Member Masterclass: Introduction to the art of Kintsugi

Member Events

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver or platinum. Kintsugi is a very popular practice in Japan, however, it takes 3 weeks to repair a small area and fill with gold. Kintsugi can be seen to have similarities to the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, an embracing of the flawed or imperfect.

This masterclass, led by Iku Nishikawa, is a beginners guide to kintsugi, and will take only a day to repair a damaged area plus a week of drying. Iku uses a few short cuts to allow beginners to walk away with a repaired ceramic in a day. If you have already practiced the art of kintsugi, you might prefer to join the intermediate class or advanced workshop, which are available on request here. http://www.kintsugioxford.com/

Please bring an unbroken plate that you would like to repair. If you have a very special item that’s broken, please bring this along and Iku can offer advice. Please be aware, your plate will not be completed by 4 pm, but you will need to come back one week later to finish it. Until then, you will need to keep it safe until the urushi is set, so please bring a cardboard or plastic box to store your ceramic in and take it back home with you.

Iku Nishikawa is self-taught and has learned the craft through participation in a series of masterclass events in Oxford and learning alongside a Kintsugi master. In 2014 Iku helped to organize Kintsugi a series of events at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. After staying in touch with the master craftsman and owner of Urushi Maker from Kyoto, Japan, Iku began to learn the practice. The following year Iku was asked to run a masterclass at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Iku has not been to Kintsugi school, but continues to learn from a master. In his day-to-day job, Iku is a Japanese language teacher.