Hello there. It's the semifinal,
and our four remaining potters
are making wall fountains -
like me.
Real problems with the fluxing point of that clay body.
Well, if it doesn't vitrify, then, you know...
Oh, look at this, Rich.
What a wonderful fountain!
Looks baroque, I reckon.
It's lovely. Such innocent cherub-like features.
Agh!
Welcome to the Great Pottery Throw Down.
Hi, lads. Yeah, it's me.
I'm the wall fountain.
Lol.
Last time,
the potters not only sculpted
spectacular self-portraits...
Never drawn myself, never sculpted myself.
...but also the kilns to cook them in.
Bring on the fire!
That's it. You got it.
And while Angharad's phenomenal form...
That is fantastic.
...secured her second Potter Of The Week,
it was double disappointment...
Oops.
...as Kayleigh and Naveed...
Ohhh!
...became the latest potters to leave the competition.
Gonna miss you, crazy bunch.
Now just four remain.
♪ In a spinning world of makers
♪ We're all in the room to make it
♪ So just start the fire
♪ Down to the wire. ♪
♪ Birds flying high, you know how I feel... ♪
Our four remaining potters are back.
Are we ready for this?
Two challenges now stand between them
and a place in the final.
In the semifinal, baby!
I'm excited for today.
New day, new challenge.
♪ And I'm feeling good... ♪
But today they face a build on a scale
much bigger than any they've faced to date.
This is like a massive thing
that we have to make, and I'm terrified.
There's so many things that could go wrong,
so I'm not thinking to the final. One day at a time.
Just to get one Potter Of The Week would be absolutely lovely.
You know, I'll do my best,
and that's all I've done for the last eight weeks.
But you never know,
because the pottery can be a cruel mistress.
Oh, my God, I got sand in my eye.
I still can't actually believe
that I've managed to get into the semifinal.
It would be amazing to make the final now.
I think the cogs are finally, like,
all clicking into place that it is achievable.
I just need to knuckle down and get on with it.
♪ For me...
♪ And I'm feeling good... ♪
Welcome back, potters, and welcome to the semifinal.
Congratulations. Well, well done,
and I hope you're all very proud of yourselves.
For your main big challenge this week,
the judges would like you to hand build
a wall-mounted water fountain with an incised decorative panel.
Any advice for our potters, Keith?
This is the largest and the most complex build
that you've done so far.
So a clever design and considered planning is really,
really crucial here.
Wow, no pressure. Rich?
Well, we'd like you to be inspired by the Trevi Fountain,
Rome's stunning baroque masterpiece.
Think grand and impressive.
Oh.
How long did it take to build the Trevi Fountain?
About 30 years, I think.
Great. Potters, you have 30 years.
Oh, sorry.
You have seven hours to make
and refine your wall-mounted water fountain.
And your time starts now.
Potters get potting!
Oh! Good luck, guys.
Good luck.
As the potters are being asked
to channel the majesty of the Trevi Fountain,
this stands to be their biggest
and most elaborate build to date.
And while their fountains will be
a fraction of the size,
they still need to produce
vast slabs on an industrial scale.
Right now, the most difficult part is getting
a slab big enough to make the back piece,
let alone the actual basin.
Just handling this size of clay is more than enough.
But when you start handling, you know, slabs this sort of size,
you get to a point where it's just too big to handle.
Oh, my God, that is so heavy!
There's so many bits.
I'm just like... Do you know?
You're just mentally, like...
Do you have a list?
I do have a list, but I've not looked at it.
The semifinal, Rich. We're finally here. Yeah.
We have our four potters all making one of these.
It's an engineering build. It's an aesthetic build.
And it's a big build as well. Yeah.
And we both know from previous experience
that water doesn't always work as you expect it to.
Yeah. You know, they really need
to think about how that water is going to leave
that back panel, and how it then ends up in their bowl.
I mean, this is a wonderful example here because you've got
the spout that's kind of concealed.
It drips down, which then in turn then drips down to here
and then finally into the bowl at the bottom.
And for me, one of the biggest risks
is a crack in the bowl.
Yeah. So our potters are going to be making a double-walled bowl.
So they've got one bowl which is underneath which will contain
the water and the pump,
and then another bowl over the top which the water
will fall into and then drain back
into the reservoir underneath. Yeah.
And that's what's going to present a challenge,
because that inner bowl is just going to put
stress and tension on the outer bowls.
Absolutely. Yeah. This is for a place in the final.
It would be a real shame for our four potters
to have something that's not fit for purpose.
If it doesn't work, that's it. It's a no-brainer.
They're off. Completely.
Hello! Hi, lovey. Hey, Angharad.
All right. Ahhh! Yeah.
It's scary, isn't it? Well, tell us about your design.
So I've called it The Water Bringer,
and it's based on deities of fresh water,
including fountains and springs.
In Rome, they have four gods of it.
But I've gone for a goddess
because obviously I love goddesses.
I think it's quite simple, but there's so much going on.
Simple? I think it's simple, as in...
It doesn't look simple. Simple?
Angharad's, hoping to echo
the simplicity of her fresh water
fountain goddess's form
in the subtlety of the decoration.
When it comes to decorating,
it'll be oxides and some glaze.
Yeah, I wouldn't go too dark. No, I know.
You want to celebrate the clay.
Yeah, because it's quite a light firing clay body,
so it's a good backdrop for any colour, really. Yeah.
I hope it's finished well, that's my biggest thing
because I just want it to be finished well.
Yeah. Great.
Well, good luck. Thank you.
Yeah. Fabulous. Can't wait to see it.
No pressure. No pressure.
Angharad might be aiming to please
the ancient goddess of fresh water fountains...
Hi, lovey. All right, Bill. Hello.
...but Bill's opted for something a little more salty.
So my idea is based on Neptune,
the god of the sea. And on the basin itself,
it's going to have an octopus.
Oh. And it's going to have its arms
sort of going around the bottom of the base.
OK. Is it one of the biggest things you've done?
Yeah, I think so. OK.
And I've never made a double-skinned bowl before,
so it's definitely new territory for me.
But we'll see how it goes.
We'll just do it one bit at a time.
Try not to panic. I am panicking.
You're all right, you're all right. Yeah.
Bill will be hoping to keep
the angst at bay
by showcasing his sculpting skills.
Flanked by two mythical kelpies,
his hand-built bust of Neptune will deliver
a single stream of water
from his mouth into the bowl below.
That's my former. Are you nervous?
Very. Are you?
Do you do better work when you're nervous or when you're not nervous?
Er, when I've properly prepared.
I dread to ask, have you properly prepared?
Half and half. Half and half.
Potters, that's one hour gone.
Thanks, love. Thank you.
By far the most complex challenge of
the semifinal will be engineering the double-skinned bowl.
It's fine. I've got my main basin,
and then that needs to be able to hold my false basin.
It's like a little kind of bowl inside.
So this is the inner bowl, so the water just sort of cascades
into this one, and then falls into the bigger basin.
And then there's a pump
that pumps it back up to the mouth.
So it goes all the way around.
And with so much clay needed to form the vast outer bowl...
I'm just going to stick a slab on
to see how it looks.
...the potters are turning to formers
to support these massive pots as they dry.
Actually, it's not bad.
This is a crucial bit.
It's going to hold all the water.
I need all the joints
to be really nicely sealed.
But while most are choosing
to shape as they drape...
Ooohhh! Oohhh!
...Fynn is doing things differently.
Could I possibly ask you to bring that...
Of course. ..there for me.
Awesome. Thank you.
Cheers. Oh, my gosh! Wow! Yeah.
I've just made a template
out of roofing felt.
Cut it up with a knife.
And it's kind of firm enough
that I can leave it stuck to this
whilst it's in the drying room.
I should get a slightly faceted exterior to it.
I'm going to take a guess here.
You've never done this before, have you? No!
Fynn's double-skinned bowl will sit
below an ornate backplate designed
in homage to one of ancient Roman
aristocracy's most-prized pets.
Mine's based on eels.
You know, it's the first thing
you think of when you think of Rome, isn't it? Oh, yeah.
The Romans were the first people to start farming fish,
and they invented fish ponds to have at their houses.
And those sort of, like, really high up,
used to pierce their dorsal fins with earrings.
Wow! OK.
So the idea is he'll sort of
spew the water out.
It will just sort of run down
into the bowl.
Feels like a lot of work.
It is. A lot of work. Yeah.
Yeah. We should go then.
In the nicest possible way.
Good luck, Fynn.
Leave the man to his work.
Thank you.
While most of the potters
have taken inspiration
from elements of ancient Rome...
Wow! Look at this.
...Elham has opted for
a more contemporary muse.
I am dedicating this to a really,
really good friend of mine.
She's actually my next door neighbour, Debbie.
I'm so sorry.
Next time. Next time.
That's the attitude I want. Yeah. Next time.
Tell me about Debbie.
We became so close over
really her just being so kind.
And then one day,
I had the two kids, and it was just... You know when
it's just hellish, like, day-to-day?
You're just getting through,
And I looked out my kitchen,
and I thought, what the bloody hell's going on there?
She brought her lawnmower
and her extension and just started cutting my grass.
And then she was like, "I thought
"I'd just cut your grass for you so the kids can go and play out."
Gosh. What would...? Where would we be without neighbours?
Well, I'd have grass like that.
Yeah, yeah, for a start. Yeah.
Elham will model Debbie
as a goddess of abundance,
holding aloft a basket of fruit
from which her water will flow.
And the water's coming out of
the basket at the top. Yeah.
It's quite a long way between... A long way, but I'm hoping that
it just sort of fills and cascades and runs down the body... Sure.
...and the tiles.
Tell us about the tiles.
So the tiles, obviously, I love any sort of pattern that has
a real structure to it.
So I'm going to incise in the back some really neat tiles.
So you're going to kind of incise the grout lines,
and then is this all hand-decorated on?
I'm going to incise them as well.
Wow! That's a lot of work!
I'm going to be like...
Yeah! Best of luck.
Good luck with it all.
Absolutely. Yeah. Good luck with it. Thanks.
I've got quite sturdy-looking square titles.
I want to have the curves with it as well.
She's big. Beautiful.
With the separate sections of their double-skinned bowls complete...
That needs to dry so much.
...ready for a long stint in the drying room...
Ughh!
It just fits.
...attention turns to sculpting the decorative elements
that will adorn their ornate back panels.
So these bits are the columns that are going
to fit either side of this structure.
These are my basic shapes for my goddess
and the vase which is going to hold the water.
Just made a really quick pinch pot.
The head of the eel.
That will be roughly where it sits.
Just using this little cutter
to give a sort of tile effect.
And then I'm going to
carve deeper into the tiles.
You're in your happy place.
You're sculpting... Yeah. ..the face of Neptune.
Yes, it looks like my dad,
but he's sort of got a flat nose.
It's like him before he broke his nose 11 times.
You what?
He's broken his nose 11 times.
Tell him to stop it.
Stop doing that.
What's his name? Nick.
Nick, stop breaking your nose!
Potters, you're halfway through. Halfway through.
OK, we can do this.
This is a hole for the pump. It is an essential hole.
It's not a very neat hole at the moment.
While Keith and Rich
are expecting elaborately decorated
ornamental back plates,
it's crucial the potters consider
how the water will flow from their fountains.
You've got to bring the tubing up
from the bottom of the bowl.
So this will just be a collar
that it will allow the tube to come up into the head.
But if they fail to engineer
features that can control the water,
they'll be at the mercy
of the pump's power.
This is the vase which is going to hold the water.
I'm just making a little well inside here,
so the water is just going to fill up in that part,
and then it's going to spill over
the edge of the vase nicely
rather than gush.
Hopefully, the water will fill up
the bowl and cascade down.
When water trickles down something,
it just looks so much better, doesn't it?
Like...
But while most are focused on flow...
You need to come out. It's coming out.
Yeah? Yeah. I've got to cut this bad boy.
...Bill's bracing to build his basin.
This should hold its weight up.
Fingers crossed.
Um, that's quite key, actually.
But if the clay isn't dry enough,
the bowl could collapse
under its own weight.
I'm going to sort of offer it up,
and hold my breath.
Oh!
Bill.
Saw that and I panicked.
Is that all right? Yeah.
Thank you. It's so hard to do.
You OK, Bill?
All good.
Back in the drying room.
The plan is to cry.
Ah!
Potters, that's two hours left.
You have two hours left.
So the bowl's gone back in the drawing room.
I just need to make sure the clay is a bit firmer,
because rule one of slab building is
to make sure your slabs
are dry enough to hold their own weight.
And I did not do that because I panicked.
I'm really feeling it for Bill.
Yeah, he's used a plastic bucket as a former
and he's wrapped clingfilm around it.
And the problem with that is that
the clingfilm retains the moisture. Yeah.
So the outside might become dry,
but the inside stays very wet.
And we've seen him trying to take
the former away and the clay started flopping.
That's because it's not dry enough.
And the more you handle that clay
and distort that clay
when it's not the right consistency,
the harder it is to get it really uniform.
I'm going to calm down using this,
and then go back to the insanity later on.
I need to carve the living daylights out of this
because she's got no hair,
she hasn't got hands,
she's got no clothes.
I'm making Debbie's dress,
adding the flowy material.
Debbie, don't complain
because that's the best you're going to get.
This is for my carved fish.
Because I'm gonna incise those out
like little mosaics.
I'm making the pieces for the eel body.
I'm hoping the water will pool
in the back of his mouth
and then dribble down onto the tail.
I'm just really fell in love with
the sculptures of people in Rome.
You know, the bodies, and they look so realistic.
That's what I want. Hiya. Hi.
So you went to the Trevi Fountain with your husband.
I did, yeah. On my second pregnancy.
It was just like a weekend,
but it was just lovely. I was, like,
kind of heavily pregnant on a scooter,
and people were looking at me.
I was like, why is everyone looking at me?
When I looked back at the pictures,
I thought, "No, that does not look safe."
Potters, one hour left.
Like what next? What next?
Each bit is like, "What do you do next?"
With their basins dried to leather hard,
the double-skinned bowl build can finally begin.
This was my plan. Look.
But it's stuck inside.
Ow!
Think of it as a baby. Push!
Oh, my God!
So there are actually times where you don't push.
Breathe. Deep breaths.
I just need to get to one point
where I can...
Princess has come to the rescue.
I'm holding.
It's a workout, this.
I feel like I need my knee back.
Get the knees working.
What is it? a boy or a girl?
Aw! She's gorgeous!
Beautiful.
Just like her mum. Yeah.
And while some are off to a flying start...
It's up. It's stable.
I just need to add a few coils in
just to strengthen those joints.
...others aren't finding it quite so easy.
It's not quite right,
but I want to just get it on,
get it sealed, get it made.
Yeah. It's drying.
You can feel it.
OK. One. Two. three.
This is where it all goes to pot...
Like this.
And... I got it.
Got it. It's on.
I think we're holding.
It's all good.
With their formers finally removed,
the potters now face the tricky task
of fitting their smaller basins
into the larger ones.
It's just getting it on
and making sure it's on properly,
because this is like a key part.
If this doesn't work,
the whole thing doesn't work.
I'm probably leaving this part to the last
because I'm so nervous it's not going to work.
I mean, it's not terrible actually.
That could have been a hell of a lot worse.
I'm just crazily trying to, like, enjoin all these bits.
Messy, but it'll do.
I know Rome wasn't built in a day,
but this has to be.
It does fit. Just.
We have a mild victory today.
Just needs some... needs some work.
Potters, you've half an hour left.
No! Putting it in the drain holes.
I want to carve into this as well.
I'm just adding fruit to Debbie's basket.
Wonky fruit. It's the thing now, isn't it?
I haven't got time to make the octopus,
so I'm just adding some sprigs on
the inside so it looks like...
like a little rockpool.
I'm just adding some little scales
on to the eel.
I'm just trying to use the foil
to give, like, a stone effect.
I've adapted the plan again.
I'm just trying to get the kelpie's mane
to flow down into the bowl
so you can't see that join.
Potters, two minutes left.
BLEEP!
Everything needs to be in the drying room.
Texture, texture, texture.
Leaving it to the last minute.
I don't know if I'm going to get it done.
I'm just going to have to wing and a prayer.
Heavy.
There was a choice word in there.
Ten seconds. Eight, seven, six...
Oh, my God, that's beautiful. ...Five...
Yours is beautiful. ..four, three,
two, one. Wow!
Well done, well done.
Gosh, that was intense, wasn't it?
This is good.
That wasn't hard.
No, that was... that was exhausting.
Week on week,
you kind of just think, "Oh, it's only a little bit more work."
But that was insane.
It's not just making things.
It's making things that fit and function
and don't crack and then look pretty.
But it's done.
What I'd like to happen in the kiln is no cracks.
I would love it if there's no warping,
but I'm gonna say this,
I'll be very surprised if I don't have any cracks.
No wheel.
After a colossal main make,
the potters now face a mystery challenge...
If it's a clock face.
...designed to crack the tension of a gruelling semifinal.
Welcome back, potters, for your second challenge.
And this week, well,
the knees aren't out so it must be a spot test.
And we have a very special judge joining us this week.
Please give a very warm pottery welcome
to ceramic artist Cleo Mussi.
Come on out. Hey!
Hello, potters. Hello.
Thanks so much for joining us. You're welcome.
I'm delighted to be here. Right. Let's see what you will be making.
Wow! Oooh!
They're lovely.
Cleo Mussi is a ceramicist specialising
in figurative mosaics crafted from recycled tableware.
Drawing on folk traditions,
she creates contemporary
decorative pieces using discarded china,
much of it reclaimed from house clearances.
So we've got a fantastic challenge for you today
to make a fruit-inspired mosaic tile.
Wow!
This is my design. I try to create a lot of contrast.
You don't necessarily want colours
or shapes that are too similar.
On your bench, you will find a plain
floor tile onto which you can sketch your design out.
That's the circle for the lemon,
another one for the lime.
And then once you've roughed out your design,
you're going to be cutting.
Put your nippers
just a few millimetres over the edge
and then you begin to cut.
You're assessing the whole time
what the china can be used for,
what colour you want to use,
how you're going to use it,
how you're going to cut it.
Take a small amount of adhesive on each shard,
scoop it up, and then stick it on.
In the true tradition, I have a few tiles
that I made earlier and you can see the progression,
this being the last stage before grouting.
So nice.
Our potters aren't actually grouting this, though, are they?
No, because of the time restraints,
there won't be time to cement it.
Fantastic. What would be the things
that you're looking for from our potters?
Individual flair, use of colour and attention to detail.
It would be really lovely to see your personality come through.
Fantastic. Thank you so much.
Now, this is going to be judged blind,
so you know what that means.
Get out of here.
Enjoy. Good luck. Have a smashing time!
Oh. Very good!
All right, then, back to your benches.
You have been given
a very generous hour and a half...
Ooohhh! Yay!
...to make your mosaic tile based on
a fruit design, and your time starts now.
Remove the hessian.
Yay! Ohhh!
The potters have each been given a range of fruit
and photographs to use as inspiration...
Isn't this fun?
Don't know how it's going to go,
but it's fun.
...along with an identical
selection of thrown away plates
to create their mosaic.
I have never done anything like this before.
It's... it's alien.
I think I might struggle with this.
So stacked up a couple of kiwi fruits.
I haven't eaten them for years. And then I bought some the other day
and I'd forgotten how nice they were.
So kiwi fruit it is.
I'm looking at doing the kiwi and a strawberry and the lemon.
So some strawberry here. And this is lemon here.
Tell me what fruit you're doing.
I'm doing a tomato.
Great. Have we given you a tomato?
No, you haven't given me a tomato.
What's in here?
Grapefruit, dragonfruit,
lime, lemons and a strawberry.
And what are you doing? Tomato.
I'm setting myself up.
I know, I know.
I want to make a pomegranate. In Iranian culture
it's used in a lot of food.
We just sit and get, like, a crate of pomegranates
and go through them all, like popcorn.
So I'm just trying to get all my colours ready,
and then just kind of fill in as I go along.
These are really nice plates. Beautiful, aren't they?
Whatever you don't use, I'll take. OK?
Keep your mitts off. I need that one.
Enjoy. I will.
I'm very nervous about this challenge.
You just want to, like, do a good job for Cleo.
I've got some of these seeds,
but then I've also got this colour,
which is nice. That's like
an orangey, red, yellow tomato.
This is gonna look so abstract.
She's going to be like, "What even is this?"
This is a challenge right up your street, I think.
I'm loving it. That was my favourite bit -
smashing things and being allowed to.
Great. This is so therapeutic.
What's that?
Oh.
Potters, you're halfway through.
Halfway through, potters.
I do need to start getting some tiles down now.
There's no time to dilly-dally around.
It'll be what it will be.
I'm just trying to mix up
the big ones with small ones.
I've only got one piece
of black pottery,
so I'm just trying to make the most
of that and then infill it
with these bits of green around it.
I'm just using what I think I can
remember a tomato looks like on the inside.
This might look absolutely terrible.
How are you getting on?
Yeah, OK.
I've never done anything like this before,
so this is completely new territory.
I'm just sticking, licking, and sticking.
Lick and stick, baby. Lick and stick.
These tiles have done good for me
because the flower pattern has,
like, lighter and darker bits of red,
which are pomegranate seed has as well.
And once I've got all the little bits on the pomegranate,
I'm going to try
and do bigger pieces to fill out the background.
Still working on the green?
There will be some yellow at some point.
I'm just going for let's get it done.
Potters, you've half an hour left.
Half an hour left.
I think I'm really smashing it.
Like, I'm doing a great job here.
Can't let Cleo down. Come on, girl.
I'm just gonna try and get all my inside part filled.
Why did I think this was a good idea?
So the yellow's going to be for the lemon.
If I can get this done in time, I'll be very surprised.
I'm just going to do bands of blues,
I think, behind this.
I want to try and get these little birds in here somewhere,
because I think they look really nice.
Potters, you have ten minutes left.
Ohhh!
The shapes have gone totally and utterly out of the window. Agh!
It'll be quite neat, but accuracy is not my forte.
Just using the next ten minutes to fill in the background.
I think it's really lovely that a lot of these pieces
that are going to have had some
sort of past life are getting to be reused,
sort of recycling and reusing pieces.
How's my tomato queen? Oh, God!
It felt like a really good idea.
It's still a good idea. It just looks a bit messy.
It's fine. Yeah. No?
I'm just putting a little homage to some of the plates I've used.
It's the back stamp of one of the plates I've just destroyed.
Potters, final two minutes. Ooh!
Get those tiles stuck.
I'm literally shaking.
I've got these little bits left to do,
so we'll see what I can fit in
the last two minutes.
I'm really happy with the overall colour.
Pink. I'm really happy with these going through it.
Probably the most important thing is
that your fruit is recognisable.
It'd be really awkward if she was like, yeah, what's that?
I'm literally a mess right now
because I'm like, there's not enough time.
It's clean-ish. It's not going to be the cleanest
of things, but it's clean enough for me.
Five. Four.
Three. Two. One. Down tools.
Step away from your tiles.
Well done.
Release some demons there.
Cleo will now judge the potters' fruit inspired mosaic tiles.
Hey! They are amazing. Aren't they?
She'll be looking for striking compositions,
an interesting colour palette
and clean, precise application.
Well, that's a really lovely bold piece.
Is it a pomegranate or is it a tomato? It actually is a tomato.
It is. Fantastic.
Nice choice of contrast of green and reds.
I'd say the edges are a bit rough,
not so considered,
but I like the details... Yeah. ...in the centre.
Great. Very good. And onto this one.
Completely different.
Nice bold use of colour.
Quite like the nod to the back stamp in the middle of it.
And the back stamp in the middle.
All the pieces have energy about them,
but maybe not as controlled in the cutting.
OK. Moving on.
Great colour palette.
I like the way it's moved into the corners.
Big pops of colour. Little detail with the birds.
Even the variety of greens
is lovely within the kiwi. Yeah. Choice of place.
Fantastic. Yeah. OK.
Wow, this is really detailed, isn't it?
There is a lot of pieces here. A lot of small pieces.
Great use of segmenting the composition
into different areas with the two distinct fruits.
And then this area here. I love
the vein of the leaf there. Mm.
Yeah. It's quite incredible, isn't it?
Yeah. So well done. Beautiful colours.
Excellent.
Cleo will now rank the potters from worst to first.
In fourth place is this one.
I love the boldness.
It just doesn't feel quite complete as a design.
In third place, we have this one.
The tomato.
Yeah. Although you didn't really manage
to complete the edge, and it is quite rough,
there's an energy which I like. Thank you.
And second place...
...we have this one.
I love the colour. I love the detail,
but as a complete design
that didn't quite do it for me.
Which means in first place is this one.
Thank you.
There's a sophistication
in this tile that you've achieved
in a very short amount of time.
So well done. Well done. Elham.
You're the mistress of the mosaics.
I'll take that. Yeah. Well done. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thanks.
Oh! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
I'm really not used to doing all right in the second challenge.
It's only took me nine weeks.
Get in there, love.
I'm really happy to come second.
I really enjoyed that. I mean, I've got blisters,
but it was fun.
I think coming fourth does make me
a little bit concerned about the main make.
There's very little room to hide.
Obviously getting to the final would be lovely.
A panel and a basin. That's all I want.
Intact. That would be lovely.
♪ The time it takes... ♪
It's day two in the pottery,
and the potters' fountains have been bisque-fired
and are ready for decoration.
Oh, it's always fun, isn't it?
Always fun looking under the hessian.
This is the biggest thing I've ever made,
and wondering what we're going into
is always the most nerve-racking part, isn't it?
I'm pretty sure there's going
to be some cracks in that basin,
but if I can fill it with glaze
and stick it back together again, I think that's the plan.
I love decorating, it's my, like, it's my calm time.
I can sit down, take my time.
I'm like, if it doesn't function, at least I can make it pretty.
That's true, isn't it?
♪ Time it takes, yeah, yeah... ♪
Welcome back, potters.
Now, your wall fountains have been bisque-fired
and are lying there under the hessian waiting to be decorated.
Judges, any advice at this point?
Now, your pattern or scene should be vibrant,
colourful and eye-catching,
but it should also tie in with the overall fountain design.
We'd like your fountains to look like aged stone.
Now, clever use of oxides will create this effect for you,
but only with thoughtful and considered application.
All right, then, potters,
you have been given a range of oxides
and some really lovely glazes
and four hours to use them.
Your time starts now. Remove the hessian.
Oh, my God.
Oh!
Oh, my God.
Angharad, is everything OK?
Well, I've got a crack at the back.
Oh, a massive crack at the back.
But I'm hoping the goddess
of fresh water fountains
is holding it all together.
There's a crack on the back of it, but it's OK.
It could have been worse.
It could have been right across the bottom.
But while most are mourning cracks
in their pillars, bowls and back plates...
I've got a loose pillar,
but that can glaze back on.
...after a difficult build...
All right, Bill?
...Bill couldn't be happier.
So it's survived.
It survived. I can't believe it.
Yeah. Well, I must confess, it was
a slightly unorthodox making technique, you know.
So what is your plan with the decoration? Yeah.
Base layer of oxides.
And then go in with the colours later on.
So you've got your oxides
and you're going to go in with some of the glazes.
Yeah. Are you familiar with these glazes.
Because obviously the oxides will have a bearing on the colour.
In my head as long as they layer them up too much,
because then they start to do that thing where they start to craze
and flux like there's no tomorrow, which might...
Particularly over oxides.
Yeah. Well, I can't wait to see how
the glaze sits over it all.
Yeah. Me, too. Yeah.
While the potters have been given the usual array of oxides
to help age their ancient water fountains...
At the moment, I'm putting black iron oxide wash all over my basin.
Hopefully, the oxides can bring out a bit of that aged stone effect.
...they've also been given a selection of stoneware glazes that,
if used correctly, should give their pieces a new
dimension of texture and colour.
So this is, um, midnight blue.
With glazes, they always look grey
no matter what you do,
especially blue and green.
That's the blue, and that's the green.
A lot of these colours will react
in different ways with one another,
so I'm hoping by layering them up
I should get some interesting effects.
But these glazes' sensitivity to the oxides
and other glazes around them mean
that the more the potters mix,
the more unpredictable the results will be,
so any carefully planned colour scheme could be put at risk.
It's incredibly important to layer
these glazes because you need
at least two to three coats per glaze
for them to properly react with one another.
Bill might be hoping for maximum impact
with his ambitious glaze plan for Neptune,
but for her ode to delightful neighbour Debbie,
Elham is taking a more subtle approach.
Hi, lovey. Hello.
How's it all going?
Good. This is looking good.
Yeah, I'm really happy with this.
Right. I've washed down a little bit of black iron
into the cracks and the crevices. Isn't it wonderful how you just put
a little slight wash on it,
and it just brings up that I was.
I was literally brushing it on,
and I thought, "Oh, I didn't realise."
Actually, that looks quite good. Yeah. Yeah.
And then I'm going to go wild on the colour in here.
Oh, excellent. So the tiles just pop. Great.
Well, look. Good luck with it all.
Thank you. Yeah. See you later. Thanks.
Potters, you're halfway through, which means you have two hours left.
Two hours? Two hours left.
While the decoration stage is an opportunity
for the potters to embellish
and enhance the features of their fountains,
the stoneware glazes bring an element of uncertainty...
Well, I'm hoping that you get
sort of those sparkly bits, like dripping down,
but I'm not actually going to say what I'm hoping for
because then, however it comes out,
I'll say, that's exactly what I want. I know.
You're learning. Yeah. You're learning.
...as they not only create new colours when combined...
I want it to be slightly green-y brown,
so very like... like sea colours.
And so I think it needs a little bit more blue
in there just to sort of vibe it up a little bit,
just to get some more oomph.
...they will also melt and move in the heat of the kiln.
That glaze will become molten and then it will move.
If I put some little blobs of green glaze around
the rim that they will create,
they will crawl down the side of this when this is in the kiln.
And while most are happy to embrace the chaos...
Oh, gosh, that's scary.
Angharad is ..anxious about her oxides.
I literally had the terrifying thought that I might have put
cobalt oxide on instead of black iron.
If it's blue, it's blue. You've got to go with it.
But it looks like black. It does look like black.
Yeah. I'm so confused.
Is that an oxide? It is an oxide.
But I'm pretty sure I might have mistakenly put
cobalt oxide instead of black iron oxide on my basin.
Really? Yeah.
This could be horrific, but it could be beautiful.
Are you keeping her like this?
Kind of. She's meant to be stony.
Oh, I see, OK, I understand. Gosh!
It's a good thing I'm pretty.
Beautiful. Beautiful.
Potters, you have one hour left. One hour left.
That is crazy.
How's yours going? OK.
It's just so much to bloody glaze.
I am just painting my tiles.
One tile done, 32 to go.
So many layers to go on.
This takes some thought, this decoration
because the colours don't necessarily go on
the way they're going to look when they come out of the kiln.
Completely different colours. Yeah, they have to really visualise
what those glazes are going to look like once they're fired.
I'm just trying to make some turquoises
by layering up some of the glazes,
using lots of like blues and greens.
This is a dark green and I'm going
in with an even darker colour over
the top as well, which may work.
It may be terrible.
Angharad has got a lot of different colours.
Hopefully when they fire they'll kind
of amalgamate and make a softer tone.
Softer tone. Yeah. You don't want to lose all that
textural work through your decoration.
Everything's sort of covered in glaze.
I've got green, brown, blues.
There is a chance of it crazing or crawling,
but it's all about moderation.
I think my main concern with Bill is the fact that he's gone in
with oxides across the whole surface,
and obviously he's then layering up glazes on top of that.
Now that oxide is going to affect the fundamental colours of
the glazes... Yeah, yeah. ..that he's applying over the top.
He could get a whole different colour range
that he wasn't expecting.
I've tried to go for a lighter,
softer glaze for the dress
so it doesn't like kill the ripples
in it with it being dark and heavy.
What are you going for now? The black iron.
Ooh, nice. Black iron.
Why not?
Yeah, shove it on. Shove it on.
Copper, red iron, black iron. It's quite a list. Right.
Just so long as it doesn't all just come out very sludgy.
Potters, half an hour left.
Oh, my God.
Half an hour left between you and the final.
This make me feel very nervous.
Nervous, nervous, nervous.
Getting to the final would be would be a bonus. At the minute,
I just want this to work. Even if the water doesn't hold
for very long, and it functions a little bit,
I'd be over the moon.
I'm doing as much as I can today,
and hope that that's maybe enough to get through,
because it would be an amazing opportunity.
What do I need to do to get into the final?
Chuck everyone's things off the edge of the table.
The mosaic pieces, I've only got the two colours.
I'm just going to layer them up
and maybe do, like, an oxide wash over the top.
Where I've got some of these scales, I'm just building up oxides to try
and get that kind of like slimy moss effect.
This is just going to give more of that rustic look.
Oxides are not really something that I dabble with.
One minute, potters. One minute.
One minute. Oh, hold on,
let me just pull something out that I've never used before.
I've done my best and that's all I wanted to do.
Just do my best today.
I don't want to keep putting this,
this is a very strong green. But is it strong enough?
This is so risky, this one.
But we're doing it.
I've taken a few risks with it. Maybe it will pay off.
Oh, my God, she's heavy.
All right, then, potters. Time's up.
Cool.
Down tools right now.
Right now! Time's up.
She's very serious.
It's the semifinal. I have to be serious.
The potters must now
take their fountains to Princess for one final firing.
Hi!
When they next see them, it will be Judgment Day.
I'm hoping that the glazes sort of just run together,
and you can sort of see the incised parts.
I hope that detail comes through.
That would be a real shame if it doesn't.
I'm nervous because there's quite a few layers of glaze,
but I think I've got it just about right.
The basin, colour wise,
I have no idea what that's going to come out looking like,
but it's not worth getting too precious over
a decoration technique
that you're not used to, so it's kind of just lean into it.
I'd love to make it to the final.
It is within that much grasp,
but one little mistake can cost you everything.
It's Judgment Day and Princess is laying out the fountains.
This will be the first time
the potters have seen them since their 24-hour glass firing.
Ninth Judgment Day.
Ohh!
We're nearly at that final.
Ohhh!
Glazes. Glazes.
I am really excited to see it. A little bit nervous.
I've tried to keep aspects of it quite simple,
but then I guess that means that I'm really hoping
that the colours that I have put on there pop.
I'm looking forward to seeing them,
but I am sort of a little bit apprehensive
about how that glaze comes out of the kiln.
You never know what's going to happen up there.
It's just the thing about pottery.
Right? Ready?
Applying all those glazes is
a big challenge in itself and a big risk.
Who knows?
It might look like a Jackson Pollock when I go in there.
Oh, God. Breathe. OK.
What's it like?
OK.
Oh, oh, I did. I did use the cobalt.
Oh, my God, though.
OK. Oh, my days.
Oh, but actually, I don't hate it.
Not exactly how I planned, but I don't hate it,
so I'm taking that. Oh, she's got full-on cracks.
Oh! It's fine.
But how? That wasn't even there before.
They're meant to look old.
I'm genuinely over the moon.
The effect on the pillar,
it's probably better than what I wanted.
It could be a lot worse.
The kelpies come out wonderfully.
I can't fault them.
That is lovely, Fynn.
Lovely. Gorgeous.
I'm just amazed it's all actually
together in one piece.
Just hope it's enough really.
The potters must now, for the first time,
unite their back plates and bowls.
Tell me when you want to let go. Oh, God.
I don't want you to let go. That's the thing.
Don't put too much pressure on it.
And while it may have taken 30 years to construct the Trevi Fountain...
Done it. You've done it. Shall I just walk away now?
...in just seven hours, these four were built,
and now stand ready for the judgment of Keith and Rich.
Well, potters, congratulations.
Your fountains look amazing.
Let's start with the judging, shall we?
Yes. All right.
Hello. Hi, Fynn.
I think overall, it's just like
a really strong composition.
The way you've used the colours and the placement
of those colours really draws all of the pieces together.
It's just such a kind of a lovely
flow and a lovely energy to the eel, to the sculpture.
I just think it works really, really well.
Yeah, the eel definitely feels
as one... as one with the whole structure.
It feels like it's growing out of the back panel.
This is particularly nice, and the glazes
have worked really well over
that scaling of the eel.
And this, this is typical of these,
of these particular glazes as well. I love that.
That kind of lustrous movement that you've got there.
The best bit I like about the whole thing is this.
Yeah. The jewel. We've seen that from you,
that attention to detail
with your surface decoration and your surface textures.
Shall we see if it works? Yeah. Yeah.
Touchwood. Can't wait.
There we are. Hey!
Look at that. Nice.
It's funny, isn't it, because the eel almost comes to life now?
Yeah. Yeah.
It's great the way it works its way around the body
and then finds its way into the bowl.
Well done. Well done, Fynn. Great stuff. Cheers.
Are you pleased with how it's turned out?
Well, I'm very pleased. This was not meant to be blue.
I accidentally picked up the cobalt oxide, but...
Oh, dear. But I'm weirdly happy
with how it's turned out.
Yeah, it's funny, because the cobalt,
although it was unintended,
it works really, really well.
It kind of brings the back panel into the bowl.
It brings the two together,
and then you've got that cobalt
and rutile glaze on the inside.
So that softens the transition
between the blue and the inside somehow.
Yeah, I mean, that's really worked well, hasn't it?
I particularly like the hair
that you've done here.
And the face is really, really lovely.
Really, really well observed.
What doesn't work so well is
the definition between her arm
and the vase. Yeah. The water jug.
Yeah, if you like.
So there's basically like
a secret compartment in here which is meant to pool water together,
which spills over into this little dish. OK.
Shall we see if it works? Shall we?
Oh, here we go.
That's pretty good.
Oh! Breathe. Well done.
What's lovely about it is that you've thought
of the water throughout the whole structure,
and the fact that you've got this dam in here.
Yeah. It is really working. Yeah.
And those fluid glazes on the inside
just look lovely... Yeah.
...with water over them.
Well done, well done. Thank you. Thank you.
The first thing I notice is the brown.
The brown is fairly strong. Um,
but then the thing that I really, really notice is this.
The detail in the fish here.
This is really, really lovely.
And I quite like the copper that you've used here.
Um, that really works.
But that brown is just a bit on the heavy side. Mm.
Yeah. I mean, there's lots of lovely textures.
I mean, this texture on the clay that you've created around
the horse is really energetic,
really lively, you know,
and you've kind of retained that.
And actually the oxide over the top
has worked really well.
I think the thing that kind of
I find a little bit striking is that I wonder
whether Neptune is the colour you kind of intended for him or...
Um, I was hoping for a little bit lighter.
Um, but I think, uh, the, it's just the amount of colours I put on.
I think it's just saturated too much, basically.
It's so difficult, isn't it,
because these glazes are so much about the kind of
application thickness and then how they interact together? Yeah.
Particularly with oxides as well,
because you're adding then in another colourant.
But I like the kind of playful elements,
you know, like the kind of octopus in the basin
and the way you've kind of created that swirl down into the basin.
I mean, the basin itself, you kind of sense the battle.
I had a lot of problems with the base.
The irony is that the base isn't... I mean,
you've got a couple of cracks,
but it's fairly... It looks fairly well intact.
Um, it'll be interesting to see how the water works with it, really.
Yeah. Right. Ah-ha!
And lovely!
Oh. That's lovely.
It does seem to come to life a bit.
Yeah. Excellent. Well done.
The thing that I noticed the most is the overall colour scheme.
It's really soft. It's a soft palate.
It's that subtlety of that, of that... that black oxide.
It just accentuates the material itself.
You've definitely hit the nail on
the head there with that stone-like look.
Yeah. It feels aged and worn somehow.
I think the swags are lovely. Yeah.
The material swags around the bowl
are really lovely, and I just...
I can't believe you've got so much incising work
in there in that back panel. You know, just kind of incising
all those separate tiles and decorating every individual one.
I did have like moments of regret when I was there,
like, real hard labour with the tiles.
But we've seen that from you time and time again.
You do this intricate work, you do this repeating pattern.
It seems to be your thing.
And what I love about it is that,
throughout the weeks, you've seemed to have surprised yourself.
And it's wonderful because,
you know, I have to say...
...you... For me, you've learned the most out of the whole process.
And here you are in the semifinal. And it's wonderful to see.
It really is. OK, let's see how it works.
Yay!
Wow! It's amazing that it's coming out
of the top there so beautifully,
so evenly.
Cascading down the dress like that,
it really does bring that soft surface to life.
There are so many things here that I didn't even know I could do.
Like, I've come here and almost sort of surprise myself.
Well, that's certainly the impression I get... Yeah.
...that we're looking at someone
who's discovering themselves
through making, which is great.
Isn't it, Rich? Yeah, definitely.
But you should be so proud of yourself
because you've unlocked that in yourself.
Yeah. You've had the ambition
and the drive, you know, to do that.
So you should be proud. Yeah. Well done. Thank you.
Honestly, I'm over the moon.
Over the moon.
You know that when Keith cries,
he's... he's really feeling that,
and he can see something.
And clay isn't just fun and throwing it around
and seeing what comes out.
It is, like, each step is like a journey.
And you learn things about the clay and yourself.
So, yeah, it was nice to have that from Keith.
I think in hindsight, yes, I would
definitely have done lots of things differently.
Generally, I'm just happy that it's there and I've done it.
Do you know what? I would absolutely love it
if I could get into the final now.
It's this close.
I'd like to be there.
And there's a part of me that thinks I could be there,
but I don't know if I'm going to be there.
And any which way it goes,
it's going to be gutting because someone's going to go,
and that sucks massively.
Now all decisions are important,
but what you decide now will decide who will be at the final next week.
Yeah, absolutely. No pressure. Yeah.
It is a big responsibility to make the right decision.
Well, let's go through them.
Let's start with Elham.
Ah! Look at that. I love it.
I love her story.
I love the path that she's taken all the way through this process.
Yeah.
And I think her fountain was just so beautifully put together.
I mean, all of our potters had cracking issues this week,
but there was just something lovely about
the way she created the texture of the stone.
She judged the thickness of the oxides perfectly,
and all of that incising on the back panel really popped
because everything else was so pared back.
When we think of Elham's work this week,
and then compare it to somebody like Fynn's work.
For me, what I loved about his design was the application
of colour on those glazes. Yeah.
I think the thing that was lovely about Fynn's was
the overall symmetry... Yeah. ...and that lovely mix
of kind of traditional qualities... Yeah.
...and then something very contemporary.
You know, that backdrop that had all of that incised...
It was almost psychedelic, wasn't it? Yeah. It was.
Let's talk about Bill.
Gosh, he had a tough old week.
Yeah, he did. There were some elements
that had worked really beautifully,
like the manes of the kelpie.
The mosaic effect of the fish.
The mosaic on the fish. That looked quite good.
But the face of Neptune just looked a bit dark, a bit overpowering.
There wasn't much subtlety there. Right.
Finally, an Angharad.
I love the way that she'd incised all that work around those branches.
And the face and the movement of the hair really, really worked.
The vase and the arm maybe not so much.
But there was one mistake with the cobalt blue.
Yes. And, you know, she did have a crack,
but it still functioned really well.
Is she in danger?
Yeah. I think so. Anybody else?
Bill. Bill. Bill.
I love a unified judging duo.
Who's in line for being Potter Of The Week?
I mean, I think for both of us,
it's either going to be Elham or Fynn, and it's a tough decision.
You know, deciding on our Potter Of The Week going into the final.
So we need to get it right.
Well done, potters. What a semifinal!
The judges have made their decision.
This week's Potter Of The Week, and the first person
who will be joining us at the final is...
...Elham.
Thank you.
Well done. Thank you.
And now a really, really difficult decision.
The judges have decided the potter who is leaving us this week is...
...Bill.
Yeah. I knew that. Well done.
I'm immensely proud of myself for getting this far.
There is so much I've taken from this.
Thank you. Really good. It's been... It's been amazing.
It's just my week. It's my week to go.
And I was looking at the other three and I was thinking they go well
as a final group, and I'm happy to go home and just chill out.
Gutted, gutted that Bill's not here.
I am so blummin' proud of him.
It's been such a pleasure having you on.
Thank you. Well done, Bill.
I might not have won Potter Of The Week,
but, you know, I've won some friends.
That's a win in my books.
So, as Bill bids farewell to the pottery, Elham's wall-mounted
Walter Fountain takes its place in the Throw Down Gallery.
Ahhh!
Woo!
Elham had Potter Of The Week. And a really fitting one.
She'd created something that flowed very well,
and she just got a softness to the overall appearance.
It was... it was really extraordinary.
And then there were three.
We have our finalists at last.
They've all been Potter Of The Week twice,
so it couldn't be more even stevens and that's really quite exciting.
We're in the final. We're in the final.
I never thought I'd get this far, I really didn't.
I batch cooked and I didn't cook enough.
Genuinely have not processed any of it at all.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
The fact that I'm here is absolutely insane.
One last make, one last
second challenge and that's it.
It's been a massive roller-coaster.
My head's already spiralling out into ideas
and actually trying to figure out what I need to do.
Roll on next week.
Next time...
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for.
The final.
Oh, my God!
Blows my mind that I'm here now.
It's quite overwhelming. It's a big deal.
I'm gonna give it every single bit of me.
BLEEP!
My legs are shaking.
Flipping heck! So much to do.
This year's winner...
Is not going to be an easy one, is it?
...of the Great Pottery Throw Down is...
If you'd like to apply for
the next series of the Great Pottery Throw Down, visit...
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