Original subtitles

Raku!

Raku!

Raku!

Raku! Raku!

It's week four, and we've nine potters left.

And you've guessed it - it's raku week.

Welcome to The Great Pottery Throw Down. Yeah!

Raku!

They're everywhere.

Last time...

..the potters reached new heights with a trio of birds...

I'm soaring, I'm flying, I'm winging it.

..and grappled... Oh!

..with an old-fashioned hot-water bottle.

This is embarrassment.

James's marvellous macaws... They're almost perfect.

..saw him crowned Potter of the Week. Oh, thank you. Thank you.

But it was Christophe's falcons that failed to soar.

Don't drop it.

And he became the third potter to fly the nest.

Friends for life. Friends for life.

This time... I hate... I hate you at the moment!

..it's week four, and our potters are getting into their groove...

You make me dance now.

..transforming mounds of clay into decorative hanging planters.

The best thing you've done in the pottery.

There's a surprise guest setting a spot test.

I've never been so excited in my life!

And our potters head outdoors...

It's burning me. ..to play with fire. Come on, kiln gods.

But whose hopes of staying in the competition...

Take it easy. Don't drop it now.

..will go up in flames?

Oh!

Oh, Jesus.

# Making time

# Shooting lines

# People have their uses

# People have their uses... #

Ring Of Fire by Johnny Cash

Our nine remaining potters are back in Stoke,

fired up for their most exciting challenge yet.

Yay! Week four!

Getting to raku week is like some sort of boss level.

Raku is an ancient firing technique where pots are rapidly heated.

It's just so exciting. There's fire, there's smoke.

When they reach around 1,000 degrees centigrade, the potters

remove their pots from the kiln.

What's the fun without a little bit of danger? Do you know what I mean?

It's like the rock and roll of pottery.

The pots go into a metal reduction box, where they catch on fire.

I think all little boys are slight pyromaniacs.

That's never really grown out of me. Might go wrong,

but God, I'm excited.

With the box closed, the chemical reactions create raku magic.

I have never done raku, but I have a lot of adrenaline.

I'm going to be dancing everywhere.

It's going to be a lot of movement in my body.

This year, our potters will be doing naked raku -

naked because the finished pots won't feature any glaze.

# A ring of fire

# The ring of fire... #

Welcome back, potters, to the pottery, and to raku week.

Raku!

Eh?! Yay!

You've made it to raku!

This week, the judges would like you to make a pair of hanging planters.

Now, these are going to be hanging from above,

so we want your planters to have a statement finial underneath.

Now, these don't have to look identical,

but we want them to look like an obvious set.

We'd like you to choose how you hang them.

That could be lugs or holes in the planter walls,

but it needs to be practical.

Otherwise, your planters won't hang properly.

And the trade description people will be after you.

You have six hours to make and refine your hanging planters.

Potters, get potting.

Let's go.

Happy raku.

The beauty of raku... It's clay and fire, isn't it,

basically, at its most simplest form.

So I'm so excited.

Yes! I love raku week.

The fire, being outside, the smoke.

It's the sheer alchemy of pottery, isn't it?

So we've asked our potters to create these planters with a lovely finial.

That's going to be a real testament

to the way they think about this whole process.

Not just the design, but the firing itself.

What raku doesn't like is big changes of thicknesses.

Yeah. You don't want big chunky finials into very thin walled pots,

because those two elements will expand and contract at

different rates, and they'll just pull apart. That's it.

And then let's not forget the design itself.

I really want to see that process of raku integrated into their design.

I mean, this is a beautiful example of naked raku.

What we're seeing here is the cracking of the top layer

of glaze and slip, which has allowed the carbon in,

and then they're going to put paper stencils

on the outside of that to create the design.

And we just hope that those paper stencils will leave enough

of an impression on that lovely burnished surface of the pot.

Well, let's hope. Fingers crossed. It'll be exciting.

I'll have everything crossed.

Hello, lovey. Hi, Fabiola. Good morning. Morning.

I have to say, you look so pretty.

Vibrant colours. Oh, thank you.

Nice, isn't it? Tell me about your design.

My design is based on the equality of people.

For me, this is very important.

We have to love each other. All of us, you know?

Fabiola's homage to love will feature intricate characters

representing gender, religion and cultural acceptance.

Her ambitious finials will be thrown and altered to represent

clasped hands and a heart.

How are you attaching this heart? It's going to have a long stem.

OK. So it's attached by this?

I hope it works.

So do we. So do we, lovey. Exactly.

We hope it works, too. Exactly.

When it comes to raku,

this bit, the making, is the most important step of all.

Exactly. Getting that right. Exactly.

We're off and running! What could possibly go wrong?

Unless the potters throw their planters with thin walls,

they'll be too heavy to hang.

I'm trying to coat it up nicely.

I don't want to use too much clay because it would just make it big

and fat and heavy. But too thin, and the planters won't be robust enough

to support their finials.

I am a bit worried about the thickness of it

and whether it will survive the weight of the finial.

So I've added an extra bit of clay.

To ensure his planters are perfectly balanced,

Jon's leaving nothing to chance.

So, these pieces of paper fit together to make the whole pot.

So if I throw that piece, it matches,

and then when I throw that piece, it matches,

they should form a relatively smooth form.

Hello, Jon. Hi. Tell us about your design.

We've gone mathematical. So I've gone spiral.

Would we expect anything less, Jon?

The golden rectangle. The golden spiral kind of idea.

Fibonacci. Fibonacci and that kind of stuff.

So it's that kind of idea of fractals,

obviously on a much bigger scale. Obviously, obviously. Yeah, yeah.

Engineer Jon is in his element, combining precision and design

by carving a deep spiral winding down the body of his planters,

complemented by a teardrop pendant finial.

The one thing about the Fibonacci spiral, it's perfect.

It is. It is.

Are you confident you're going to get that perfection? Yeah.

I've got templates. The spirals themselves will be Fibonacci.

The one down the pot isn't.

You can't do that round the pot form,

but the ones that come off will be. Well, good luck with that.

While Jon's aiming for mathematical precision...

I want one spiral for one revolution.

..Helen's taking a more relaxed approach.

It looks like a bowl, so we're heading in the right direction.

Where I live, there's an oak tree that's collapsed and it's split

completely in two. It's a work of art.

It really is. So I thought, "Oh, yeah, oak leaves.

"Let's have a go at that."

Celebrating her local Kent countryside, Helen's design mimics

a cascade of fluttering acorns and leaves.

The 2D leaves on the body of the pot will be complemented by

3D sculptural oak leaves around the finial.

# Underneath the oak leaf... #

So, is raku something you've ever done before?

I recently bought a raku kiln.

OK. So I can have a little go in the garden.

We've got a guy in the village who does raku days,

so you can go along and it's a social thing.

Oh, OK. Do you live in a pottery village? No!

She lives in a little pottery village with pottery elves.

I am throwing it upside down. That's quite a lot of clay for me.

Can suddenly get really out of control.

Don't, don't, don't!

This is a bummer.

I've made it a bit squat.

I probably made it a bit thin, and it just started sagging down.

And once it starts sagging, it's a losing battle.

I have to wedge it again and hope that it will work.

Come on, we can do this. We can do this.

We can do pottery, right. Yeah, of course we can.

So, my inspiration is the '80s.

I don't think it's ever been done before, taking raku

into the '80s, so I'm doing it.

Rebecca plans to bring the ancient Japanese art of raku into the '80s

with her geometric multicolour design,

which is replicated in the finials as well.

So you're really excited about raku week.

Yeah, really excited. Have you ever done it?

Yeah, I've done it about three times.

And you still find it exciting? Yeah, I love it,

because it's different every time. Every time, things have cracked.

But... You know the old saying, fourth time lucky? Yeah.

I'm taking my frustration out from the first pot.

While George... I hate you! I hate you at the moment!

..and Fabiola are hoping it will be second time lucky

getting their pots up...

Oh! Just be very, very gentle because I slap her so much,

so she's not that happy with me.

..the rest of the potters have finished theirs

and can begin their decorative finials.

Caught you at a sensitive moment. Fiddling with your finial. Yeah.

Fiddling with me finial.

Well, tell us about your design, then,

that will include the finial. I am doing two spaceships.

Of course you are.

And the plants will be the plumes coming out of the engine.

Derek will marry his passion for mid-century design

with his childhood fascination of space travel.

The bullet-shaped rockets will have delicate fins

and classic ray-gun shaped finials.

Are your finials going to be hollow or is that...? That's hollow,

so the air can get in, because if it's thick, clay would just explode.

Yeah. Going to have to be careful with those. Very careful with those.

Not only must their finials be hollow... At the moment,

there's air inside, but I'm worried that once it comes out and I press,

it will break.

..it's vital that they match the thinness of their pots,

so once attached, they will dry at the same rate.

If that finial was really thick, it would just cause problems

and it would definitely crack off.

But while Derek's shooting for the moon... This is going

to be the start of the chicken's neck.

..James is staying more down-to-earth.

We have four bantam chickens.

They sunbathe, run away from the children.

His generously rounded pots will replicate the body

of his sunbathing birds,

and he's hoping his stylised finial heads

will capture their unique personalities.

This is Eggletina, the bigger one, because she keeps escaping.

I don't know how they get out.

Apparently, they're doing it again while I'm away,

so I've got to go back and try and put some more chicken wire up.

Lois has also been inspired by home.

So the finial, I want it to, like, echo sort of shell shapes.

I grew up by the beach, and it's the best place

you can be, really. By the sea, in the sea, on the sea.

Lois will add blue slip as a base for her seascape, accentuated

with Matisse-inspired seaweed and Dover sole markings.

Shells really are an important thing to you. Yeah, they are.

When you hold your ear to it, can you hear the sea?

Maybe. Should we try? Yeah.

Oh, you can! It works quite well, actually.

Oh, yeah, it does, yeah. Wow. Surprisingly good.

Lois has the sea in her finial!

No pressure, but she has the ocean.

Lois isn't the only potter...

I need to get on with my finials.

..hoping their planters make a splash.

The first pot I got given was an octopus-catching pot.

They'd drop it down into the ocean.

Lovely, warm, dark hole - octopus jumps in there.

You pull it up later and you get an octopus in it.

A bit of a play on it. I'm going to do the octopus

attacking the bottom of the octopus pot.

George is recreating the murky ocean depths using blue-coloured slip

and stencilled tentacles. He's chosen to hang his squid

and octopus using rope tied around risky, delicate handles.

Raku, being an intense firing process,

it's going to test the joins like no tomorrow.

How many tickles does it take to tickle an octopus?

I don't know. How many tickles?

Ten tickles.

But George's squid and octopus...

I'm really scared about these dragon heads. ..might not be

the most precarious hanging planters in the pottery.

Playing a bit of a gamble.

I'm using dragon heads as my lugs.

Right, OK. Wow.

So I'm really going to have to get them stuck on well.

Just got to hope they stay on.

As a nod to her heritage, Caitlin is adding

Chinese lantern-shaped finials onto her bulbous-shaped forms,

but her planters will be relying on the dragon heads holding up.

My mum is from Hong Kong, and growing up,

she always had all these Chinese dragons.

And they bring good luck and prosperity.

Good luck to take it through the raku firing.

Potters, you're halfway through!

Got to speed up a little bit,

but that's the story of my Pottery Throw Down life.

The potters will need to get a move on.

God, it's a bit of a mission.

They still have to trim and refine all of their pieces...

I've got quite a bit of turning of these.

This is heavy as. ..and carefully attach their finials to the planters

so that they survive the raku firing.

Very nervous about getting these to stick on.

Because it's going through such a harsh process,

any sort of joins are very risky.

It might explode. Might shift or break off. I get ya.

Oh, God, this is heavy.

I hope they don't fall apart and explode.

They've gone together quite well.

I can't tell where the finial sits and where the main body does.

So I'm going to put the leaves on.

While some of the planters are coming together...

I'm struggling a little bit.

The clay, because it's groggy, breaks.

..Fabiola's celebration of unity is threatening to fall apart.

Two hands holding a heart.

They were supposed to be 3D. Not any more.

So I'm just going to carve.

It's a lot of work, and I need to go and start burnishing.

It's super important.

Burnishing is key to ensuring successful naked raku.

Firstly, a slip called terra sigillata is applied,

which also has some added colour.

Terra sigillata, which is just an incredibly fine-particle slip,

which means that when you burnish it,

it will get really nice and shiny.

I've used all four colours so I can get that '80s design.

The benching battle has begun.

The potters must rub their planters with a smooth item

like a pebble or spoon...

I've chose spoon gloves!

I'm throwing everything at it! ..pushing down grog in the clay

and bringing the fine particles to the surface,

resulting in a wonderfully polished finish.

Choice of weapon is shiniest soup spoon

I could find in the canteen.

So I'm using this stone and a spoon from the canteen.

I tried to make a cup of tea earlier - I had to use a fork!

Can somebody tell the canteen all the spoons are up here?!

We've found the spoons!

After having to improvise a new finial design...

I'm going to start burnishing,

otherwise it's going to be too late for me.

..Fabiola is changing plans once again.

I stick my finials nearly to the end.

Hopefully that will work. In my head, it will work.

And Fabiola is not alone.

I need to judge when I put the octopus on and have enough time to

make the octopus look nice, but also save myself enough time

to burnish everything.

That burnished slit is the canvas to all of their decorations.

Everything. Well, the gloves are doing all right.

I mean, this particular naked raku process, a couple

of things could happen if they don't burnish them well enough. Yeah.

Firstly, the flame effects, the carbonisation

could be very dull.

Secondly, there's every risk that the resist-slip

and the high-alkaline glaze could stick and not peel away.

And not give them the effect they want.

It's going to be a long afternoon.

There's more process that goes beyond this. That's it.

But this is the bedrock for all that comes next.

OK. This is going to start hurting my arm.

You can't train for this. You have to just go...

Potters, you've one hour left!

Oh, there's no spoons anywhere!

Oh! Oh! The pain! The pain!

Just burnish like mad.

I'm sweating cobs, but I'm going for it.

But for those with construction left to do...

Right, I need to do these heads now because an hour is stressful.

..burnishing will have to take a break.

A bit of slipping and scoring and get it all together, I hope.

It's a bit tricky because this is all mucky,

so I'm risking ruining my lovely smooth, polished bit

by doing big hand marks in the wrong place.

But I've just got to suck it up and get on with it.

It would be an actual miracle if these stay on.

I hope that the heart is not coming off.

So... Can I help in any way?

All right. But you make me dance now.

You always put that in my mind, you know?

I know. Are we dancing to the same tune?

Go, go, go!

I'm really, really trying to get a bit of a sheen on this.

Ten minutes left, potters! Oh! Ten minutes left!

I don't have much of an idea when it's done, so we're just going

to keep going until the time runs out.

Oh. Thanks for reminding me that I've only got ten minutes.

I'm just putting my handle on. Hoping a good push will attach it.

Into the hen house with you.

Fabiola, my love, how are you getting on?

Yeah, I think I'm going to make it. Done.

One small step for the pottery,

one giant step for Derek.

So, George, it's only you we're waiting on.

Bye-bye, my baby.

Well done, guys.

Absolutely fantastic.

I'm getting a reputation for working right up to the end.

George, have a shower. Maybe next week.

I think I'm also getting a reputation for having more clay

on me than in my pot.

Once dried, Rose will take the planters

for their first bisque firing to harden the clay,

ready for decoration and their final intense raku firing.

I just pray to the kiln gods that it will come

as it was - a nice heart.

The finials coming off would be the disaster.

It's time for the potters to face a flamboyant second challenge.

We're going to do an autopsy!

Pottery autopsy.

Welcome back, potters, to your second challenge.

And it is a spot test.

Oooh!

And we have a very special guest judge.

You may remember them from series two.

Freya Bramble-Carter. Oh!

Freya, come on in.

Hi! Very nice to see you.

How does it feel being on this side of the bench? Weird.

Great. But I know how you feel, guys, seriously.

# Baby, come back... #

After appearing on The Great Pottery Throw Down, Freya has gone on to

become a successful ceramicist.

Her beautiful sculptural vases have been exhibited in prestigious

art galleries, and she has been featured in the likes

of British Vogue, the New York Times and House & Garden.

Judges, would you like to show the potters what they will be doing?

Uh-oh. Oh, my goodness.

You don't have to make the body of the vase.

We're just talking about the really beautiful, elaborate

flourish on top. So, Freya, take it away.

So you've been given this free-thrown bottom.

You're going to coil-build your structure on top.

Start with a thick coil. You definitely wouldn't want

skinny coils flopping as you build the pipe.

And right from the beginning, I'm blending the inside as I go.

Freya, you're looking for that relationship between the coiling

and the thrown pot underneath. Yes. You've got this femininity

and masculinity balance going on.

A lot of my inspiration comes from that. Right, blending.

This is what you're really going to use to join the thrown vase

to your coils. I'm just going to stop here.

Yours will be a lot taller. How tall would you like them to be?

Can they please be 30cm tall? Towards the edge here,

you can taper the tip, get it a bit thinner.

You can go in like that.

Wide, narrow.

We're looking for flamboyance.

Go for it. Go for your character.

You can be a bit weird. Whatever. It's yours. All right?

They're all weird, Freya. That's what we want.

And I'm going to look at the beauty of your frill in any shape and form.

Big, small, in, out.

Shake it all about.

Thank you very much. That was marvellous.

Potters, back to your benches, please.

This is going to be blind judged, so...begone.

Get out.

OK, potters, you have been given one hour...

Oh! Oh.

..to make your flamboyant vases,

and your time starts now.

Oh, that's a nice vase.

I like it as it is.

Not a throw down!

I've never been so excited in my life.

I wanted something a bit different.

So, yeah, I'm really looking forward to this one.

I wouldn't think of myself as flamboyant,

so this is outside my comfort zone.

I'm trying to do quite long coils.

I'd like to do a lovely tall trumpety hibiscus flower.

But as the potters begin adding clay to flare out their pots...

I'm thinking more of like a tulip.

..Jon has begun by subtracting clay from his.

I'm going with an ovular form on top.

So I've started to cut the neck

to create that ovular form from the very outset.

So, try and create something a little bit different.

I'd like, if I get around to it, having extra little bits coming out,

so like petals of flowers around the side of it.

That's the idea. We'll see.

She said flamboyant, so...we'll do flamboyant.

Before the potters can even think about

the shape of their flourishes...

Oh, wow. It's high. ..they need to build the height.

I'm doing them fairly thick, especially near the bottom.

It's got to be quite strong, otherwise it will just fall apart.

I don't want it too heavy because then once you've created height,

the heaviness of it will bring it down

and potentially collapse at some point,

which you want to avoid, obviously.

So you've nearly got to 30cm. No, it's not, look. Oh, my gosh!

30cm is so much more than you think, guys.

I want to just spend half the time doing that

and then half the time making it look nice.

So an hour sounds like a long time, but it isn't really.

You're going out already? Yeah, yeah.

Maybe slightly faster than I was planning on.

The grand design was supposed to be ovular.

Greater out this side, more vertical on this side.

Oh, yeah. Someone's not really told the pot that.

Is the pot misbehaving? Yeah. It's not listening.

I keep putting them, putting them and it doesn't go up!

It's only 18cm. Jesus!

She's going to say 30 minutes in, isn't she?

Potters, you're halfway through!

Halfway through! It's not annoying at all, is it?

I'm not even close, so I'm going to have to really

motor a bit. Hi, George. How are you getting on?

I'm not sure I'm the most flamboyant man out there.

That's actually a really good question.

Potters, who is the most flamboyant in here?

Fabiola. Yeah, Fabiola.

Yes! Yeah. And who would be the least flamboyant here?

Jon. Jon. Jon, I have faith in you and your inner flamboyance.

Well, it's certainly more droopy than flamboyant.

I think mine has probably pushed the brief to somewhere

it wasn't supposed to be going.

I'm just creating some indents

to sort of get a bit of a trumpet going up.

Put that bit on there. And then start shaping.

Potters, you've 15 minutes left!

Oh!

While most are now on a flamboyant burst to the finish...

Mr Floppity-Floo.

..a few of the potters are experiencing structural issues.

I should have done my coils a little bit thinner as we got

to the top, so if I cut in... But it will still just flop out.

Me and Jon's look the same now, don't they?

Every time I touch it, it goes a bit further down, really,

which isn't really what I was after. It looks a little bit like,

you know, it works in accounting.

It's done a spreadsheet. What about the inside?

Look at the inside. No, the inside...

Five minutes left, potters! Five minutes left!

God, it's amazing how quick time goes in here.

Now that's flamboyant.

Every bloody time.

Oh, my Lord.

It's looking a bit nice.

Going to try and put some extra petals, and it's organic, so you can

get away with quite a few things. Do one more tiny bit.

And you've got great height there. About twenty...four.

You've got one minute left. One minute? Yeah.

Potters, one minute left! Oh, dear.

To gain 6cm. No, it's not going to happen, is it?

Now it's just one minute of smoothing down the clay

as much as possible.

I'm just trying to bodge a bit of finesse onto this pot.

Every second counts.

Five, four, three,

two, one. Well done.

Tools down.

Flamboyance finito.

You could faff about with that for about a week.

I think I'm the least worried about it because it's already flopped.

OK, then, potters, let's welcome back the judges.

Wow.

There's a lot of movement, a lot of dynamic energy, I see.

Should we get started? Well, let's start, yeah.

Let's start at this end. Wow. I like the shape of this,

mirroring the shape. It's really beautiful.

Really good blending on the inside. Fantastic. Well done.

This one, it's got some throat.

I really like this shape. It's subtly random.

You can still see some of the joins, though, can't you? Yeah.

It doesn't look like it's been blended much at all on the inside.

Number three. I'm questioning, has it collapsed?

They've made something out of it. Made a feature. Well, exactly, yeah.

I mean, it's a good way of getting around a problem.

OK, number four. Hmm, interesting.

The inside is amazing.

The mark-making has really added to the form, hasn't it?

It has. Number five. Tighter frills.

I like that. I like these big trunks.

Almost remind me of roots to a tree. Yeah.

Could have done with a little bit more finishing

on the inside. And slightly more on the join.

OK, number six.

Wow.

We've got a few sort of stress cracks around the rim.

You can kind of see where some of those... It collapsed a bit there.

It's quite orchidy, with one side lifted up.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Number seven.

It's really nicely finished off on the inside, isn't it?

Yeah. They've really made a conscious effort to tidy up the rim.

The blend is quite well in most of it. Well done.

Number eight. I love this shape.

It's very flamboyant. Very flamboyant.

It looks almost like a shell or something. Yeah, yeah, it does.

It doesn't have the height of some of the others.

It's holding itself well. Yeah, no, I kind of like it.

Last but not least... Almost reminds me of, like, a gooseneck.

And this is, like, the beak.

The small frills and big frills are quite nice,

the variation. Fantastic.

The judges will now order the potters from worst to first.

OK. Ninth place is this one.

You got really good height.

However, the integrity of the building,

it looks like it collapsed a little bit.

Eighth place was this one.

Oh, Caitlin. Did it collapse?

Thought so. Seventh place, this one.

Jon! Jon, you've given us your flamboyant side. Who knew?

Did you have problems with it falling outwards?

Yeah, it was going to be ovular, but not that ovular.

In sixth place is Derek.

Fifth is Rebecca.

Fabiola comes fourth, and it's George in third.

This is two.

Well done, Lois. You've blended it really well on the outside,

and this proportion sits well.

OK, so the winner is this one.

James! Well done, James.

You've blended it beautifully on the inside as much as the outside.

And these touches here are just really quite beautiful.

Yeah, we particularly liked those.

The asymmetrical kind of design was really lovely, wasn't it?

Yeah. Well done, James.

You're our favourite flourisher.

And thank you so much, Freya.

You've been absolutely fabulous and fantastic.

Well done to all you, potters.

You deserve a break now. So, potters, dismissed.

Came first in the second challenge.

I think all the potters are keen to knock me off, definitely.

It's all to play for still. With the raku firing,

anything can happen. I've been seventh before, but it's nice to get

the most flamboyant one.

I think gravity helped. Shows you can step outside your comfort zone.

I was quite pleased with the height of it, but yeah,

it didn't look good. So really ups the pressure, eh?

If you come last, you've got to really do well

in the next challenge.

So, yeah, I've got my fingers firmly crossed.

The potters' hanging planters have had their first firing.

Now it's time for decoration.

Ooh la la! What is in there?

But until they peek under the hessian, the potters won't know

if their planters are still in one piece.

Welcome back, potters.

Your hanging planters have been bisque-fired and are now hiding

under the hessian, ready to be decorated.

We've given you resist-slip for those burnished areas

of your hanging planters.

Now, this will protect those areas from the reduction process

in the kiln.

So make sure you use it - and use it carefully.

You've got paper to use for masking on your planters.

Now, the areas you mask off are very likely to go black

after the raku firing,

so try and incorporate that into your design.

You have been given one and a half hours

to decorate your hanging planters, and your time starts now.

Ah!

Oh! Yes! They're super good.

They're strong.

They're alive.

Oh, jeez, there's cracks.

But the heads are on. I can only be thankful for that.

Oh...bugger.

Oh, Derek, what has happened?

I've lost a finial. Oh, no. Oh, no!

Oh, no.

It's only mine that's done it, so...

That obviously doesn't bode well for this.

It's just that difference in drying. That's hollow,

and that's really thick.

Obviously pretty disappointed, but I'm not giving up on it.

You could put that on top and leave it and the glaze

might glue it together. You might get away with that.

Might get away with it. Positivity. We'll get there.

It might mean I can make a couple of pots. Absolutely.

We're testing our potters with a unique decorating technique.

The burnishing they did earlier not only ensures a smooth finish,

it also helps this procedure perform its magic.

All right, let's do it.

A magic involving a resist-slip and a clever glaze.

Whoa! Whoa, that's thick. That is thick.

First, our potters apply the resist-slip...

I need to make sure that I cover it all.

..a temporary barrier protecting the burnished surface.

Oh, get out.

Then the potters will apply their paper stencils

to create their design.

Anywhere the potters place their paper stencils will go black.

This is a bit different to the raku we normally do.

It's a totally different process.

And I had just gotten to terms with the old raku and now

I have to learn a new raku.

I'm going to have a nice pale yellow background

with some black leaves scattered around.

I want to get a really nice outline, rather than a black blob.

To achieve a crisp silhouette,

the paper stencils need to be glued with the utmost care.

You want it as stuck down as possible.

You don't want a wee foot sticking up in the air,

because then the glaze will go underneath it and then that will

blur the lines a little bit.

So then it will be the black dragon and the black head,

and then the blue background with the raku effects,

like they're in the water.

After his broken finial...

I've got tweezers, so I'll be like a chef, going like this.

..Derek can't afford any more mistakes.

I really want to get that crackle effect.

So these are quite sparingly put on. I'm giving it every chance

for the raku to be the star of the show.

I want the remaining one to look really good

because otherwise, I'm out of here.

While Derek is hoping his minimalist design will be enough

to rescue his rocket... So these are supposed to be feathers.

We'll get as many on as possible.

..not every potter is being so restrained.

They've got a variety of shapes.

Just making sure that it looks '80s.

But the more intricate the design...

Oh, it's too fiddly. I hate this, I hate this, I hate this.

..the harder it will be to stick on.

Oh, come on.

That one's disintegrated.

These are really fragile, so they're quite hard to work with.

Oh, come on!

Oh, God, I messed up with this.

Too much paper on my hands. What are you doing to your people?

Well, you know... They're upside down. Do you know what I'm doing?

Taking the heads off, the legs off, everything off,

because this paper is very thin.

So they'll turn black when they come out?

I hope so. I really hope so.

And I really hope that they stay.

If we won't see the people there, we'll be...kaput.

Potters, you've half an hour left!

Oh! Oh! Better put a wiggle on.

Oh, no! I'm worried I've made all my legs too long.

I'll just have to do a bit of amputation.

So, how's it all going? I think it's going OK.

My fish...

The template was a bit big so I just tore it to try and...

Oh, I love this, like, on the cuff, on the hoof adaptation!

Yeah. It's jazz pottery, man. You wanna see...

Oh! This paper, because it's very thin,

I'm leaving them without arms or legs.

So I'm going to change for the thicker one to see

if it hopefully will stay.

I think that's fine. I think I don't want to overdo it.

I don't want to underdo it.

I think that's... That's what I wanted to do.

With the paper stencil firmly stuck down...

I really do hope it comes out, because I think I'll love it

and I will actually put it in my house.

..there is one final stage to complete -

applying an alkali frit glaze.

This clever glaze should protect the potters' designs

before cracking off in the reduction box,

revealing the finished pot underneath.

George, how many coats of glaze are you doing?

No idea, Helen. Glaze is meant to be doing the overprotecting, isn't it?

So I think we want a good amount of it. Yeah.

Put a good old dollop on there.

And for Derek, getting the glaze right...

As long as it sticks on, it's fine.

..could be make or break.

Is there any way you can stick it? Look, you've got PVA.

I'm going to try and do it like this to stick it with the glaze,

and just lift it out very carefully

and put it in the box very carefully.

And if it works, it works. And if it doesn't, it doesn't.

There's always a chance. It's not over yet.

Raku day!

Now we're getting down to the nitty gritty of what raku

essentially is - the firing process.

So I think people are really excited.

I don't think anyone can really prepare for it,

because anything can happen in raku.

Will they come the way I want to?

I don't know.

But I have never seen anything like this.

I hope that I can show my message through my plants.

# They got the fire down below... #

I've got one that is possibly not going to work.

Obviously, if the finial comes off, that's not great.

# With only one thing in common

# They got the fire down below... #

Hello, potters.

Are you nervous? Yeah. This is going to be a fabulous day.

The raku kilns are ready for you to load and fire up.

Our technicians, Kevin and Rose, are on hand to help.

All I want to say is the raku firing process is really intense.

So take care, especially of those statement finials.

You decide when to take your planters out of the kiln.

So really think about the temperature

you're going to go to. We're really keen to see

all of your surface pattern come to life.

Lois, Derek

and Fabiola... Oh! ..you're up first!

You're up first!

Now, please, don your gloves, goggles and aprons,

and let the fun commence.

Before they can face the volatile raku firing,

it's safety first. Oh, these are quite fancy, aren't they?

Thank you so much. OK, let's do it. Let's do it.

Three potters will raku-fire their pots at a time.

You ready, Derek? I'm ready, Rose.

Let's go, then. Come on. Fire it up! Fire it up!

Oh, my God.

Lois... It's not going to be easy, is it?

..Fabiola... Yes! Yes! All right.

..and Derek. Be careful. Yeah.

We're going to be OK. ..are now in the driving seat.

Let's go. Door on, and let's do this.

Raku is one of the shortest, most intense firings in ceramics...

Oh, ho!

..reaching over 1,000 degrees in minutes.

What temperature do you want to go up to?

I think 950 and then have a look.

The higher the temperature goes, the more tension will be placed

on their planters as they rapidly cool once removed from the kiln.

924. 920! It's going pretty fast.

This thermal shock could cause their vulnerable finials

to crack off.

It will be interesting to see how Derek sorts his finial out.

It's just whether he can get it out of the kiln,

into the reduction box in one piece.

But take out the planters too soon, and the glaze

won't have melted and sealed to the slip underneath.

We're nearly there. Hold your nerve.

And any areas with unsealed glaze will turn jet black

once placed in the reduction box,

and their painstaking stencil decorations will be lost.

A bit more. A bit more?

They're not glisteny yet, so we're going for a bit more.

Now we have to wait for the glossy part, which I don't know

which one it is.

Right, have a look. Yeah, that's glossy.

That's good? One of them's falling over. A shelf has cracked.

But your pot's still intact. All right. Good.

Right. Can we turn it off?

But the firing is not over yet. Take a breath.

Let's go.

The potters must delicately move their planters

to the reduction box, being careful not to knock

the alkali frit glaze or the slip.

Just be mindful to keep the slip on there,

so watch how you pick it up.

We've got to go finial and hope they don't fall off.

It's in one piece.

Well done. Same again.

Once the planters have ignited, the reduction box is sealed,

starving the pot of oxygen and starting the carbonisation process.

Well done. Yes!

If the potters have completed

all stages of the decorating technique correctly,

their rims and finials should be jet black,

and they should have a coloured smoky background

featuring their black design.

Oh, the kiln shelf has gone.

So I just hope he can get it out.

Everything crossed.

Yes! Well done. Well done, Derek.

Oh!

Is it all in one piece? Come on, Fabiola, take it easy.

Don't drop it now.

Oh, Jesus.

I mean, anywhere that that glaze and slip has come away

is essentially going to go black.

She's just going to lose all that design that she's put on there.

That was hard.

Oh, the kiln shelf's gone completely.

The other bloody finial's come off!

Derek's finial and kiln shelf have both been victims

of thermal shock.

The kiln gods have not been kind to Derek. No, no, no.

It's my lucky week!

Oh, bad luck, Derek.

Well, somebody else has to have a go now.

Whoa!

Rebecca, are you ready?

As I'll ever be. Yeah!

Now you behave yourselves while you're in there.

No matter how experienced you are...

Are you going to go to 1,000?

It's what I do at home, and see what happens.

..the Raku process is always a challenge.

Going in!

Come on, kiln gods.

We'll keep going up to the thousand.

The back one's not got a shine on it yet. 999.

OK. Yeah.

Oh, my chicken.

Yay! Thank you very much.

Now, this one, not so easy.

You've got the big one, pincer it.

But as well as finickity finials to contend with...

How the hell am I going to get hold of this?

..Caitlin's dragons have given her even more to worry about.

Because I've created life 20 times difficult for myself

by putting these dragons on the sides.

Pray for the heads.

The higher you push it, the more the thermal shock will be,

so the more risk of my handles and my fins and bits coming off.

I've got to hold my nerve.

That is so heavy.

Oh, God.

Yay! We did it!

You ready? Yeah.

Oh, no!

Oh, well, it is what it is.

I mean, we are over a thousand.

Oh, let's go for it, then.

Oh, it's hot, isn't it?

It's burning me.

Have you got hold of it?

Got it. Go on, Becks.

Take it easy, George.

Everything's intact so far.

Yes, George.

That's it. Great.

Good stuff.

Yes!

As long as my heads stay on, there's still hope.

We did Raku!

After the intense firing, the potters must now begin

the delicate process of quenching their pots...

This may take a bit more scrubbing.

..and chipping off the slip and glaze to reveal their stencil designs.

Oh, look. Yeah.

Look at my fish!

I'm really surprised. I love this.

Oh!

Well done, mate!

Oh, my God.

Oh! Oh, look at that. Oh, look at that.

I know, it's flaming like the fiery dragons.

Oh, I'm so chuffed.

Oh, it's just beautiful.

I mean, you can kind of see the outline of the limbs,

but I probably could have got that a bit better.

Oh, that came off nice.

Oh, very pleased with those. It did work.

But not everyone has had such a pleasant surprise.

Oh, it's broken.

Sugar.

The finial is broken.

And a broken finial isn't Fabiola's only problem.

It looks black.

Your slip came off. I think your green's been exposed to the smoke,

so it's always going to be that sort of blacky greeny colour.

All right, so I have to live with it.

I think so, unfortunately.

Oh, it's just carbonised.

The slip's fallen off.

It's been a bad week at the office, guys.

But the week's not over yet.

The potters have one final task to complete...

I'm using chicken wire to help hang it up.

..before they present their hanging planters to the judges.

This is not my vibe, doing this weaving.

And those with broken finials are going to have to improvise.

So I'm just trying to attach my finial.

So using my holes, my plan B holes,

but hopefully I can still try and suspend them from the heads.

We're trying to make some rudimentary cradle from spare rope,

tying these through the holes, so it's kind of stuck on it.

It might wobble a bit when it's hanging up.

Unfortunately, the kiln gods didn't help me this time.

I think it's better to leave it.

You could've tied that on, at the bottom.

No. No? I don't think so. I don't think so.

It came out, it came off.

We'll leave it and we'll just give it to the judges.

It's judgment time for the potters' raku hanging planters.

James, would you please bring your planters up to be judged?

They look like they're at the butcher's.

I'll have the small one, please.

Oh, James, that's great.

It's really great. Thank you.

The weight's fantastic.

That's really nice to hold, a dead chicken.

It's just beautifully made.

It's got such character, and it is beautifully finished.

Paper stencils have worked.

Yeah, but they're not too obvious, are they, Rich? No.

They just create depth and subtlety to the surface,

which is what this form of raku is all about.

And then we've got the chicken wire, which is just sublime.

It works really well. The whole thing just really fits.

Dead chickens with flowers in. Who doesn't want that?

Well done. Thank you. Cheers, James.

Well done, James. Well done, Eggman.

Well, they're not a bad weight. Really?

They're not a bad weight. OK. No, no.

But you've got some lovely, lovely mark-making here.

Your seaweed on this,

it's subtle, but it's there.

The burnishing is beautiful.

The slip application is really consistent,

and you've got some really lovely naked raku effects.

You know, you've got a good consistent wall thickness

right the way into the finial,

and consequently you don't seem to have

any kind of structural issues at all.

Got away with throwing it upside down.

Yes. Job done.

It works really well.

They are a little on the heavy side.

Yeah. But the finials have stayed on,

and you've got a nice, lovely reaction.

You obviously got a good level of burnish,

and I love the subtle sort of colour changes that you've got

from those multiple slips,

and the paper stencils, you've got quite a good clarity.

The colours you've chosen, your hanging cords,

feels '80s, doesn't it?

They all feel like they're in keeping with the theme.

Well done, Rebecca. Thank you very much.

That heart on there, it's really nice.

It makes that structure really work.

Obviously, the big issue in the room

is quite a lot of that slip-resist...

Oh, yeah, it came off. ..fallen off, yeah.

Because of that, you've lost quite a bit of your design.

This one is almost totally black,

and obviously your finial has fallen off.

It would have been beautiful.

The line of the pot would have been really, really lovely.

It's just a real shame about that slip and glaze, really. Yeah.

Cheers, Fabiola. Thank you. Thank you.

So these are my mid-century space rockets, with detachable nose cones.

I mean, it's a shame.

I mean, those finials are really solid.

They are. And you've got that solid lump of clay

on this hollow structure of a planter.

The whole process of raku is so severe

that you're going to get that difference in cooling down,

that thermal shock.

Actually, overall the design is beautiful.

A really nicely applied slip,

some beautiful naked raku effects.

And I love the way they work together.

Definitely admire the binding job as well.

That's a great rescue. Thank you.

I mean, it's a miracle that all of these oak leaves

are in one piece and have survived the process. It's great.

You can tell that they've perhaps gone on a little soft

because it looks like you've lost some of the definition

between the separate leaves.

And the first thing I noticed when I picked this up

is the burnishing.

It's just fantastic.

Really, really smooth.

It's a bit on the heavy side.

Bit of a murder weapon. You wouldn't want to drop it on your foot, no.

The general structure is wonderful.

I like the finial

and the way the whole finial marries in with the body of the planter.

The slip has worked far better on this one.

You had to get that perfectly around this spiral.

But actually, the raku effects have been kind

because you don't actually notice how crisp the edge is, or not.

So, yeah... Thank you, raku.

This is such a lovely idea,

really nicely executed.

Had a bit of a finial issue on this one?

I can't... I can't believe the head stuck on and the finial came off.

But where you've got the bodies of the dragons,

it's like they're under water. Yeah.

It's a really lovely way to use the technique

to really demonstrate your concept.

That whole idea of the water dragons.

I just think it's a really well thought out idea.

What does it say on the bead?

It's the Chinese symbol for happiness. Lovely.

So, yeah... You should be really, really proud of them, Caitlin.

Well done, Caitlin. Thank you.

They're gorgeous.

They're really lovely. They're fantastic.

That blue is absolutely exquisite.

And you can really sense the squid on the bottom of the pot,

and they work really, really well together as a set.

It's just that transition between the three dimensional

and the flat two dimensional surface

that I'm perhaps not quite so sure about.

But I really admire the bravery to go with a lug like this

and put it through the raku process.

And the fact that they've come out is definitely testament

to your construction. Yeah.

Those had to be really well stuck on.

I really commend you for that.

In fact, I think it's probably the best thing

you've done in the pottery.

Yeah. I think it is. Yeah.

Oh, I've had the most amazing day.

I'd love to be Potter of the Week,

but I think competition is just too strong.

It was nice to see them laughing.

It's pottery. It's just playing with mud.

So it doesn't matter if it's highbrow, lowbrow.

It's all fun.

Big theme-park roller-coaster of a day.

But in the end, I'm really happy.

It's been such fun.

I could stay, I could go.

Anything is possible right now.

I'm optimist.

I'm an optimist and I don't think I will go home this week.

I just want to be optimist.

Now the judges must decide who is Potter of the Week

and who is going home.

So, another successful raku week.

How do you think they got on?

Well, they all did incredibly well, really.

This is one of the most difficult techniques in raku to master.

And we had a very interesting second challenge this week as well.

Yeah, great to see Freya back! And Jon!

And who knew? Jon!

He was the most flamboyant.

So who's in line for Potter of the Week?

Well, James - the build of them was sublime,

the message was fantastic.

He just thought about every aspect of the design and the concept,

and it was beautifully put together.

What about Lois?

Lois has had a great week.

She didn't have any structural issues.

They worked really well as a set. Yeah.

Who else did really well?

For me, I think Caitlin did really well.

Oh, yeah. You know, the intricacy of the design concept

that she had and the way she executed that

worked really, really well.

So who do you think is at risk of leaving the pottery this week?

Well, one, Fabiola.

She came fourth in that second challenge.

And quite frankly, she hasn't had a good week in the raku kiln. No.

A lot of her work was burnt out by that carbon.

The build wasn't brilliant.

Fabiola's concept was so positive,

and it was a shame that the kiln gods were so unkind.

Derek lost a finial. Yeah.

Again, it's that sort of attention to detail with the build

and that lack of understanding of what that thermal shock

is really capable of doing.

Oh, I don't want either of them to leave.

You make the decision.

I will be glaring over here.

OK, potters.

Well done for this week.

I know the judges were really, really impressed

with all of your work.

And I'm delighted to say that this week's

Potter of the Week is...

..James.

Well done.

Well done, James. OK, then.

Now the really horrible bit.

The potter who is leaving us is...

..Fabiola.

It's OK. It's all right.

Oh, Fabiola.

Oh! It's fine!

I'm going to miss you so, so much. I'm going to miss you, too.

But I had the most amazing time.

My husband and my children...

..they're going to be over the moon.

They're always proud of me.

And what else do I want?

Thank you so much for everything that you've said to me.

I will treasure forever.

We're going to miss you.

I'm going to do my pottery.

I'm going to continue dancing.

# Da-dee-da, dee-da, da-dee-da! #

I'm sorry to see you go!

I really bonded with Fabiola,

and I'm going to miss her so much.

She was just a little ray of sunshine.

You've dodged a bullet.Yeah.

Yeah, yeah. Again. Yeah, yeah.

Oh, skin of my teeth, I think.

But still here!

So that's good. But really sad about Fabs going.

And well done, James.

Well done!

It's a really good feeling to be Potter of the Week.

Two in a row now.

James! Well done, mate!

Well done. It's the recognition which is really nice.

It's a really nice feeling when people go,

"You're actually pretty good at this!"

We're all kind of like, "Oh, it's James again."

But he is incredible.

He's an incredible potter and we can't take that away from him.

Not another dancer goes... Yeah, well...

As Fabiola leaves the pottery,

James's planters take their position in the Throw Down gallery.

Next time...

He's a naked oboist. Right.

..it's a beast of a week for the potters...

It's genuinely disgusting and scary.

..as they face a monstrous hand-build...

Oh, my God. ..and a gargantuan throwing challenge.

It's like a flipping car tyre!

Oh, but it is a big boy!

Who will conquer their demons?

Oh, James is finished!

Oh, bugger off, James!

And who will beat a hasty retreat?

I can't get it off.

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