Kintsugi – The Art of Repair and Imperfection

What do you usually do with your ceramic bowl or cup when they break? Do you keep them or throw them away? In Japan, there is a traditional technique that can help you fix your broken ceramic bowls or cups named Kintsugi. Let’s find out what Kintsugi is and how you can do it by yourself.

What is Kintsugi?

Kintsugi is a very old technique to fix broken ceramic using lacquer. Kin means golden, Tsugi means joinery. It means quite literally to “join with gold”. In Zen aesthetics, the broken pieces of an accidentally smashed pot should be carefully picked up reassembled, and then glued together with lacquer inflected with the most expensive gold powder. This traditional technique usually takes more than a month to finish.

How is Kintsugi done? Can Kintsugi be done at home?

The modern Kintsugi technique can be faster and takes less time to do than the traditional. The first step is the sanding part. You can lightly sand the cup or the bowl if there is a sharp edge on it. For Kintsugi, slow drying glue is a good product choice because it allows you a little bit more time to reposition pieces to their perfect alignment and placement. If you use this technique for everyday cups, plates, or bowls for food, you can use the food-safe grade of glue. After the glue is applied, you can begin to assemble all the broken pieces together. You may see the excess glue when you push these pieces together but don’t wipe them! This excess glue will be used for holding gold powder to the ceramic piece. For food-safe gold, you need to use real gold powder instead of using initiation gold powder. Using a small brush, sprinkle some gold powder and with the brush with powder follow the glue line. After that, let it sit and dry for about 30 minutes. After this time, then you can wash off the excess gold powder to see all the beautiful gold lines on the surface and enjoy it. If you want to make the gold line finer and much more beautiful you can sand it after you put the glue on.

Kintsugi is a peaceful practice for people who want to have a mindful moment and find a way to fix and reuse their broken ceramic things. In an age that worships used perfection, the art of Kintsugi retains a pearl of particular wisdom as applicable to our own lives. This art form puts the care and love extended to the shattered pieces. This art form teaches you patience and gives you satisfaction once the reassembling is completed.

If you try this technique at home, don’t hesitate to send us your photos and your comment through our Facebook and Instagram. Can’t wait to see all the beautiful and unique pieces!