Explore the art of Kintsugi to give your breakages a new lease of life!

Do you have a cherished family heirloom, broken at the back of your cupboard? Are you a potter with lots of broken pots that you don’t know what to do with? Are you a glass artist and have opened the kiln to find out the kiln gods were not in your favour! Or, do you just fancy smashing up a pot or plate and add to its history? If you answered “Yes” to any of these then learning the art of Contemporary Kintsugi is a must for you!

Kintsugi (golden joinery) first started in Japan around 500 years ago. The philosophy of Kintsugi is to celebrate the damage caused to a vessel, by showcasing the cracks and damage with the use of pure gold and resin. Instead of hiding the imperfections, they should be celebrated- a philosophy that is seen not only for craft, but perhaps also for life.

Favoured family ceramics and heirlooms were once repaired with ugly staples or bound together with glue that could not hide the cracks or repairs. Japanese craftsman overcame this problem by binding the piece back together with a permanent adhesive made of natural resins and powdered gold. The repairs thus became highly visible and showcased the repairs as part of the history of the unit. The style became so popular that people would deliberately smash or damage valuable pieces for them to be repaired in this way.

In this one-day class, we will have our guest gilder Richard Walker leading a class that looks at the art of Kintsugi, using contemporary glues and 23.5 carat gold-leaf. You may bring broken pieces from home to work on or bring a piece to break specifically for the course. You may also work on as many pieces in the one day as time will allow.

Small pieces of missing ceramic/china may be recreated, using modern epoxy resins )up to around one-two cm).