Kintsugi: The Wabi Sabi Art of Japanese Ceramic Repair

When your favorite cup is broken, kitsugi can bring new life. Instead of lamenting the breakage embrace and love the opportunity to create something new and beautiful through mending. This is the appeal of kintsugi.

Kintsugi is the mindful Japanese art of repairing broken ceramics and glassware by appreciating the cracks and chips as design elements--bringing new life to cherished items. Kintsugi: The Wabi Sabi Art of Japanese Ceramic Repair shares traditional methods you can practice in your own home. Step-by-step lessons in repairs suited to every level of experiences--filling cracks to completely rebuilding and finishing a broken piece--fill the pages of this in-depth yet unintimidating guide.

Ceramics and lacquer guru Kaori Mochinaga offers a complete course in using urushi lacquer and metallic powder in the traditional Japanese way. Your broken piece soon becomes whole again, and more meaningful than ever before.

From assessing the damages and selecting the repair methods, to applying the finishing touches, you’ll learn all the essential kintsugi techniques, including:

• How to seal a fine crack or repair a chipped rim
• Techniques for rebuilding a shard, restoring a handle, even reconstructing a multi-shard piece
• And much more--and all of it with the use of non-toxic lacquers and powders

There’s something here for every type of repair--from clean, simple breaks to more challenging reconstructions as you learn the techniques. Assemble your tools, set up your workspace, and let this book guide you through the mindful art of kintsugi!

Kaori Mochinaga is a creator of ceramic art who has repaired and restored countless pieces over the past twenty years. She is a teacher whose instruction has appeared in all forms of Japanese media. In 2014 she joined forces with popular home goods vendor D & Department Tokyo to foster the repair of valued ceramic and glass pieces. Her site Monotsugi (monokintsugi.com) offers professional restoration services for clients with complex repairs or wanting special finishes.