and I will see you tomorrow.

1025
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:44,000
Once you've done as much as you have control over,

1026
00:43:44,000 --> 00:43:47,000
it's quite nice, you can just feel relieved.

1027
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,000
How I'm going to be feeling when the kiln's opened

1028
00:43:49,000 --> 00:43:50,000
is a different matter altogether.

1029
00:43:50,000 --> 00:43:53,000
And it is completely in the lap of the pottery gods now.

1030
00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:56,000
] If you were Richie how would you be feeling now?

1031
00:43:57,000 --> 00:43:58,000
- Nervous. -Frightened.

1032
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:00,000
- 50 bowls to fire. -Glad it's out of our hands now.

1033
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:03,000
Just leave it to Richie and just wait.

1034
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:04,000
I can't wait though, I can't wait that long!

1035
00:44:04,000 --> 00:44:06,000
I know.

1036
00:44:09,000 --> 00:44:10,000
♪ Don't ya ♪

1037
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:11,000
The potter's day isn't over

1038
00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:14,000
as during the glaze firing, Kate and Keith have

1039
00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,000
set one final challenge.

1040
00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:20,000
Each week we're going to test your skills at the wheel.

1041
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:21,000
You're going to be up against each other,

1042
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:23,000
you're going to be up against the clock.

1043
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,000
This ladies and gentleman is the throw-down.

1044
00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,000
- This week you're making egg cups and it's about numbers.

1045
00:44:29,000 --> 00:44:31,000
You're going to throw off the hump,

1046
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:32,000
and you're going to throw for 20 minutes.

1047
00:44:32,000 --> 00:44:34,000
If you've not thrown off the hump before,

1048
00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,000
watch Keith very closely because he is the master.

1049
00:44:37,000 --> 00:44:39,000
Throwing off the hump has

1050
00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:40,000
been with us for centuries

1051
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:42,000
and it's the first ever pottery technique

1052
00:44:42,000 --> 00:44:43,000
that enabled mass production.

1053
00:44:44,000 --> 00:44:46,000
This is done all around the world by people who want

1054
00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:47,000
to be able to throw small pieces.

1055
00:44:47,000 --> 00:44:50,000
So instead of centering each little tiny bowl of clay,

1056
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:53,000
there's one big hump from which the tip is taken.

1057
00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:55,000
Now I have a rule, I never stop the wheel

1058
00:44:55,000 --> 00:44:57,000
when I throw off the hump.

1059
00:44:57,000 --> 00:44:59,000
You just want to get it into rhythm.

1060
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:00,000
If I make a little groove at the bottom,

1061
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:03,000
then that will determine where I cut the base.

1062
00:45:03,000 --> 00:45:06,000
The biggest danger is you slice off the base

1063
00:45:06,000 --> 00:45:07,000
and you make a hole in the egg cup,

1064
00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:09,000
which is not what we're after.

1065
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:13,000
You've got five kilos of clay and you've got 20 minutes.

1066
00:45:13,000 --> 00:45:16,000
So which potter can throw the most egg cups?

1067
00:45:16,000 --> 00:45:18,000
Three, two, one. Go!

1068
00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:27,000
Just one little mistake and the whole thing goes.

1069
00:45:27,000 --> 00:45:30,000
- Don't cut through the bottom. -Oh! Doesn't count.

1070
00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:32,000
- I've got a hole in the bottom. -Focus, focus!

1071
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:35,000
I've lost another one, with holes in the bottom.

1072
00:45:35,000 --> 00:45:36,000
I've got a special tool here,

1073
00:45:36,000 --> 00:45:39,000
it's called a throwing spear, take a groove out the base.

1074
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:44,000
Keep the wheel going, clean the wire, spin it round.

1075
00:45:44,000 --> 00:45:46,000
Raikah, she's chosen a different style

1076
00:45:46,000 --> 00:45:47,000
and I kind of like it.

1077
00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:50,000
- Raikah's first one, well done! -Come on Raikah.

1078
00:45:50,000 --> 00:45:51,000
Tom's on three!

1079
00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:53,000
Matthew's got three over here!

1080
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,000
You want to slow down there Matt.

1081
00:45:55,000 --> 00:45:58,000
Jim's got four! Come on Jim!

1082
00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:00,000
Jim is over-taking Tom.

1083
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:03,000
Keep going, make everything economical with movement.

1084
00:46:03,000 --> 00:46:05,000
One, two, three, four, five, six, seven.

1085
00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:08,000
Tom, come on he's on seven, you're on six!

1086
00:46:08,000 --> 00:46:11,000
Seven? Oh my god, I've got one.

1087
00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:16,000
15 minutes left, 7th one from Sandra and it's a beauty.

1088
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,000
I can't do it, I cut my fingers about 15 times.

1089
00:46:20,000 --> 00:46:22,000
We're into double figures over here people,

1090
00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:23,000
we've got 10 from Tom.

1091
00:46:23,000 --> 00:46:25,000
Jim's on his 12th.

1092
00:46:25,000 --> 00:46:27,000
- We're rock and rolling. -I've lost my clay!

1093
00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:29,000
Come on!

1094
00:46:29,000 --> 00:46:31,000
- You've got big shoulders. -That's what I'm trying to do.

1095
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:34,000
Do it for your family, look at their faces,

1096
00:46:34,000 --> 00:46:35,000
don't let them down.

1097
00:46:35,000 --> 00:46:37,000
10 minutes!

1098
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:39,000
Who's winning?
17 over here.

1099
00:46:39,000 --> 00:46:42,000
- 20 over here guys, with Jim! -20?

1100
00:46:43,000 --> 00:46:44,000
Show off.

1101
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:49,000
Five minutes left of this throw-down.

1102
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:50,000
Hoping for some quick ones at the end.

1103
00:46:50,000 --> 00:46:53,000
- Tom's on 28! -What? 28?

1104
00:46:53,000 --> 00:46:56,000
Jim's done 29!
Brilliant.

1105
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,000
Come on potters, one minute left.

1106
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,000
- Come on. -Ah, lost another one.

1107
00:47:01,000 --> 00:47:03,000
85 from James! -Yes!

1108
00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:05,000
Thank you everybody, thank you.

1109
00:47:06,000 --> 00:47:07,000
Come on Nigel!

1110
00:47:14,000 --> 00:47:17,000
- Final finale, ay? -Three.

1111
00:47:17,000 --> 00:47:19,000
Come on, last one!

1112
00:47:19,000 --> 00:47:22,000
Two, one!

1113
00:47:24,000 --> 00:47:27,000
- That's it. -How'd you do darling?

1114
00:47:28,000 --> 00:47:29,000
Disaster.

1115
00:47:29,000 --> 00:47:30,000
Our kiln man, Rich,

1116
00:47:30,000 --> 00:47:32,000
will now count how many egg cups

1117
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,000
each potter has thrown from their hump.

1118
00:47:36,000 --> 00:47:39,000
18 altogether. 19, good.

1119
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,000
20, 23.

1120
00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:43,000
23.

1121
00:47:44,000 --> 00:47:45,000
28.

1122
00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:48,000
Either Tom, Sally-Jo, or Jim

1123
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:50,000
will be the first throw-down winner.

1124
00:47:52,000 --> 00:47:53,000
31.

1125
00:47:58,000 --> 00:47:59,000
36.

1126
00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:08,000
32.

1127
00:48:08,000 --> 00:48:10,000
- And the winner of our first ever throw-down is Tom.

1128
00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:11,000
Well done!

1129
00:48:11,000 --> 00:48:15,000
Thank you.

1130
00:48:16,000 --> 00:48:20,000
Time for you to go home guys. Tomorrow's a big day.

1131
00:48:20,000 --> 00:48:22,000
Your bowls will be judged and sadly one

1132
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:25,000
of you will be going home.

1133
00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:26,000
Escape while you can.

1134
00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:30,000
- I mean it's great to win, but Sally creeps

1135
00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:33,000
in there every time, two-thirds now you know, Jim,

1136
00:48:33,000 --> 00:48:34,000
it could go anywhere.

1137
00:48:36,000 --> 00:48:38,000
I've thrown off the hump before,

1138
00:48:38,000 --> 00:48:40,000
so I thought I could do it but it was a real shock.

1139
00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:44,000
Somebody pipped me to the last post!

1140
00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:46,000
So I'm like, oh! So I'm happy.

1141
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,000
It's taken four days,

1142
00:48:54,000 --> 00:48:56,000
but after 24 hours in the kiln

1143
00:48:56,000 --> 00:48:58,000
the potter's bowls are finished.

1144
00:48:58,000 --> 00:49:00,000
- It's so scary. -I can't bear it.

1145
00:49:00,000 --> 00:49:03,000
- Goosebumps again. -I hope they're okay.

1146
00:49:03,000 --> 00:49:05,000
- You never really know what you're going to get,

1147
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:07,000
which is the beauty.

1148
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,000
30 years I've been doing it and I'm still so excited.

1149
00:49:10,000 --> 00:49:12,000
This is all about what they visualized,

1150
00:49:12,000 --> 00:49:14,000
what they've executed, what they're getting out

1151
00:49:14,000 --> 00:49:16,000
of the kiln and is what they visualized

1152
00:49:16,000 --> 00:49:19,000
and what they're getting out of the kiln roughly

1153
00:49:19,000 --> 00:49:21,000
the same as what they planned.

1154
00:49:22,000 --> 00:49:25,000
All potteries in Stoke would have a display room

1155
00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:28,000
where they'd show off their work to their customers.

1156
00:49:30,000 --> 00:49:33,000
Now Middle Port's oldest display room is

1157
00:49:33,000 --> 00:49:35,000
where the potter's first completed work

1158
00:49:35,000 --> 00:49:37,000
will be presented to Kate and Keith.

1159
00:49:42,000 --> 00:49:45,000
Joanna, bring your bowls up to the front please.

1160
00:49:58,000 --> 00:50:00,000
They weight of the bowls is good,

1161
00:50:00,000 --> 00:50:01,000
there's a bit too much meat in the bottom here.

1162
00:50:01,000 --> 00:50:02,000
And it's interesting

1163
00:50:02,000 --> 00:50:05,000
because this ones got lots of stress cracks.

1164
00:50:05,000 --> 00:50:06,000
They don't go all the way through.

1165
00:50:06,000 --> 00:50:09,000
See these little nicks?

1166
00:50:09,000 --> 00:50:11,000
Come on, get them cleaner.

1167
00:50:11,000 --> 00:50:15,000
The base is just as important as the rim, don't do it again.

1168
00:50:15,000 --> 00:50:18,000
So I was really concerned

1169
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:20,000
that the cobalt was going to be overloaded.

1170
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,000
Cobalt oxide is really difficult to control.

1171
00:50:22,000 --> 00:50:25,000
There's a little bit of texture here.

1172
00:50:25,000 --> 00:50:28,000
You can just feel it and so your cobalt it was too thick.

1173
00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:45,000
Really nice, Tom.

1174
00:50:45,000 --> 00:50:47,000
You pick it up, you're expecting a certain weight

1175
00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:49,000
in your hand, and that's what you're getting.

1176
00:50:49,000 --> 00:50:50,000
I was a little concerned that

1177
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,000
it was a little minimalist on the outside.

1178
00:50:53,000 --> 00:50:55,000
But look at the inside. Look at that.

1179
00:50:55,000 --> 00:50:59,000
Absolutely beautiful, I think the way the slip relates

1180
00:50:59,000 --> 00:51:01,000
to the lines that you made while you were carving,

1181
00:51:01,000 --> 00:51:05,000
works very well. The bright colors work with the dark clay.

1182
00:51:05,000 --> 00:51:07,000
That really is my kind of look.

1183
00:51:07,000 --> 00:51:08,000
Thank you.

1184
00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:15,000
Is that on purpose? The swaying?

1185
00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:18,000
If you like it it's on purpose.

1186
00:51:18,000 --> 00:51:20,000
You need to make sure that the strength

1187
00:51:20,000 --> 00:51:23,000
of the color is sufficient on the sponge.

1188
00:51:25,000 --> 00:51:28,000
I like the blue and white, I think that's a really good idea.

1189
00:51:28,000 --> 00:51:30,000
I think yes it's nice in that you've done

1190
00:51:30,000 --> 00:51:32,000
the painting and you've also scratched

1191
00:51:32,000 --> 00:51:33,000
back through to the white slip.

1192
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:39,000
Well I really like the fact that you've decorated the base.

1193
00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:40,000
It's quite a simple design.

1194
00:51:40,000 --> 00:51:44,000
- Yes. -Would one class that as a bowl?

1195
00:51:44,000 --> 00:51:47,000
I would, yes.

1196
00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:50,000
Jim, would you like to bring your bowls to the front please.

1197
00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:51,000
Deep breath.

1198
00:51:58,000 --> 00:52:00,000
Now how you feeling about them, Jim?

1199
00:52:00,000 --> 00:52:04,000
I'm happy with the bowls that were left to decorate.

1200
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:06,000
The first two obviously were a bit of a catastrophe.

1201
00:52:06,000 --> 00:52:08,000
Very slightly nostalgic feel

1202
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:09,000
to the way some old wallpapers

1203
00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:11,000
and textiles have that off color.

1204
00:52:11,000 --> 00:52:14,000
Very nice different leaf shapes and different use of color.

1205
00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:15,000
I think you've got a real talent

1206
00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:17,000
for this brush decoration, it's good.

1207
00:52:18,000 --> 00:52:19,000
Now really this crack,

1208
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:23,000
it's down to preparation of clay. It wasn't wedged properly.

1209
00:52:23,000 --> 00:52:26,000
- This was stupid. -Yes, a school boy error.

1210
00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:28,000
Don't do it again.
School boy error.

1211
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:36,000
Perfect, wobbly base, off center, bottom heavy, top heavy?

1212
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:38,000
Yeah.

1213
00:52:38,000 --> 00:52:39,000
You've said it all for us Raikah, you've got your black,

1214
00:52:39,000 --> 00:52:41,000
green, blue, yellow, yellow?

1215
00:52:41,000 --> 00:52:42,000
You've got your pebbles and you've got your sea.

1216
00:52:42,000 --> 00:52:44,000
What's going on there?

1217
00:52:44,000 --> 00:52:45,000
I do want them to be good

1218
00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:47,000
because I like your fine art attitude.

1219
00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:52,000
How you feeling about the way the decorations worked?

1220
00:52:52,000 --> 00:52:54,000
I do prefer a simple decoration.

1221
00:52:54,000 --> 00:52:57,000
But we'd given you two hours to do your decoration

1222
00:52:57,000 --> 00:53:00,000
and I don't really feel that you were showing us

1223
00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:01,000
as much as you might have done.

1224
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:04,000
I feel as though you need to know when to stop.

1225
00:53:04,000 --> 00:53:06,000
We feel that you stopped too early.

1226
00:53:07,000 --> 00:53:10,000
Sally-Jo, will you bring your bowls forward please?

1227
00:53:20,000 --> 00:53:22,000
You put this lip in them,
which follows through the whole thing,

1228
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:24,000
which just accentuates the whole set.

1229
00:53:25,000 --> 00:53:27,000
Look at the lovely patterns inside.

1230
00:53:27,000 --> 00:53:28,000
Used a bit of copper, have you?

1231
00:53:28,000 --> 00:53:29,000
Yes a bit of cobalt as well.

1232
00:53:29,000 --> 00:53:32,000
Sometimes ceramics can be like paintings

1233
00:53:32,000 --> 00:53:33,000
and have the sensitivity of someone

1234
00:53:33,000 --> 00:53:35,000
who has the skill of doing a painting.

1235
00:53:35,000 --> 00:53:38,000
And I really feel the sensitivity and the depth

1236
00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:40,000
of color is really successful.

1237
00:53:57,000 --> 00:53:59,000
Did you plan a flat line across the top?

1238
00:53:59,000 --> 00:54:02,000
I did plan a flat line, or I hoped for a flat line.

1239
00:54:02,000 --> 00:54:03,000
Well congratulations

1240
00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:04,000
because that's not a simple thing to do.

1241
00:54:04,000 --> 00:54:06,000
That's great, really, really good.

1242
00:54:06,000 --> 00:54:07,000
The crack is a tough one, isn't it?

1243
00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:09,000
Yes, my base is undulating a little bit,

1244
00:54:10,000 --> 00:54:12,000
there's an area of thickness and thinness.

1245
00:54:12,000 --> 00:54:15,000
I made the mistake because I was so nervous.

1246
00:54:15,000 --> 00:54:16,000
I'm actually really impressed, Jane.

1247
00:54:16,000 --> 00:54:19,000
- Thank you very much. -They're really good.

1248
00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:21,000
Can you tell us about the pattern?

1249
00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:23,000
Don't.

1250
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:25,000
Why does it make you cry?

1251
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:29,000
I think because, because out of the ten of you-

1252
00:54:31,000 --> 00:54:32,000
Go on.

1253
00:54:33,000 --> 00:54:36,000
Out of the 10 of you, you could see you-

1254
00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:39,000
Wow, out of the 10 of you I could see that you were

1255
00:54:40,000 --> 00:54:41,000
so nervous,

1256
00:54:41,000 --> 00:54:44,000
you were so nervous and you've just excelled yourself.

1257
00:54:49,000 --> 00:54:51,000
We've had everything from tough love to tears,

1258
00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:54,000
but now we need the judges to have a little pow wow.

1259
00:54:54,000 --> 00:54:57,000
So in the meantime if you wouldn't mind leaving us

1260
00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:59,000
and we'll see you back here in a little bit.

1261
00:55:00,000 --> 00:55:02,000
I really enjoyed making those bowls,

1262
00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:04,000
I really liked the way that they acknowledged the use of

1263
00:55:04,000 --> 00:55:07,000
color and it was meant to be quite free

1264
00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:08,000
and the brush strokes.

1265
00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:10,000
I hadn't wedged the clay enough, I'll take that on board.

1266
00:55:10,000 --> 00:55:14,000
It's not a bowl if it's cracked, so I've done enough

1267
00:55:14,000 --> 00:55:17,000
to stay because my bowls were solid, sturdy.

1268
00:55:17,000 --> 00:55:18,000
Do I think I'll leave?

1269
00:55:18,000 --> 00:55:20,000
I think there's every chance, you know,

1270
00:55:20,000 --> 00:55:23,000
like they say I didn't spend enough time on my decoration.

1271
00:55:23,000 --> 00:55:27,000
That's definitely a fault, it'd be nice not to.

1272
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:31,000
We've got two decisions to make.

1273
00:55:31,000 --> 00:55:32,000
Shall we start with the happy one?

1274
00:55:32,000 --> 00:55:35,000
We're looking for our first ever top potter please.

1275
00:55:35,000 --> 00:55:37,000
Tom fills all the points for you doesn't he, Keith?

1276
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:38,000
He does, yeah.

1277
00:55:39,000 --> 00:55:41,000
And really, Sally-Jo is really filling them for me.

1278
00:55:41,000 --> 00:55:44,000
I like the sort of move into Fine Art

1279
00:55:44,000 --> 00:55:45,000
because each one looks like a painting on the bottom

1280
00:55:46,000 --> 00:55:48,000
of the bowl and she's used the colors so sensitively.

1281
00:55:48,000 --> 00:55:50,000
- But in the mix there we've got Jane.

1282
00:55:50,000 --> 00:55:52,000
Are you going to cry again?

1283
00:55:52,000 --> 00:55:53,000
I'm going to try and hold it together,

1284
00:55:53,000 --> 00:55:55,000
it's a tough call between the three of them isn't it?

1285
00:55:55,000 --> 00:55:57,000
Now on to the really sad business,

1286
00:55:57,000 --> 00:55:59,000
because it feels so soon.

1287
00:55:59,000 --> 00:56:02,000
Who is going to be leaving the pottery today?

1288
00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:05,000
It's a toss-up between Matthew and Raikah.

1289
00:56:05,000 --> 00:56:06,000
Raikah doesn't have the skill

1290
00:56:06,000 --> 00:56:08,000
but she's just got this attitude, she's bringing

1291
00:56:09,000 --> 00:56:10,000
in a bigger picture really.

1292
00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:12,000
Matthew was slightly lazy.

1293
00:56:12,000 --> 00:56:16,000
I'm completely divided, because I'm annoyed with him.

1294
00:56:17,000 --> 00:56:19,000
He was born to clay, he was probably eating it.

1295
00:56:19,000 --> 00:56:22,000
- We have got to tell them, somebody's got to leave.

1296
00:56:22,000 --> 00:56:24,000
Okay, so we're going to get the potters back in.

1297
00:56:36,000 --> 00:56:40,000
Each week the judges are going to choose who is Top Potter.

1298
00:56:40,000 --> 00:56:44,000
Judges, what did this person do
to earn this glorious accolade?

1299
00:56:44,000 --> 00:56:47,000
- They showed a great connection between the concept

1300
00:56:47,000 --> 00:56:50,000
of their design through to fruition and throughout

1301
00:56:51,000 --> 00:56:55,000
all the tasks, they showed great discipline and great finish.

1302
00:56:55,000 --> 00:56:59,000
The Top potter for this week goes to...

1303
00:57:00,000 --> 00:57:01,000
Tom.

1304
00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:05,000
Well done, Tom.

1305
00:57:07,000 --> 00:57:10,000
- Congratulations Tom. -Thank you.

1306
00:57:10,000 --> 00:57:13,000
Now to the less happy task, because one of you has

1307
00:57:13,000 --> 00:57:17,000
to go, and the judges have made their decision.

1308
00:57:17,000 --> 00:57:21,000
The person leaving the pottery today is...

1309
00:57:27,000 --> 00:57:28,000
It's Raikah.

1310
00:57:28,000 --> 00:57:32,000
That's fine, oh it's fine.

1311
00:57:34,000 --> 00:57:37,000
We're very sad to see you go.

1312
00:57:37,000 --> 00:57:42,000
It's really sad. Her crock skills just weren't there,

1313
00:57:42,000 --> 00:57:43,000
and it was so upsetting because Raikah

1314
00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:46,000
has this great spirit, this great sense of endeavor

1315
00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:47,000
and this bravery.

1316
00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:50,000
If it was down to attitude, Raikah wins hands down.

1317
00:57:50,000 --> 00:57:51,000
Yes!

1318
00:57:52,000 --> 00:57:54,000
I do feel disappointed but I think

1319
00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:55,000
it was the right decision,

1320
00:57:55,000 --> 00:57:58,000
I could only push the conceptual bit to some extent

1321
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:00,000
but I'll do it to beat the skills tests.

1322
00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:02,000
It's fine.

1323
00:58:03,000 --> 00:58:04,000
Matthew's card is definitely marked,

1324
00:58:05,000 --> 00:58:07,000
you know what, I really don't think he realizes it.

1325
00:58:07,000 --> 00:58:10,000
It's going to be really interesting to see how he reacts

1326
00:58:10,000 --> 00:58:11,000
to future tasks.

1327
00:58:11,000 --> 00:58:15,000
As soon as there is that elimination process

1328
00:58:15,000 --> 00:58:17,000
it makes the whole thing a bit more real.

1329
00:58:17,000 --> 00:58:20,000
Great to win Best Potter, I mean that's brilliant.

1330
00:58:20,000 --> 00:58:21,000
But I'll be honest with you,

1331
00:58:21,000 --> 00:58:23,000
whenever they come out of the kiln, I just recognized,

1332
00:58:23,000 --> 00:58:25,000
you know, there's so many styles and these people

1333
00:58:25,000 --> 00:58:28,000
are amazing, and you're really critical of your own work,

1334
00:58:28,000 --> 00:58:30,000
and I thought, actually they're pretty ordinary.

1335
00:58:30,000 --> 00:58:32,000
If all I take from this competition

1336
00:58:32,000 --> 00:58:36,000
is that I made Keith Brymer Jones cry with happiness for me,

1337
00:58:36,000 --> 00:58:39,000
on my behalf, that's good enough for me.

1338
00:58:39,000 --> 00:58:41,000
Next time.

1339
00:58:41,000 --> 00:58:44,000
This is sustained physical exercise.

1340
00:58:44,000 --> 00:58:45,000
An epic main make-

1341
00:58:45,000 --> 00:58:47,000
Bath one of my kids in that.

1342
00:58:47,000 --> 00:58:48,000
For the smallest room.

1343
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:50,000
A spot test-

1344
00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:52,000
That tile has been disqualified.

1345
00:58:52,000 --> 00:58:54,000
That's nine times as hard.

1346
00:58:54,000 --> 00:58:55,000
He wants to be normal.

1347
00:58:55,000 --> 00:58:57,000
And a throw-down that has to be seen-

1348
00:58:57,000 --> 00:58:58,000
This looks so bizarre.

1349
00:58:58,000 --> 00:59:00,000
To be believed.

1350
00:59:00,000 --> 00:59:02,000
But who'll be the next Top Potter?

1351
00:59:02,000 --> 00:59:03,000
I'm too upset now.

1352
00:59:03,000 --> 00:59:05,000
And whose competition will come to an end?

1353
00:59:05,000 --> 00:59:08,000
I feel like a six-year-old in a classroom.

1354
00:59:08,000 --> 00:59:09,000
It'll be playtime soon.