Join Iku Nishikawa of Kintsugi Oxford for an experimental workshop of the centuries-old Japanese technique for repairing broken ceramics, Kintsugi, which translates as ‘gold-mend’.
Kettle’s Yard has two objects in our collection which have been repaired using the traditional Japanese technique of Kintsugi; ‘The Heron’ by William Staite Murray, c. 1928 and a Song Dynasty temmoku tea bowl.
Tickets are £175 and include a private tour of the House, all workshop materials, lunch and refreshments
18 years +
The day will start with a House tour with Dr Bonnie Kemske and a visitor assistant looking at the pieces in the collection. The group will then move to a private room for a talk by Dr Kemske, whose book on Kinsugi will be published next year.
Enjoy lunch and refreshments, included in the ticket price. After lunch Kintsugi practitioner Iku Nishikawa will explain the principles and techniques and introduce how, with traditional techniques, broken ceramics can attain a beautiful afterlife.
Nishikawa says “the moment of breakage can be a moment of beginning: this is part of the spirit which guides the craft of kintsugi, a process which uses lacquer, sealants and metal powder in the repair of broken ceramics. More than just an act of repair however, Kintsugi creates a new narrative on the impermanence of things by highlighting the lines on which they break.”
Important information for the workshop
Participants are invited to bring a plate or other small ceramic item to work on – the plates will then be broken by Nishikawa as it is preferable to obtain a simple break for a first repair by those new to Kintsugi.
Please also bring a box or container (big enough to fit your item) with a lid to take it home with you.
Due to conservation and security reasons, no bags, including handbags, or large coats are allowed in the House.
