5-Week Kintsugi Series: Exploring Traditional Japanese Golden Repair

Learn traditional kintsugi & repair your own item!

Wed, Oct 7, 14, 21, 28, Nov 4, 6-7:30 p.m.

In this 5-week course you’ll learn to restore a small ceramic piece with minor breakage using a traditional gluing technique over the course of five sessions. As traditional kintsugi repairs can be time-consuming even for small chips, we recommend that beginners start with a piece that has only a minor flaw. Kintsugi, meaning “golden joinery,” is the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with Urushi (lacquer) mixed with powdered gold. Rather than concealing the damage, it embraces and transforms imperfections into distinctive and beautiful features. It’s a concept that has also come to symbolize healing and embracing imperfections.

Urushi, a lacquer, is a natural sap from the lacquer tree. Repaired pieces (with this traditional method) are still safe for food use. However, because gold is used in the repair, they should not be placed in a dishwasher or microwave. For this course, each student will need to bring an item they wish to repair. Pieces with a glossy, smooth surface work best. Matte-finished items require extra care and protection, which can be time-consuming, so we kindly ask that such pieces not be brought to class. Each student should bring (1) one item with a small chip, (2) one item that has broken into two or three pieces but has no missing parts. You may bring a few pieces to have help in deciding which piece to best.

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