KINTSUGI: make SHARDS SHINE
Kintsugi is also known as 'golden joining' or 'golden repair'. It is a Japanese art form in which broken pottery is lovingly restored with gold or silver. The idea behind this art form is that you don't cover up fractures and cracks, but rather accentuate them.
THE BEAUTY OF LIFE
You can also apply Kintsugi to yourself: traces of breakage and repair are part of the beauty of life. Once you embrace your emotional cracks instead of covering them up, you give your life lustre. Want to get started with your 'shards' and with this Japanese art form? Discover the supplies and the step-by-step plan below.
GOLDEN TIP
Before you get started, we'd like to give you a golden tip: create with patience! Prepare everything thoroughly and lay out all the materials carefully, as befits a Kintsugi master. Don't immediately start putting the shards together, but look at them calmly and think about how you want to stick the shards with your golden glue. Pieces may be missing and it may be difficult to assemble your vase, plate, pot or other pottery in certain places. Think about this in advance!
you will need
- Broken pottery (e.g. a vase or plate)
- If you are using a vase, make sure you have flowers that you can put in the vase to make it extra radiant. Preferably use delicate flowers, such as Akelei and Sweet pea
- Two-component glue
- Brush
- Gold powder
- Old plate or bowl (to mix the glue with the gold powder)
- Bamboo stick or wooden ice lolly stick
Tip: buy a Kintsugi repair kit (online or at a hobby shop), which will include all of the above supplies.
GET STARTED WITH KINTSUGI!
- Gather your broken pottery and think quietly about how you want to reassemble it. Remember the golden tip we gave you above!
- Spray an equal amount of glue from both tubes onto a plate. Add a small amount of gold powder to the glue and mix well with a stick. Note: the glue dries quickly, so for every piece you glue, you have to mix the glue again. Therefore, don't mix too much at once!
- Apply the glue with a brush to one side of the break. With less glue, your gold edge will be thin and with a bit more glue you will get a fuller gold edge.
- Press the parts together and hold firmly until the glue has dried. Be patient!
- Repeat steps 2 to 4 for each piece you want to glue, until your pottery is complete again and/or you are happy with the result.
- Have you glued all the shards together? Then the drying process can begin. When the glue is almost dry, you can brush some more gold powder over the glued edges with a dry brush.
- Let your pottery dry for a few hours, then gently wash it and then let it harden for two days. Once hardened, your Kintsugi project is ready to shine!
PATIENCE IS A GOLDEN THING
According to this Japanese art form, the drying of the glue symbolises having patience when you want to make changes. Changes need time to bond and become embedded in your daily rhythm.
Is your pottery properly bonded and completely dry? Then it is time to enjoy it. Cherish your shards. They are an inspiration and bring happiness!
MORE INSPIRATION
Looking for more floral inspiration? Stimulate your senses with this fragrant spring bouquet, or fan the flames between you and your lover with these romantic waxflower candles. And of course, for your daily dose of floral inspiration follow us on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook.
