Pottery is easy to learn, but hard to master. It takes an incredibly skilled craftsman to turn a pile of clay into a praiseworthy piece of art.
The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down features some of the best potters in Canada, including Renu Mathew, a high school teacher from Olds, located north of Calgary.
Mathew is one of ten contestants who competed in CBC’s first-ever Pottery Throw Down, an eight-week reality series that airs every Thursday.
The series was filmed in the summer but started airing on February 8. The British television competition called The Great Pottery Throw Down inspired the series.
In each episode, competitors must complete two challenges: the Main Make and a Throw Down or Spot Test.
The Main Make asks potters to create a piece of pottery that reflects a theme. This challenge highlights the building, drying, refining, glazing, and firing processes of pottery making.
The eight themes for Canada’s first-ever Pottery Throw Down are as follows:
- Hometown tribute
- Chess set
- Self-sculpture
- Table lamp
- Raku drinking set
- Nine-course dinner set
- Indoor water fountain
- Tea set
The pressure is on during the Throw Down and Spot Test challenges. The Throw Down challenge is a race against the clock, where competitors must complete a given task before time runs out.
Spot Test evaluates competitors’ specific skills and techniques. Some tasks we can expect this season include trimming bowls, pulling handles, carving an urn, throwing blindfolded, and more.
Watching a potter throw their work across the room in a blindfold would be entertaining. But throwing means something very different in pottery.
Throwing is the process of using a pottery wheel to spin the clay while the potter shapes it.
Judges evaluate competitors’ performances in both challenges. At the end of each episode, one competitor is eliminated, and another contestant is named Potter of the Week.
The Potter of the Week has their pottery displayed in the exclusive Throw Down Gallery.
Star-Studded Cast
The Pottery Throw Down was filmed in an old ceramics studio at the former location of the Emily Carr School of Art & Design in Vancouver, BC.
When the lights turn on and the cameras start rolling, the studio turned into a ‘dragon’s den’ for the series’ high-profile cast.
Hosting the show is Schitt’s Creek star Jennifer Robertson, who played Jocelyn in the popular sitcom.
But she isn’t the only celebrity; Seth Rogen, an award-winning actor, producer, and director, appears as a guest judge.
Rogen is the show’s executive producer.
He also appears in pre-taped segments where he shares his passion for pottery. Yes, you read that right.
When Rogen isn’t riding the Pineapple Express, he enjoys pottery. He is damn good at it too!
“As a fellow Vancouver native and potter myself, I am looking forward to seeing incredibly talented artists show their skills this season,” Rogen told CBC News.
Competitors are judged by ceramics experts Brendan Tang and Natalie Waddell. Tang has won many awards for his pieces and is a ceramics instructor in Vancouver.
Waddell is a master of her craft and is a ceramics artist and educator based in Toronto.
Mathew Makes The Cut
Some contestants on Pottery Throw Down travelled from as far as New Brunswick to compete in the series.
But just one contestant is representing our province: Mathew. The 49-year-old from Olds is a talented potter with years of experience.
Her love for pottery took shape in high school. Her art teacher, Mrs. Farthing, let Mathew spend hours in the art room and taught her the basics of pottery.
Mathew also had an uncle who taught sculpting in India. He inspired her to pursue art as a career.
As a university student, Mathew majored in sculpting and currently teaches many courses, including high school art, an edible arts chocolate course, and cosmetology.
When school is out for the summer, Mathew works in the film industry. But will her artistic talent be enough to win the Pottery Throw Down competition?
Mathew is no stranger to competition or cameras. In 2020, she competed in the Food Network’s Great Chocolate Showdown, where she made it to the finale.
In the first episode of the Pottery Throw Down, contestants were asked to make an ashtray and something representative of their hometown.
Mathew made a pottery sign that spells out “OLDS.” The sign included the village’s typical features like a barn, the big orange grain elevator, flowers, and more.
Rogen appeared as a guest judge and praised Mathew’s attention to detail.
Rogen had one critique: her piece was very literal.
But Mathew still made the first cut. The first contestant eliminated was Susan Johnston from Surrey, BC.
Mathew also survived the second episode after contestant Alice Gibson from Penticton, BC, was sent home.
Episode three will be released this coming Thursday, but we still have a long way to go before the finale.
Will Mathew win? Only time will tell.
“If I do win, it’s because I am enthusiastic, willing to learn and grow and because I have a diverse skill set that will allow me to do well in the challenges, throw downs and spot tests,” she told CBC News.
Mathew is up against some fierce competition, but she has the talent to take home the win and make us proud!
