Breaking China

I wanted to say something about broken china and was looking for an article I read some time ago online about smashing plates, and googled "Broken China". Apparently there is a 1996 solo album of the same name by Pink Floyd's Richard Wright that documents his wife's battle with depression...Hmm...

But the search also led to Runa Islam, Dhaka-born film-maker and current Turner Prize nominee. One of her films shows a woman slowly knocking china off some plinths...The link came via an American blogposter who introduced the link as "for more 'women-and-broken-china' art, visit...". Seems we have a genre of our own, and I can't wait to see her film.

I also found a blog by a guy who seems to be of religious persuasion (he quotes the Bible a lot) but he said something interesting...I quote (and remove religious references)...
http://guestmusings.blogspot.com/2008/10/28th-ask-josh-broken-chinahearts.html

"What is shattered china worth on the open market? I looked it up on ebay and there was nothing for sale. Nobody wants to buy shattered china..."

Wrong, Josh, it's called Pique Assiette - broken china for mosaics - and there's plenty of it about and plenty of hobbyists making mosaics out of it. But generally I agree that it has no value for most people, and is generally thrown away rather than mended. He continues:

"I found a broken china vase that came with free shipping. As of this writing, nobody bid on it at all. I am afraid that imperfect china is not worth much these days. Not even a dollar...

"Over 30 years ago, The Friend published a story by Iris Syndergaard about the early Mormon pioneer women who gave up their china dishes and porcelain to help make the stucco for the Kirtland temple. The broken china was needed for holding the plaster together. The poor saints had no wealth, yet they gave it. They took their china and shattered it, made it worthless, and gave it away. When the construction was completed, the temple shimmered whenever the sun rose or set on the edifice."

He then quotes:"God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength." ["Broken Things," an excerpt from Vance Havner, The Still Water]"

I also found another blog (can't find the link now) where a woman writes that her grandmother used to say that a broken heart is like broken china. You can mend both, but you'll still see the cracks.

Here is a blurred picture of my China Blues piece. The sun is shining brightly and by screwing up one's eyes, it's possible to imagine sitting on some decking on the Med gazing out at a shimmering sea...