Broken Teaware - What do you do?
So I just broke my favorite mug that I’ve been using lately. mourns When I rinse it out, if I’m using it again I’ll shake the water out (with my hand through the handle). Tonight I misjudged the few bowls in the sink and really smashed the mug into them. sigh Chipped the edge of the mug and put a couple hearty cracks in it. Geeze. I was so pissed at doing something so stupid. _
Thankfully I had a backup so it’s not like I can’t replace it. And since I’m a bit of a packrat/horder at heart, it’s hard for me to just toss something like a beloved, albet broken, mug if I can find another use for it. Even if it’s just holding pens. XD Haven’t found a use for this one, though I might put it in my craft room to hold something.
But it got me thinking. What do you all do when you break a favored teaware? Do you throw it out? Reglue it back together and use it for something else? Use it in a mosaic?
I’ve read about Kintsugi (The method of fixing pottery with gold), though in this case, it’s totally not applicable. But it’s a really neat process and turns out some cool results. I could see doing that (if it were easily available) for a broken family heirloom or treasured teapot or something of the sort. I wonder if it would work with a yixing pot and still have it be usable? Or if the glue/gold would affect it.
After the applicable crying over broken teaware and assessing rather or not I can still use it (like my poor gaiwan that has three different chips in it…I am so clumsy)I usually turn it into a craft project. My favorite example is a beautiful stoneware teapot that my mom and I used frequently until someone (it was totally me) dropped it causing it to crack and have several holes.
At the time I was a jeweler so I had a ton of shiny things, so we took some swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, and aquamarine beads and had them ‘pouring’ out of the cracks and the spout. She has it currently, I should ask her to get a picture of it.
The only time I ever outright tossed a teapot was after I found the most awesome looking teapot, sugar, and creamer set at a thrift store. I was so happy because I finally had matching teaware (I get almost all of mine used so it never matches) to celebrate I made a pot of Lapsang to share with my sweetheart, as I was pouring us a cup I noticed a very awful crack right down the spout…of course I noticed this by it dripping nearly boiling water all over me. In a fit of rage I emptied it and smashed it in the trashcan. In retrospect I wish I would have kept it and made it into a flower pot or something.
Oooh. I’d love to see that teapot. Sounds awesome.
Bummer about the second one. I can understand the rage thing though….Vaguely unrelated but I did that with my ipad one day when it cleared out a page of a fanfic I was writing and I threw it across the room at my bed. The Ipad was thankfully alright, though there’s a dent in my wall as a reminder. XD
I sent her a note on facebook, so if all works well I can get a photo tomorrow :)
Ouch, I am glad your ipad was ok!
Yay for photos.
And yeah. I definitely would’ve been more upset had the ipad been damaged in hindsight. Lol!
Rim chips I can fix if the piece is stoneware, ceramic, or thick porcelain but it won’t be a piece that can get wet again. To repair, mix up JB Weld thick and form it over the chip into the original shape. Let dry overnight, then sand until smooth where it connects to the piece. Match the color with acrylic paint, and finish with clear lacquer (clear nail polish works). Again, you can’t get the spot wet again but if you’re good with the paint color the chip won’t be noticeable and you can’t feel where it was. It will be strong, but the paint can’t really take too much water.
I can’t imagine that painting the repaired spot over with clear nail polish would be much of a good idea. Especially since it smells so bad in the first place (though I understand that this would dissipate), and is toxic in the second. Long term I could see it cracking/yellowing too. ^^
Well the piece cannot be used with this kind of repair, it is cosmetic only. The polish can easily be replaced. The JB Weld is stronger than the original and can be repainted easily. I use this method for decorative vases or other purely decorative that will either be displayed empty or with dried flower arrangements, artist brushes.
Ah. That makes sense then. I was thinking that you used this method for repairing teaware you then still used.
If it’s a piece of ceramic teaware I really love then I’d attempt kintsugi to preserve it and using it for storage of desk top decoration. But then I just love anything with gold accents.
Usually when I break teaware I BREAK it. Like with my poor little purple teacup that I got for my birthday last month. I managed to shatter it completely as I walking out the kitchen a week ago while trying to get rid of some awful peach green matcha tea that I still have too much off. I took that as a sign to just toss the remaining tea bags. XD
Broken ceramic anything works great to use in the bottom of potted plants/flowers. It lifts the soil off of the bottom of the pot so you don’t get root rot but is also leaves enough room for air to circulate and the water to drain out of the soil. (Hope that makes sense).
I have also seen teaware graveyards. You put your broken teaware in the garden and it acts as a decoration or memorial.
Makes perfect sense. My Mom does that with the broken pots she has now and then (the squirrels or the weather always seem to knock one or two off the porch every year).
A teaware graveyard is both a neat idea, but would make me terribly depressed every time I looked at it.
I have a 100ml yixing pot that I absolutely hate because the spout always gets clogged and it dribbles and pours slow. Maybe I’ll spraypaint it gold and keep it as a decoration.
Okay lots of ideas, I will say the alternative that needs to be said. Throw it out.
In a year you won’t think about it anymore.
True, throwing it out is always an option. Everyone has a different way to deal with broken ceramic after all. XD
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