These fragments of a tile were once part of a highly decorated floor at Chertsey Abbey, Surrey. Pavements of decorated ceramic tiles were a medieval innovation. They were used to add richness and splendour to great churches initially but they were subsequently used in secular contexts, including castles and royal residences. Click
In the early years of my marriage I always threw broken china away because I wanted everything to be perfect. Over the years I've grown to love cracked and broken things. My marriage is in tact (in case you wondered:-) and I have drawers and bowls full of fragments from china, glass, wood, shells and other natural gatherings.
Ancient Shards by Christina Wiese. See website here
Christina Wiese
I love this poem about broken things by Alice Walker.
I will keep broken
things:
the big clay pot
with raised iguanas
chasing their
tails; two
of their wise
heads sheared off;
I will keep broken things:
the old slave market basket brought to my door by Mississippi a jagged
hole gouged
in it's sturdy dark
oak side.
I will keep broken things:
The memory of
those long delicious night swims with you;
I will keep broken things:
In my house
there remains an honored shelf
on which i will keep broken things.
Their beauty is
they need not ever be "fixed."
I will keep your wild
free laughter though it is now missing its
reassuring and
graceful hinge.
I will keep broken things:
Thank you
So much!
I will keep broken things.
I will keep you:
pilgrim of sorrow.
I will keep myself.
- Alice Walker, "I will keep broken things"
Fragments, Monestry of Hadda, Afghanistan, 4th century. Click
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of mending broken pottery with a mixture of lacquer and powdered gold or silver. The philosophy behind this reparation is that things should not be discarded just because they are broken. There is beauty in broken, cracked and chipped objects.
Exquisite chipped bowl. Click for more here
Weathered and broken Woman's Grave Marker, Philippines. Click
Egyptian Woven Fragment: 13th - 14th century. medium: Linen, silk, metal wrapped thread. Click
Mary Ann Lehrer Plansky stitches exquisite fragments inspired by ancient cloths, the antiquities of forgotten tribes, archaeological artifacts and ruins. My heart races when I read the stories behind her pieces. Do yourself a favour and visit Mary Ann's blog here.
Mary Anne Lehrer Plansky's beautiful work. Click
Sand & Bone by Mary Ann Lehrer Plansky. Click
Jan Goodey has created an intriguing ceramic series, "The Museum of Conjecture."
"The Museum of Conjecture" by Jan Goodey .
" ....every broken thing is an opportunity for reinvention and reinterpretation. Putting the pieces together in a new way, or for a new purpose or by adding new or different parts encourages a "Science of Incomplete" to emerge." - Jan Goodey
Shards. Vessel series by Jan Goodey
Brunivo Buttarelli. (Rock mended with metal)
Mend: to make (something broken, worn, torn, or otherwise damaged) whole, sound, or usable by repairing ....
Looking at these images I could add ....
Mend: to beautify and to create art.
"When the Japanese mend broken objects, they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold. They believe that when something's suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful." - Billie Mobayed
Repaired bowls by RELAXMAX.
Kintsugi: the artful repair of damaged things.
The Japanese Boro Yogi is a sleeping garment used like a blanket for warmth . More Boro items at Kimonoboy, here.
American 18th century carved (and repaired) bowl.
Mending Land II by Trace Willans. (encaustic and mixed media).
Broken Teacup by Claire Crompton.
Susanna Bauer. Click for Susanna's website
Lawrence Carroll.
Lawrence Carroll.
I love the fact that Lawrence Carroll's canvases are stitched, patched, stapled and mended. Hester van Dapperen also slices through the canvas of her color field paintings and mends them.
Hester van Dapperen.
"Mutilations of historical works in museums inspired me to cut in planes of color. The knife in cloth gives a tension and requires on-going effort of the painter. Sutures and operations with crooked needle and twine followed. The scars in combination with added paint become an integral part of the canvas. They lead the search for the essence behind the work". - Hester van Dapperen
Mending Bridges by Deborah McArdle.
Lea McComas became involved in the Peace Quilt challenge when she heard about a "call for solidarity of the women of the world to work together to defend and protect women in times of conflict and to empower women to be active agents in the peace process."
"My quilt began as a collage of photos collected over a decade of living, working, and traveling overseas. Many of the photos are my own. A friend who has traveled extensively as a medical volunteer contributed others. The photos were printed onto fabric, pieced together with scraps, and quilted in a very traditional manner. The quilt was then torn, cut, burned and shot; literally tearing families apart. Finally, a woman's hands were added to the top using fused applique and shown working to stop the destruction, mend the damage, and repair the vision." - Lea McComas
Read more about The Mending by Lea McComas here.