As a ceramist I make a lot of defective things during an art process. Depending on a stage where you realise that you can't use your item as it is you can reclaim, reuse or recycle an object.
Reclaim Before Firing
You can reclaim clay before firing process. It will be the easiest step to fix it. You can see how I’m doing this at this video
Reuse Bisque fired clay
@chadefolie proposed to use it as a “draft piece”. You can use it a glaze samples. Pieces with irregularities will work even better.
Recover fired Ceramics
If your piece is broken @people_attacked_by_cold_chills suggested to fix it. You can try to glue pieces with a glaze for example. Even some crackles can be filled with glazes. But it’s almost impossible for items that was fired for a high temperature.
@nvdben reminded me about Kintsugi. If you just broke an item Kintsugi is a wonderful way to fix it! It is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum.
Reuse fired art
Give it to a friend! If you just don’t like how it turned out you can ask your friends and family (or even your followers) whether they are wiling to take it. I remember me before I started to work with ceramics and I loved so much all broken pottery items. I would be more than grateful for a broken piece :)
@bichuspottery made an “adoption place”. All people who come with a visit can take a defective item for free. You can create such a place near your house or agreed with for example library.
@moksha_potterystudio suggested to use a chipped plate or mug for feeding birds and animals.
Create a new art object
Wonderful idea from @la_mer.ceramicsdesign : Make a candle! She is making candles from defective cups.
@krassimira.st wants to make mosaic table from ceramics pieces and a DIY Fairy Garden from a broken pot.
@kristi_nakristi likes mosaics as well and thought about mosaic mirror, kitchen table and trays. Here is a process of creation a tray from broken ceramics.
Some other inspiration photos:
And just wild art objects:
Recycling
Ceramic items are difficult to recycle as completely as plastics or glass and not all countries recycle them. For example I was not able to find something in NL, but here are some possible ways.
Crushed or ground down into smaller pieces ceramics, can be used in several ways:
- As fill material. Large pieces of ceramic can form part of builders' rubble used to fill in landscaping and construction sites, particularly on driveways and roads.
- As gravel. A washing or tumbling treatment can smooth off rough edges resulting in colourful gravel for use in gardens and paving.
- As raw material for new ceramics. Some ceramic items can be ground down into fine dust, essentially turning them back into the clay mineral from which they were originally made. Since the minerals used to make certain high-quality ceramic components are becoming rare, this form of recycling is garnering more attention lately.
Photos:
- http://www.lakesidepottery.com/Pages/Pottery-tips/how-to-reconstitute-recycle-bone-dry-old-block-of-clay.htm;
- https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/3440-making-a-glaze-chart/
- https://austinkleon.com/2019/12/22/kintsugi-and-the-art-of-making-repair-visible/
- https://vanessafridahome.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/blue-white-plates-found-for-broken-glass-table-2/
- https://www.plumetismagazine.net/latelier-du-mercredi-avec-des-morceaux-de-porcelaine/
- https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g2416/repurposed-broken-china/?slide=10
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/565272190712527944/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/321374123415559346/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/818881144717860143/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/86061042869479283/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/68742966486/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/326229566765193000/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/357332551692072883/
- https://www.instagram.com/p/CTO36uyMowG/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/509469776591058827/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/990229036788778099/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/392376186293614456/
- https://nl.pinterest.com/pin/99501472995828878/
- Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash