Beauty
In the Broken
Sometimes we walk past the broken things in life without even a glance. Sometimes we walk past the broken things with a glance and a fleeting thought of, "that must have been beautiful once". We feel a little sadness and a sense of loss, but no thought of how that once beautiful, but now broken thing might be brought back to life.
"There is beauty in broken things,
I promise you.
It's pretty when
it rains, and you
know you don't
throw back the half
seashells.
Have you ever seen
a scar shaped like
a starburst?
And I bet you break
blooming flowers
at the stem
just for decoration.
And you break
a glowstick in your
hand just to see it's
light.
I promise you,
there is beauty
in broken things.
​
- Kat Savage
The Turquoise Chair
Memories within ...
I have an old turquoise chair that I had used at a cafe I once owned. Having no room for it in my house, I left it outside in my yard, under the trees, to be utilized by the resident squirrels, chipmunks, and birds.
One day, as I walked past it, I was mindful enough to notice anew the beauty of the carving on the back, and how the peeling paint contrasted with the raw wood underneath. It seemed such a sad thing, to leave it there, at the mercy of the elements, slowly deteriorating. As I stood there, looking at my turquoise chair, I had a memory of my mother, long since passed away, sitting in that same chair. I knew then, that I had to bring that chair and it's memories, back to life.
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First, the repairs .....
.Often, when you have or find a piece of old furniture, it will
need repairs.
My chair had been left sitting out in the elements, and used as
a feeding table by my backyard critters for three years at least, and was literally falling apart. I caught it just in
time before it deteriorated beyond repair.
Luckily, I love a tattered, well-used look and find that peeling paint, missing or rough elements, and the patina of
age adds to the beauty of many things.
Glue and clamp
The first thing I did, was identify and split or broken parts in the wood and glue them with wood glue and clamp them. Any good brand of wood glue will work and you will need strong clamps of various sizes to fit in small or awkward spaces.
Follow directions on the glue for drying times, usually only a few hours.
Secure chair rungs and weak areas
Next, I checked all of the rungs and found some either loose or completely pulled out. I glued and hammered them back in and let them dry to make sure the chair was solid and steady under my weight.
Scrape and sand
Since I wanted to keep the very distressed look and have lots of raw wood showing, I scraped all of the loose paint off and sanded with coarse sandpaper. I chose
#60 grit.
Ready to get creative!
As I always do, when deciding what to paint on an old repurposed surface, I spend time with it. I look at the lines, scars, old paint, etc. and let them tell me what to paint. I let inspiration guide me.
As I was looking at the chair, outside, of course, a beautiful caterpillar crawled up and across the very surface, I planned on painting first. It was a beautiful and colorful sign for me. A caterpillar that would soon transform into a beautiful winged creature as I transformed this chair into a beautiful new creation with a new purpose.
Let the texture of the wood, your paintbrush, and your intuition guide you. Have fun, be creative, don't stress out over anything.
I added details as I went, nothing overly intricate, and let the carvings and imperfections of the wood guide me. I chose colors randomly, deciding as I went where I wanted the most contrast.
The carving on the back of the chair seemed to leave an opening perfect for a face and as I sketched on the eyes and the nose, I realized there was a ready-made mask. The chair for 2020! I then decided to add wildflowers in honor of my mother who adored them and especially yellow and orange ones, which I decided to use as the predominant colors. My plan was made! Now to start layering on flesh-toned paint and then just painting in random flowers, loosely following the lines of the carving and leaving much of the raw wood untouched.
Use loose, easy strokes, not worrying about fine detail. Be sure to honor the raw wood areas and leave them clean if you like.
As I painted, my resident cardinal couple kept dropping by to inspect my work. I appreciated the company and the inspriration of their brilliant color!
Just keep adding detail until your image suits you. I added a little detail to the lower part of the back and the seat.
Let it all dry, and apply at least two coats of polyurethane according to manufacturers directions.
If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email using the link on my blog.
If you do decide to paint a chair or a piece of furniture, please send photos and let me know how your experience went!
You will have made a beautiful quirky addition to your decor and an heirloom!
