Giving art a second life.
Kintsugi came into my life the same way I assume the practice started, I broke a bowl and wanted to fix it. Luckily learning this really time consuming and complicated craft came while I was trying to write my masters thesis, the perfect distraction! Ironically my thesis was about the same tenants and themes that surround kintsugi, being shaped by the trauma of time, which can either continue to crumble into dust or we can repair the damage and highlight the repairs. In ceramics it becomes a beautiful adornment, and honoring of the time, allowing a work of art to continue its life without erasing its past. The metaphor blooms when you bring it to people who have been hurt or traumatized, we can be crushed under the weight of it or be repaired by ourselves or others. This shapes us into who we are and its important to celebrate how we pull ourselves back together. Not strength or resilience but something to honor and learn from.
I truly fell in love with this craft, the work itself is slow and detailed, almost meditative. It also inspired me to heal. My work in grad school coupled with my new fascination with kintsugi reminded me that the trauma I have suffered, that hung over me like a shadow my whole life, could be repaired and honored.
This shop came about because I just couldn't stop, the work became my main hobby and I couldn't hold on to all of the pieces I was repairing. They started as practice pieces from the thrift store that I would break myself. Now I source already broken ceramics from ceramicists, collectors, and stores where mishaps just happen. Boxes and boxes of broken ceramics sit in my craft room waiting to be repaired.
Currently my work is primarily resin based repair with 24kt gold leaf, however I have started to learn and repair pieces using traditional Japanese kintsugi techniques and materials which will be coming to my shop soon! As well as, eventually, a jewelry collection made from the tiny broken pieces that didn't find their way back into the repairs. Hopefully this shop will continue to grow and the quality of my work will continue to improve because the work I am repairing deserves it.
