The Great Pottery Throw Down - the pottery that got Clover to the final

The Great Pottery Throw Down is back! After a rather long hiatus, 12 potters are once again putting their skills to the test in the iconic setting of Middleport Pottery, Staffordshire. Clover herself was a finalist in the second series of the show in 2017, and before Christmas she was finally reunited with some of the pieces she made (unfortunately not the toilet though).

Opening the package we were both excited, but nervous for the state the pots would be in. There were quite a few casualties, in fact very little came through unscathed as is the risk with sending pottery by post, but the most damage was to the dinner set. Still, enough survived to serve as a memory of a great achievement!

Among the returned pots were Clover's hand-built jug in the shape of a fennel bulb, two pots with a galaxy-inspired decoration, and her lotus flower water feature.

Perhaps the most impactful for me is still the Russian doll set. Clover's design highlights not only the circle of life and the natural food chain by building a fish that fits inside the seal, which in turn fits inside the polar bear, but painting them with images of the plight that they currently face such as over-fishing and the melting of the polar ice caps.

You can catch the new series of The Great Pottery Throw Down on Wednesday evenings at 9pm on More4.