Mend and make do.

I’ve posted another senior project piece on Indiepublic. It fits on this goal also, as it was created out of recycled raku clay. :) I save all my scraps when I’m working, in a bucket of water so they don’t dry out. When the bucket is full, I drain off the extra water on the top, pour the resulting mushy-mud out on a wood slab in the sun to air-dry a little, and then wedge (knead) it back into workable clay. Recycling the scraps saves a lot of money from having to buy new clay, and because raku clay has a higher sand content, making it more porous, it creates a nice texture on sculptures.

CLICK HERE!

But they are sure made cheap. That or I really need to lose some weight. ;) One shoulder strap’s plastic thingie that connects the strap to the back of the bra broke off, and it was my last clean bra.

The remedy: a small metal keyring in the miscellaneous drawer of my tool box. Nothing was wrong with the fabric loop on the back or on the strap, so I just threaded the keyring through each, and voila! That’s a metal ring too, that will not ever ever break.

Since the United States is now on the brink of another Depression thanks to bad business ethics – a separate soap box – we should reintroduce the notion of mending and making do. (Hopefully, home sewing will make a comeback! :) ) The reason is that there are a lot of people in this country (in California, anyway) who aren’t used to it, kinda like the people I’ve mentioned before who aren’t used to riding the bus. We need to quit poking fun at each other and stick together.