How many novelty cups and mugs do you have in your cupboard? I’ve counted five.
Look in the back of your presses and you’ll probably find specimens emblazoned with “Be Brave!”, “Best Dad Ever!”, “You’ve Got This!” or “With love from Croatia!” Who hasn’t given a novelty mug as a gift or received one?
Like so much of the stuff we buy and gift with the best of intentions, the thing is admired for a minute and then goes in the back of the cupboard, unused and taking up space until we eventually throw it out.
When home improvement shows bray on about storage – “You can never have enough storage” – you’ve got to ask why we need all the storage? Could it be because we have too much stuff? Maybe it’s not a storage problem that needs addressing but “too much stuff” problem.
Novelty items and ill-thought-out purchases add to the stuff problem in our homes. These items are costing us money, space and contributing to the climate crisis.
Waterford-based artist Sean Corcoran wants us to think differently about excess of all kinds and is using the medium of crockery to do it.
Under the “Donate a Plate” tagline, he’s been crowdsourcing damaged or unwanted crockery from homes throughout Co Waterford to create a massive public artwork that is also being made by the public.
It’s part of Action on Climate Targets Waterford (ACT). ACT supports artists and creatives in Waterford to spur thinking around climate change in their communities. It is funded by the Government’s Creative Climate Action Fund.
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The hope is that the mosaic, while it’s being created and into the future, will inspire people to think about sustainability.
Hundreds of homes in Waterford have already donated thousands of individual pieces of surplus, damaged and sentimental crockery for the mosaic.
Some 75 participants are taking part in Sean’s Mosaic Masterclass to create it. Over the coming weeks they will assemble 250 separate panels which will feature unwanted and broken crockery from the cupboards of what seems like nearly every home in the county.
Sean wants your novelty cups and mugs, your damaged dishes, your shattered platters, your chipped cups, surplus saucers, preloved plates and your cracked teapots.
If you’ve got some languishing in the back of your cupboard, there are six drop-off points, in Dungarvan; Kilmacthomas; Tramore; Waterford city; at Sean’s workshop, The Art Hand in Bunmahon; and even in New Ross, in neighbouring Co Wexford.
Sean and the volunteers are about halfway through making the giant mosaic which will turn all of this domestic trash into a community treasure. The piece is about increasing climate consciousness and demonstrating Waterford’s collective commitment to sustainability.
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When complete, the panels will be installed permanently on a prominent wall in Dungarvan, with a target to unveil the artwork by the end of April.
We can’t make all of our unused and broken items into art, of course; only buying less stuff is going to help solve the climate crisis. In the meantime, if you have good-quality crockery, or vintage and retro items, donate them for reuse, says MyWaste.ie.
Old crockery including broken cups, saucers and plates should be placed in your general waste bin.
