OLDS — École Olds High School art and cosmetology teacher Renu Mathew had another good week in The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down.
Week 4 of the eight-week reality series was broadcast Feb. 29 on CBC and CBC Gem.
Mathew managed to avoid elimination yet again, despite undertaking a couple of major challenges: creating a table lamp that can actually be lit and a double-walled vessel.
The contestants had six hours to make and refine their lamps.
When completed, their lamps had to actually be able to be turned on, which meant installing electrical wiring and other fixtures.
Contestants could make their own lampshade or obtain one from the show organizers. Mathew chose to obtain one.
Mathew’s piece was the head and shoulders of a sleepy woman to represent minds being illuminated while being at rest.
“I can see that little bit of movement that’s still in the neck,” host Jennifer Robertson said as she watched Mathew at work on the piece.
Mathew agreed.
Robertson asked if the woman has a name.
“Not yet. She’s sleepy though,” Mathew replied, noting a drowsy kind of name would be appropriate.
“Just keep quiet over here,” Robertson whispered jokingly.
Mathew worked with a sponge to highlight some portions of the woman, "just to make her a bit more alive."
"This is definitely what I love," she said.
“If I think of things that could go wrong, I’m not going to be able to sleep – like she is,” Mathew said as she continued working on the piece.
“Some (aspects) might come back to haunt me. Hopefully they won’t.”
Finally, it came time to turn the piece from a sculpture into a fully functioning lamp.
“I have never made anything with precise measurements or electrical (bulbs) going on. This is all very risky,” Mathew said.
Brendan Tang, a Vancouver-based ceramics artist, and Natalie Waddell, a professional potter and educator based in Toronto, came by to judge Mathew’s lamp.
“In that black glaze, you’ve got some really gorgeous textures happening there,” Tang said.
“The shade doesn’t perfectly flow, but the detailing along the outfit is a really beautiful touch,” Waddell said.
The lamp was switched on.
“Ooh, you can really see how effective your glaze choices are with the reflection of the light onto the form,” Tang said.
Waddell agreed.
“Yeah, when you get down here and really inspect the base, a very stunning object,” she said.
Mathew thanked them for their comments.
Mathew also survived the throw down challenge of making a double-walled vessel.
When the judges assessed everyone’s work in that challenge, Mathew ended up in the middle of the pack.
