Kintsugi

Kintsugi, (pronounced keen tau gee) the Japanese art of repairing broken vessels by sealing the cracks with lacquer and carefully dusting them with gold powder - the Japanese believe the golden cracks make the pieces even more precious and valuable.

I am using Kintsugi to repair one of my favorite pieces of pottery. It had broken some time ago at a presentation I gave to a local artists group, when I was bumped by an attendee as I was rewrapping the small lid to a white crackle teapot I had displayed. though the lid broke in many pieces, I was able to locate each piece, knowing that I could one day put it back together using kintsugi.

Kintsugi is not just an art form, but a way to celebrate imperfections. I have repaired pottery with gold powder, but also have honored the imperfections in my personal life, recognizing that I can pick up my broken pieces and put them back together, As a metaphor for life, Kintsugi teaches us to embrace our cracks - our wounds and our growth.

Kintsugi reminds me to seek out the beauty of imperfection. In many of my clay pieces I intentionally add “imperfections,” which I take from nature. The splits and branch marks and bumps from a discarded tree branch, for example, become unique, inviting handles on my pottery mugs. The repurposed wood attracts and connects my collectors to nature.

“I invite you to hold my pottery, to discover the flaws and imperfections that give it character and life. I don’t ask that you figure out why you’re drawn to it. Just that you embrace the connection it seeks to make with your own soul.”