CLINK! Clutter! Clutter! Crash! “Oh my God, that was my favourite mug! My best friend had given that to me”. Sob! Sob! Once in a while everybody goes through the painful experience of throwing away a beautiful or favourite piece of porcelain, or pottery, or a daily use mug, after it has accidentally fallen and broken to pieces. For some it is a very casual and normal thing to do, but for others who tend to associate their cherished memories with objects or gifts from near and dear ones, it could be a really depressing moment.
Well, for the people who fall into the second category, here’s an experience that turned into a real hobby. A friend had an obsession for fancy mugs, and porcelain pottery. Never hesitated in buying a beautiful and useful piece, either as a souvenir from places visited or just because it caught the eye. And whenever any item of the collection met a fatal accident, never had the heart to throw away the pieces. But very carefully the pieces were joined together with a strong adhesive or glue. A time came when substantial space in the cupboards was occupied by this stuff which should have been thrown away, so threats for such an action started to come from the other members of the family. Now something really innovative had to be thought of, to put these broken and glued pieces of pottery to use. One fine day, while repotting and inventorying the small potted plants in the house a brainwave struck. Instead of buying new pots for the ever multiplying tiny, window sill plants, why can’t the mugs and bowls be used? Except for the thin lines of crack, or a small chip or so, they were still attractive and could make a nice display. And so they did.
The concept of ‘recycling’ has taken over the entire world. Anything and everything that could possibly be reused or recycled for useful purposes is treated and utilized efficaciously. Applying the same concept to broken pottery, one could open a new notion for the slogan “recycle”. So if you also want to follow suit, here are some tips and techniques to restore the broken objects by gluing together its shattered pieces. Only a little care needs to be taken while gluing the pieces. Make sure that the edges are smoothly joined, and do not leave any sharp edges.
If the rims are chipped off and the chipped piece is missing then the gap can be filled with plaster or just a piece of paper tape over it, so that the sharp edge does not injure or harm the user. In this way all types of broken porcelain or pottery can be brought to use. Specially, the broken mugs or bowls can prove to be very useful because they are deep and have substantial space to hold things. Although these can no longer be used in their original capacity, as serving dishes or mugs, but they can definitely be used for other practical purposes such as for growing small plants to be kept on sills, or as desk organizers for keeping stationary or pencils that tends to roll off to destination unknown, or even for keeping the dressing table organized and tidy.
If the pots or mugs are to be used for planting, then one important factor for consideration is the choice of plant to be potted. Selected plants should be the ones which do not have very massive roots and require little amounts of water.
Small variety of cacti and succulents are best choices because of their small and delicate roots. They also do well on window sills because of their need for more sunlight. If plants which develop voluminous roots as they grow are placed in such pots, they should be removed to larger pots as soon as they start growing bigger, otherwise the pressure of the growing roots would bring apart the glued pieces of the pot.
While placing the pot on the window sill or table or dressing table top, one could tactfully choose an angle so that the worst cracks or ugly chips are intelligently hidden away. Draping or trailing plants can also do the job of hiding these cracks, very effectively.
So next time someone breaks your favourite piece of pottery don’t be too hard on that person, as well as yourself. Just collect the pieces and set to work with any strong adhesive. Of course a bit of sadness at the irreplaceable loss is acceptable, but knowing that one does not just have to throw the stuff away for good, gives a sense of relief. Make the best of the loss you suffer.
CLINK! Clutter! Clutter! Crash! “Oh my God, that was my favourite mug! My best friend had given that to me”. Sob! Sob! Once in a while everybody goes through the painful experience of throwing away a beautiful or favourite piece of porcelain, or pottery, or a daily use mug, after it has accidentally fallen and broken to pieces. For some it is a very casual and normal thing to do, but for others who tend to associate their cherished memories with objects or gifts from near and dear ones, it could be a really depressing moment.
