Kintsugi Pottery Workshop February 2022

Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum powder. It is similar to maki-e in technique (the art of painting lacquer decorations and sprinkling them with a coating of fine powdered metals), but the repair is part of the history of the piece and not a disguise for the breakage. This philosophy is similar to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect. Waste not, want not.

I did a short wellness workshop that explored a very basic and modernized (westernized) look into the long history of Kintsugi. The focus was to see the beauty in the broken, and to learn to put imperfect back together into a new imperfect. Much of a gentle allegory for mental health and finding the good within yourself. The brief history of the art was also shared and discussed, the favored theory being the shogun Ashikaga Yoshimasa wanting his favorite tea bowl repaired. How beautifully human it is to want your favorite bowl repaired.

This entry into my portfolio is by no means spectacular, but this workshop had a very profound impact on me earlier this February when life was harder than it has ever been. Once again, pottery was a small shining light in my personal struggles to give me something to hold onto. I'm glad I'm stubborn enough not to let go of it.