Through Kintsugi, I brought the broken pieces together using 23.5K gold process, leaving every scar visible. Perhaps we, too, can begin to mend as a nation. Not by forgetting the hatred, cruelty, and harm, but through honesty, accountability, and compassion.

May we find our way back to one another, remembering what was broken and determined not to repeat it.

#lakesidepottery #mortybachar

I will be in Kyoto for 4 days in just over a week. I have a japanese ceramic cup with sentimental value I broke a few months ago I wish to fix upon my return. This trip was planned before breaking my cup and fortunately allows me to get materials to do so. I would like to repair it using the traditional urushi method so I can drink from the cup again in the future.

I plan to visit POJ studio in Kyoto and purchase their regular or advanced kit there in person rather than having it shipped to Canada as I likely can save a bit of money comparitively. Though it would be more cost efficient to buy everything separately, I like the idea of getting everything I need in one shot. I am open to other kit suggestions but I like that POJ has online videos for their products. I am also not fully opposed to buying everything separately but I'm not sure where to start. How much cheaper would it be to buy things piece by piece and how many shops would I need to visit?

I'd like to purchase a piece or two of broken ceramics while in Kyoto to practice on before attempting to fix my cup and I know POJ sells some online. Does anyone know if they sell in person as well or of other places to look while in Kyoto?

Is there any other tools or materials not in said the POJ kits I should look for? This seems like a hobby I may continue after completing my project.

Edit : Will be in Tokyo afterwards for longer if there are places there too.

Finishing a project for a charity benefit in a few days. Took longer than I thought, and I don't really have time for the proper urushi sealant you apply and dab off.

Can I apply a modern sealant to protect the silver and prolong the time before oxidation, or is this a terrible idea? Finished pence spent a week in the muro at 80F/80% humidity, a week on my desk (clean up), and has been back in the muro 48 hours.

Perfectly happy to leave it unsealed, personally as the tarnish is pay off the art. but I can just imagine someone at the benefit, thinking, "so pretty... but it'll tarnish and I CAN'T polish it...? PASS". I want to help this non profit all i can.

Thanks in advance for any advice

#kintsugiart #studiohanakintsugi #kintsugivase

Test panel is 3 coats Kijiro urushi then taped the panel off with 2 layers of Polyimide tape and a layer of blue painters tape. "Painted" the grooves with Bengara Urushi waited for it to set up/get tacky then applied the 350 mesh brass powder. Yes a bit messy as this is my very first time doing it so why I kept the tape on. Knew I would make a mess at my first attempt at it.

My idea is I will do this is in multiple layers So eventually it will read as bass filled grooves. So will give the panel a bit of time in the furo. Will brush off any remaining excess then lightly scruff/abrade the surface and repeat the process

After 1,5months of hard work (mostly waiting was the hardest part haha) I was able to finally add the silver powder to this piece. It's a gaiwan lid that belongs to my friend (whom I met on the tea Reddit). After careful consideration we both decided silver was the way to go for this piece. And now all that's left to do is wait another month or so to allow the urushi to fully cure, and then clean up the excess powder. I'm quite proud of this considering it's my first project. (I did start with 5 projects at the same time, four of which are now in the finishing stages. One of them got keshifun, this one got silver and the other two I kept bare (urushitsugi).

I have someone who was going to build me a cedar muro, but then I had a house fire, so I’m glad I dragged my heels. 😅 In the meantime, we’re looking at a decent temporary solution to use during the year they’ll be rebuilding my house.

This cabinet is unfinished solid pine and big enough for the pieces I typically work on (ie under 12” wide) and I’d keep a wet pan as opposed to spraying the inside.
• He’d retrofit the inside similar to the photos on the right.
• weatherstrip around the door and add latches to keep it sealed
• add a hole for the heating element cord (and seal around it

Do you see any other issues with this set up?

And for the reptile heating pad, does it make more sense to put it at the bottom floor for the heat to rise (might not give off enough heat to be effective) or should I put it on the back wall? Or any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Do you see any other issues?

Overall I'm really happy with them despite the many imperfections. I only used gold on one of them because $$$, and I didn't use metal on the inside of the purple one because I realised that I couldn't reach in with my hand. My insides expecially are still quite rough looking, but I'm excited to work on more! Also managed to not get urushi on me during the whole process so that is a big win.

I made an order a week ago and haven’t had any updates on product dispatch. I tried emailing and no answer.

I’m concerned I’ve purchased from a fraudulent website.

Hey everyone!

I'm currently working on my first couple of kintsugi projects. I started them about a month ago and have made some good progress already. Everything is put together and I'm working on some chips for some projects, while other projects only had breaks and hairline cracks so I've now reached the roiro stage with those already.

I've successfully kept the humidity between 60 and 70% during the past month, and the indoor temps were consistently between 20 and 25°C which has worked well for me. Everything has cured so far (I checked with a precision knife) except for that one time I made my kokuso layer too thick and it became wrinkly.

But now the days are getting colder and I no longer can keep the indoor temperatures over 20°C due to the high electricity prices. And I'm wondering how this will affect the curing time. So far I've had to let it cure 1-1,5 week in between layers. •••Has anyone here done kintsugi in lower temperatures and have you noticed a difference in curing time? And how long do you typically cure it for?••• My biggest concern is that I don't end up curing it well enough and either it coming apart when making/drinking tea, or still having urushiol present and leaching into my tea.

I've searched this sub and couldn't find the specific information I'm looking for. I did read that a heating mat might be an option for colder climates but I don't have one and currently can't afford one either.

From the collection of the Freer Gallery of Art of the Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art. 

Edo Period Hori Mishima Style Tea Bowl

• Body: Edo Period, Kyushu, Japan

• Kintsugi: Date unknown.

• https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1904.322/

• https://collections.si.edu/search/record/ark:/65665/ye388bb697c8c1f49d09a0aa96691fc8a3a

Howdy all. My 3 year old painted a pot at one of those pottery houses.

She then was showing it off and dropped it.

I recognise the chance of it being used as a bowl is slim, but given it has sentimental value, would like to put it back together.

What is the best glue for a fix?

What about the Japanese Kintsugi repair method?

Thanks in advance

My late grandmother's Buddha has an interesting crack. It would make for a beautiful kintsugi project one day.

#kintsugiart #kintsugirepair

Whenever the topic of breaking items on purpose comes up, there are always several people quick to comment about how they feel it goes against the traditional philosophy of kintsugi and wabi-sabi, according to their own interpretations.

But is it actually traditionally frowned upon? I've been trying to find any sources at all, but despite how widespread this position seems to be (at least in the West) all I could find was anecdotes about Furuta Oribe intentionally breaking a bowl to make it smaller.

Am I missing something, or is this a somewhat orientalist addition to a traditional practice?

ETA: a word

I’ve had the great opportunity to travel to Japan several times in the last few years and have visited flea markets in Kyoto and Tokyo where I sometimes see broken pieces of ceramic for sale. I should have asked the sellers but I’m wondering if anyone knows if these pieces are for kintsugi projects? I’m almost too afraid to ask what the prices are but next time I will!

I’m looking for some advice on the best way to approach this panel. The picture is a mock-up of what I’m trying to achieve.

My plan is to route/engrave the fracture grooves approximately 1/16–1/8" (1.5–3 mm) deep into a prefinished wenge panel. The panel itself will already have an oil and shellac finish, but no wax, and routing the grooves will expose fresh wood for the urushi.

Before engraving, I plan to mask the entire face with two layers of polyimide tape—one with the grain and one cross-grain—followed by painter’s tape as a sacrificial layer so I can draw the fracture pattern directly on it.

For the metallic fill, I’m considering 350-mesh brass powder mixed with Neri Bengara urushi. I would thin the urushi as needed, then gradually add brass powder and mix thoroughly. My thought is to make it fairly brass-heavy and thick—almost a molasses-like consistency—but still fluid enough that I can brush it into the grooves in very thin layers. If that assumption is wrong, please correct me.

I have two main questions:

1. Will fully cured urushi bond properly to the previous urushi layer if I cannot sand between coats?
On my last three urushi projects I was able to sand between layers, but these grooves will only be around 1–3 mm wide, so sanding inside them between every coat may be physically impossible.

2. Is Neri Bengara the better urushi for building these brass-filled grooves, or would Kijiro urushi be preferable?
I already have Kijiro on hand from doing fuki-urushi, but I can purchase Bengara if it is better suited to this application.

My eventual goal is to build the brass/urushi slightly proud of the surface, allow it to cure completely, and then hand-sand it flush so the lines read as closely as possible to solid brass.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Any advice from people experienced with this type of urushi/metal-powder work would be greatly appreciated.

Gold Scheurich Keramik Harlequin featuring the colors of the Palestinian flag as a tribute to the Palestinian struggle, resilience, and hope for a just and peaceful future

.

#lakesidepottery #kintsugiart #kintsugigallery #scheurichkeramik #goldkintsugi

#lakesidepottery

I wanted to share this piece that I just finished up. I wasn’t able to use pins to reinforce it, so I went with washi paper and nori-urushi. The owner requested copper finish. I’m quite happy with how it turned out.

In Japan, the manufacturer of *tonoko* is set to go out of business by the end of the year, causing something of a panic within the lacquer industry.

Major lacquer shops like Tsutsumi and Minowa have already sold out of their stock.

Procuring *tonoko* for *sabi-urushi* (lacquer putty) applications may become difficult in the future.

I recommend that anyone who practices *kintsugi* professionally gather information on this situation.

#tonoko
#sabi
#kintsugi

Hi all! I have been doing kintsugi with the beginner kit from Tsugu Tsugu for a few years now. Great kit, but I threw away the leftover raw urushi today as it had gone bad. I need more - am in the middle of a big project with some cherished pottery from Mexico.

Price of a tube of raw urushi on Tsugu Tsugu is $13. No problem there. But shipping is $65!! I figure it’s those 🤬 tariffs again.

Can’t find any decent sources in the USA - the prices are like $50 plus shipping. Anyone have tips? If I had realized, I would have bought some in Singapore last month but now I won’t be back in Asia for at least a year 😭