The Great Pottery Throw Down

Hello, there. It's week six,

and our seven remaining potters are making novelty teapots

and two large mugs. Sounds easy, but it's not.

Novelty teapot. Yep. You know what that means.

I'm the little teapot!

Eh?

Alll need now are two large mugs.

Oh, where could I get two large mugs?

All right, Siobhan?

Welcome to the Great Pottery Throw Down!

Last time...

Helping-

...the potters made cascading bowls water features...

All I need is another three hours.

You don't have that, though.

...and Steven blew everyone out of the water

for his first Potter Of The Week.

It's really quite beautiful. Brilliant, Steven. Thank you.

...and while Cadi struggled against the tide...

We do have to consider the structural defects...

Yeah. ..within the build.

...Princess couldn't paper over the cracks...

OK.

You've got so much talent in throwing. Decoration, not so much.

...and became the latest to leave the pottery.

This time...

HE WHISTLES

Oi! Get it off, you, it's mine!

...the potters take on a colourful novelty teapot challenge...

The holy grail of teapots will pour like a Venetian fountain.

...and face a slippery throw down.

It's a bit like throwing with ice cream. Oh, God.

Who will be the judges' cup of tea?

Glaze your novelty teapots!

And who will be too weak to make the grade?

Tiny bit of a drip, but a great pourer.

# Making time

# Shooting lines

# People have their uses

# People have their uses. #

Afternoon Tea by The Kinks

It's week six,

and for our remaining seven potters, it's time for a brew.

# I'll take afternoon tea Afternoon tea

Making novelty teapots, what's not to like with that?

This is living the dream, isn't it?

I'm really looking forward to it.

It's gonna be cool to kind of modernise teapots,

and funk them up, you know?

Tea, I don't like... No. Unless it's maybe a fruity tea.

I wouldn't mind that.

The teapot is, like, the hardest thing to make.

There's so much to worry about.

I was lying awake, making a teapot in my sleep.

Trying to figure out... "Which way does the spout go on? I don't know!"

Good morning, potters, and welcome back to the pottery.

For your main make challenge this week,

the judges would like you to make a novelty teapot

and a pair of large mugs

using the distinctive majolica decoration technique.

Majolica was popular in the late 1800s

and was known for its bright, bold, vivid colours.

Now, we're looking for novelty here, so use that as inspiration.

We'd like you to throw the main body of your teapot and mugs,

but you can hand-build the lid, the spout and the handles.

But remember, whatever you do,

these have to be functioning tea sets,

and we will be testing them during judging.

OK, potters, you have six hours to make

and refine your novelty teapot and pair of mugs,

and your time starts...

“HOW!

Whoop!

I'm excited for novelty teapots. I think they're going to be fun.

I hope mine will be a talking point

for all the right reasons, not the wrong reasons.

Teapots are not easy to make,

there's lots of things to factor in.

Trying to make something functional that looks like something that's not

a teapot is a really hard thing to do.

So, Rich, week six, novelty teapots and mugs.

They have so many different attributes to them.

It's got a lid and a gallery. It's got a spout.

You know, this is all about novelty.

But, equally, they need to be fit for purpose.

Picking this one up, it's really light. Right.

You know, when our potters sculpt on and add appendages

and start altering the form, they just need to be mindful

that they don't want to add too much weight.

We want our potters to consider those two mugs as well.

They need to consider the size of those mugs

in relation to their teapot.

And of course, we're asking them to do all this

in that lovely, lovely finish which is majolica ware.

Yeah, majolica is actually using fluid, coloured glazes

that are applied directly to the bisque.

But under the heat of the kiln,

they're going to melt and become treacly and delicious.

Well, they basically pool in the surface of the pot.

Which is what we're asking our potters to really consider.

I mean I absolutely love this one.

The way the surface design really is enhanced by that glaze pooling

and accentuating the whole surface.

Yeah, the form is so integral to the decoration.

Everything that they do in this build stage is setting up for

the beautiful, fluid majolica glaze

that's just going to pool into every nook and cranny.

We're looking for bold, vivid colours here,

and that's why I think the novelty teapot is the perfect item

to show off that lovely majolica process.

Hi, lovey. Oh, hello. Hi. Hi, Cadi, you all right?

Hello, yes. How are you feeling?

Feeling really happy to still be here, thanks very much.

Yeah, well, we're happy you're still here. Yeah, good.

Well, look, tell us about your design.

Well, I am making a camper van teapot.

We've taken the kids all over Europe, up and down,

and just showing them all the nice people and places everywhere.

Brilliant. Ancl it's just a real joy.

It's gonna have a pop-top roof, a seagull for a knob.

Fantastic. Yeah.

Inspired by happy travels in her own family pop-top,

Cadi's handles will be shaped like bushes

to symbolise the great outdoors.

She'll alter her mugs into the shape of slouchy camping chairs

and her van will sport a custom psychedelic paint job.

So, out of the whole build,

what do you think you're most worried about then?

Obviously, it's a really flat side and the whole thing about majolica

is that it pools and runs so beautifully.

It relies so heavily on texture and surface,

and vans are kind of notoriously square and flat. Yeah.

To make the most of this runny translucent glaze...

It runs into any crevices and cracks and detail.

...the potters will need to factor it into their surface design.

You want to make sure that you've got plenty of texture

in your piece for this.

And whilst the others will apply it

once their clay has had a chance to harden...

I'm adding texture once the form's a little bit more secure.

...Steven's taking a bit of a risk.

I'm building in texture now.

it just makes a more kind of organic curve.

just trying to get it deeper and deeper as I go.

My design is based on

a ballet which the Bauhaus made the costumes for.

Steven's teapot is a homage to the clean lines, geometric forms

and primary colours of Bauhaus design.

When assembled, the separate components form

a ballet dancer, complete with fragile clay hoop dress.

The tea cups, they're stack able on top

and the whole thing makes a figure.

So then when you disassemble this is actually the lid for the teapot.

So accuracy. Yeah, fingers crossed. Accuracy is key, yeah.

It's like you've really thought of it Steven.

Yeah!

And Steven isn't the only potter who's been inspired

by the spirit of the dance today.

The brief asked for a novelty teapot that was fun, exciting, adventurous.

For me, the fun, exciting, adventurous bit

is belly dancing class every Monday night.

Yeah, it's been quite important to me for the last ten years

just to keep me on my feet, really.

Jan's playing tribute to the members of her dance troupe

with a curvaceous belly dancer teapot

and matching bikini-clad cups.

Belly dancing. Yes.

When did this start?

2014. I was in recovery after breast cancer surgery

and I had a bucket list

and on my bucket list was learn to do pottery

and belly dancing. Do you want a lesson?

Like a shimmy?

A shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy, shimmy.

Yeah. Huh? Or you can do it with your hips.

I...| wish I could.

While their teapots firm up, the potters can crack on

with their two mugs which must be perfectly proportioned.

I'm like running a spiral into them.

Going really slowly and pushing it out.

I'm just gonna drop it slightly off centre.

Want it to sit down a little bit wonky.

I think your serious tea drinker likes

a nice stable vessel that will keep their precious liquid safe.

Hello, what's going to inspire you this week?

We're going to have a boa constrictor

constricting a person who's thirsty. What goes on in your head?

People have wondered.

Dave's victim will be completely encircled by the snake,

with only a protruding hand, clasping a biscuit,

acting as a knob.

The snake's mouth forms the spout,

its tail the handle,

along with matching snake mugs all sculpted out of the thrown forms.

I've thrown the teapot and the mugs

and now I'm just gonna basically destroy everything I've clone.

Woohoo. Oh, right.

Pushing out, pushing in, I'm manipulating the clay.

Forming these? Yeah, then create surface texture.

I'm pleased that you've said you're distorting the form as opposed