How can you mend something broken into something even more beautiful? Kintsugi is a centuries old craftsmen's reparation technique where the cracks of a broken ceramic vessel are filled with Urushi, a natural resin, mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum to give it a new life. More than just a technique, kintsugi can also be seen as a philosophical approach, which embraces the flawed and imperfect. By highlighting the cracks the event of breakage and repair becomes a part of the objects life history.
What will you do
The participants will learn how to repair simple cracking and broken ceramics, glasses, porcelain, tiles or mirrors with basic kintsugi technique. Since urushi, the traditonal Japanese lacquer used in kintsugi is very difficult to handle until it dries and it takes long time to dry, Mariko will teach the participants to use ‘shin-urushi’ (new- urushi) as a substitute for urushi. It is synthetic resin based on cashew nut shell oil and so much easier to start with.
Mariko Hori
Mariko Hori is an artist who often works with found objects to represent a certain ambience. She has studied architecture and graduated from Kyoto Seika University in Japan. Her works, consisting mainly of installations, are study of alternative way of architecture without building, through modest but characteristic way of choice of materials and placing them intentionally.
Information
Workshop: Mending with Kintsugi
Duration: 3 hours
This workshop is now running as Freestyle Kintsugi. We have archived this workshop.
Price: €110 / person
Artists/Students group price: €84 /person
This workshop will be given in English.