Years ago, when I used to work out on the far northwest side, there was a ceramic shop about a block away. During my lunch time, I would go there and take lessons in how to do ceramics. It was relaxing and enjoyable. Plus, I got to make things with Black skin tones. Over the course of time, I did a lot of Christmas decorations.  I made a Black Santa and Black angels.

My love for doing ceramic hasn’t waned over the years. However, ceramic shops are not as popular or plentiful as they used to be. It is not an expensive hobby per se. And, as long as the paints are tightly capped, they can last quite a number of years.

My other passion is finding things cheaply. I wanted a water feature for my front yard, but I didn’t want to spend $150-plus for it. I was thrilled when I won one for less than $20 on my favorite auction site. However, that joy dissipated when I picked up the box and opened it. The front of the ceramic vase was cracked and broken. And, even worse, a giant hole was quite visible. Thankfully, the broken pieces were in the box, as well as the functioning pump for the water. I had spent last year repairing a Buddha statue from the same auction place. I did a spectacular job of putting that Buddha statue back together. So, I was ready for this latest challenge.

Initially, I had planned on taking a week or so to work on and repair the fountain. But recognizing that the fountain would eventually involve water flowing over it, I decided to give it extra time for drying and curing. I repaired the gaps, cracks, and missing areas using Milliput epoxy putty. Milliput is an excellent medium to do the repair. It’s a two-part medium that becomes a claylike substance that can be sculpted. Plus, it’s suitable to be used in wet locations. After it hardened, I was able to use my dremel tool to sand it down smoothly.

Matching the color to the existing fountain was my next challenge. Fortunately, I found some specialty green spray paint that was similar in appearance. I ended up spray painting quite a bit of the vase so that it blended in nicely. I even mimicked the stripe lines. It was a little over two months in total, but I think I did a good job. The fountain now sits in front of my house and is working perfectly.