Scrap vs potential

I admittedly have a problem. But it was given to me by my mom. I grew up in a home where nothing went to waste. Objects went through countless lives and forms before being laid to rest. Growing up in a military family and moving a lot we had a lot of boxes. So every move we made entire cities of cardboard. One year it was shop themed, with a paper store, a butcher, a bakery, and even an eraser store. One time it was a castle with mazes inside, and one time it was space themed, I think that was the international space station year. Anyhow I have this problem of seeing potential in anything. I look at leftovers or remnants or even mistakes and think of how they can be brought to some use or some form of glory.  In terms of mistakes I always reflect on a number of practices and lessons I have learned but two immediately come to mind. One of my early professors in Art (George Ferrandi) posed the question in a course, "What is more beautiful? The perfect porcelain doll, or a porcelain doll that has been broken and put back together?" There is also a tradition in Japan of fixing broken pottery by filling in the cracks with a laquered resin sprinkled with powerdered gold or silver. Known as Kintsugi (japanese for golden joinery), it is the idea that repairing something by bringing attention to the fault offers not only an interesting object for reflection but also heightens the value of the work through its flaws.

Kintsugi  

Kintsugi 

So this brings the question of everything we use and what is to be done with what is not done with? Scrap, trash, or potential?