My First Kintsugi Project (Plus, An Amazing Weekend!)

On Friday, I shared that I was going to be away from Matt overnight for the first time in over a decade. If you missed that, you can read about it here. Well, the weekend was a success all around. Matt and my mom had a very uneventful time, which is a very good thing. And of course, my mom spent the whole time not only making sure that Matt was taken care of, but also cleaning and doing laundry for me. She’s such a blessing and an amazing help to me.

Having my mom here with Matt while I was gone really put my mind at ease and allowed me to have a wonderful time at the retreat. There were about 40 women in all, and I had such a good time getting to know new people, talking, laughing (so much laughing!), eating good food, and trying a new-to-me art.

The whole theme of the weekend was brokenness. We talked a lot about personal brokenness and how God can bring beauty out of our brokenness. So as a practical illustration of this concept, we all spent Friday evening doing a kintsugi project. We were all told to bring a piece of broken pottery (with all of the pieces) so that we could use those for our project.

Kintsugi is a Japanese art of repairing a broken piece of pottery (or glass) in a way that the goal is not to hide the break or imperfection, but rather to highlight and beautify the break or imperfection using gold. The idea is that the cracks and imperfections are part of the life of the object and should not be hidden, but should be seen and celebrated. If you’ve never seen kintsugi before, you can see all kinds of examples here.

So I took a little pink vase that I’ve had in my stash of decorative items for a while now, and I wrapped it in a towel and broke it into several pieces with a hammer. And that’s what I attempted to put back together using kintsugi. You can purchase kintsugi repair kits online. There are many of them on Amazon, and this is the particular one that I used (affiliate link).

I wish I had thought to take a picture of my little vase when it was in pieces. Unfortunately, it didn’t even cross my mind. But here’s my little vase after I put it back together.

It’s not perfect, but I guess that’s the point, right? The whole point is to turn the imperfection and brokenness into beauty. And I do love the gold! My little vase already had a gold accent around the top, and I wish I had gone over that with the epoxy/gold dust mixture so that it would match the other gold.

The other side broke into some smaller pieces, and for a while there, I thought I was never going to figure out how the went back together. 😀 But I persisted until I got all of the pieces back together.

On a very surface level, it was a very fun, relaxing project to do, especially with a group of women so that we could talk, share, and laugh along the way. On a deeper philosophical level, I love the whole idea of highlighting those imperfections and celebrating them as part of the “life” of the object rather than trying to cover up and hide the imperfections. And on a spiritual level, I love how that idea can be applied to our lives, as we all have to deal with individual brokenness to some level. And personally, as a Christian, I love to think about how God can take my brokenness and mend my brokenness back together for His glory.

And because I want to be reminded of that on a regular basis, I made room for my little kintsugi vase on the top shelf in our sitting room.

If you’ve never done kintsugi, I recommend it, especially as a group project like we did it. Or if you have a meaningful or sentimental piece of pottery that is broken, this is a beautiful way to put it back together to highlight the “life” of that piece, brokenness and imperfections and all.

So that is a little glimpse into my weekend, and my first time away from Matt overnight in over a decade. It was such a good weekend for me, and I’m so thankful that my mom was willing to stay with Matt so that I could go. It was just one night, but it was so refreshing, and I needed that. And now I’m ready to get back to work on my studio. I had a goal of getting it finished by the end of this month, and there are only nine days left in the month. Eeekkk!! I have no idea if I can get it done, but I’m certainly going to try!

 

 

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17 Comments

  1. Mom’s are the best, aren’t they? They know us on a level that no one else can occupy, and we can always trust our Moms to have our best interest at heart. God’s precious gifts to us women.

    1. Wanda,
      This comment really touched me. My mother passed in 2002 and I miss her every day. You are spot on that moms know us on a special level reserved only for them. No one can replace one’s mother.

      Kristi – I’m so happy for you that your dear mom was able and willing to step in for Matt so you could have such a lovely weekend. I’m glad the rim of your vase doesn’t match the rest of the gold – the new gold is highlighting the broken made whole and it makes sense for the top rim to go on as the original. 🙂

  2. I’m glad you enjoyed your retreat. We all need a change of pace sometimes. I’m sure you’re reenergized and excited about finishing your studio.

  3. So happy you had a good weekend. You are blessed to still have your mom to turn to and talk to. I received a good inspirational message from your thoughts from the retreat. Thank you!

  4. I am delighted that you were able to partake in such an uplifting weekend. Those of us who are 24/7 caretakers for loved ones need to nourish ourselves when we can. I am also glad that you chose to display it so that you are reminded often of how our broken pieces can become whole again if we but put some time and effort into mending them.

  5. I love this! So glad you got this time away and refreshment for your soul! Thanks for sharing what you came away with and how it impacted you.

  6. Amazing timing. I recently broke a special bowl that was my dads. I was heartbroken. I’ve saved it with intentions of trying this method of repair. Thank you!

  7. I am so thrilled for you Kristi! You needed that, and, probably it was good for Matt as well. I’m sure your mom realizes how much you truly needed that! Now a new refreshed and energized Kristi can get off to a good start at finishing up what you want done. Also, you now know it was OK for your mom to take care of Matt! What a wonderful blessing for all of you! Happy day!

  8. Kristi I am so happy you had a relaxing fun weekend. Also happy that all went well for your Mom and Matt.
    Maybe you can do it again in the near future. Even though it was a short getaway I know you feel refreshed.

  9. Thank you for praising and glorifying our Precious Heavenly Father and His great love for us! How he takes our brokenness and changes us into a thing of beauty, not only for this life but for the one to come!!

  10. I love this post! Healing brokenness in a beautiful way, both for objects and for ourselves! I am so happy that your weekend was so refreshing and soul-healing, and that Matt and your Mom managed so well while you were away. Blessings to you, Kristi!

  11. I second this! This post brought me to tears. My mom has dementia and I remember all of the wonderful things she did for me me, my dad, and my sisters. I love her so much. I am grateful for what she did for all of us and what she continues to do. Even in her confusion, it’s evident she loves us all. I am happy you had time for yourself, Kristi. God bless you.

  12. I am so glad your time away was successful. Your wall looks beautiful. I am having a free-for-all on Friday the 26th. I have some furniture pieces that you might have a need for. I have no room in my house and they have been in our barn for 8 years.
    I have cotton material, fancy material, knit material, buttons, thread, lace, ribbon, and on and on that is all free. I have no children or grandchildren to leave anything to so I have to get rid of it. I also have 3 sewing machines for sale. One Featherweight 221 1948, that was my mother’s, one Singer in cabinet that was my grandmother’s from about 1935 and one Singer in cabinet from 1919 that was my grandfather’s. He was an upholster so he had a sewing machine. The cabinet on it
    needs a little work. They all sew very well. When I find your email I will send pictures.
    So glad you got refreshed. I need that so much…maybe just to the beauty shop!
    Your room is so light and airy. Mine is brown. ???

    I was uplifted by your comments. Mother’s are good. My mother has been in Heaven for 8 years and going through her stuff for this free-for-all has been so hard. I have about 22 more boxes to unload but that is another day. Our youngest daughter has divorced us and refused to let us see our grandchildren so motherhood is a touchy subject. I would/have done so much for her and she has told us to stay away. Your mother is a jewel and you appreciate her. That is a blessing. You are a blessing to me all the time. Thank you. Sorry for dumping here.