Stonewall artist Jen Sonnenberg continues to stand out week after week in a nationwide pottery competition airing on CBC.
The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down is an eight-week competition series that started off with a group of 10 amateur potters from across the country. Each week, they’ve been competing in a main pottery task as well as a skill-testing challenge.
Then at the end of each episode, one potter is asked to pack up and leave the show.
Last week, Episode 7 showcased the final four potters’ skills in the semi-final task to create a water fountain.
“I have never made a fountain but was really excited to do it for this week’s main make. I love making big work, so it was nice to be able to make something with larger height requirements,” Sonnenberg said.
“When I was coming up with my idea for this make, I thought about the kind of fountain I would want in my home and kept coming back to something with a very organic feel, like something that would be found in nature. Hot springs and the gorgeous painted thermal pools became my inspiration, with a funnel-like shape that would fill with water and flow over the top, then collect in the reservoir below.”
Competition was steep among the remaining potters in the semi-final episode.
“The potters that were left were so talented, as they were throughout the whole competition, and the water features that were being created were just amazing,” Sonnenberg said.
“I was blown away in every episode how people can be given the same task but come up with such vastly different designs — and the fountains were no different.”
While the fountains were being dried and bisque fired, the competitors faced off in a throw-down challenge.
“This week’s throw-down was to see who could throw the largest cylinder out of the same amount of clay in 20 minutes. It was a very close call, but I ended up coming away with the win. I was extremely excited,” said Sonnenberg with enthusiasm.
“It’s hard to know how much the throw-down or spot test can help, but I always feel that it certainly can’t hurt. And this was my fourth throw-down/spot test win. I couldn’t believe it. I am a pretty competitive person, so I’m always going to push myself to do the best that I can. I see a challenge and say, ‘OK, let’s go!’”
After the throw-down challenge, the potters had the chance to decorate and glaze their water features.
“Once they were out of the glaze firing, I was even more relieved that I had won the second challenge, as there was a crack around the base of my fountain, the part that would catch the water. I made a pretty risky decision to throw such a big base,” Sonnenberg said.
“Pieces that are bigger or thicker are prone to cracking or even exploding, as we saw tragically with Thomas’s piece this episode. His piece was likely not completely dried when it went into the bisque firing, and once the kiln reaches boiling temperature, the clay with moisture in it explodes as the gasses are released.”
In the end, Sonnenberg was satisfied with her creation, even though it didn’t turn out exactly how she had originally envisioned.
“For me, I always seemed to want to go big or go home rather than play it safe. In the end, I loved the concept of my fountain, that the funnel portion had worked just like I had planned, as well as the glazes, but I would have loved it more if the reservoir hadn’t leaked,” she said.
“But it was enough to get me through the semi-final and into the finale. Thinking about being in the finale was incredible. If anyone would have told me in the first week of the competition that I would be in the finale, I would have laughed in disbelief. Such an amazing experience, and I made it to the finale!”
Who will be crowned the best potter? Tune in to find out. The finale of The Great Canadian Pottery Throw Down airs on CBC on Thursday, April 4 at 8 p.m. or you can watch it on the CBCGem app.
