The Healing Art of Kintsugi - Virtual Workshop
Saturday, March 25, 2023
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: Online via Zoom
$75 Center Members, $85 General Public
Registration Deadline: March 14, 2023
Registration Includes Kintsugi Supplies Kit
Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by joining the broken pieces together with lacquer coated in gold. The result is a transformed piece of pottery with the gold seams of the repaired cracks becoming part of the design, highlighting the beauty in the imperfections and flaws of the repaired piece of art. A completed kintsugi piece is itself a metaphor for the act of healing; in putting the pieces back together ad mending what has been broken, we are able to create something uniquely beautiful and symbolic of resilience. The visible gilded cracks in the pottery thus turn the breaking and subsequent repair of the object into integral parts of the pottery's essence and history, rather than being something to disguise or cover up. The philosophy behind the practice of kintsugi aligns with the Japanese aesthetic concept of wabi-sabi, finding beauty and meaning in the flawed and imperfect.
We're excited to reconnect with the instructor of our first kintsugi workshop, Alexandra Kitty, who has kindly agreed to teach another workshop! Kintsugi artist and author of the book, The Art of Kintsugi: learning the Japanese Craft of Beautiful Repair, Alexandra Kitty will lead a virtual workshop over Zoom, where participants will learn about the kintsugi artform and make your own kintsugi art piece! Registrants for our workshop will receive a kit in advance of the workshop webinar so that you can take a broken dish or piece of pottery of your choosing and learn how to repair and decorate. Alexandra Kitty will discuss the philosophy and healing nature of this artform and provide you with guided instruction throughout the workshop.
Kintsugi is the perfect artform for the challenging times we are living in. Whether repairing a treasured heirloom or salvaging and giving new life to broken plates, everyone can appreciate the notions of resilience and healing inherent in kintsugi art. We hope you can join us online!
Supplies and Materials
Registrants will be provided with a kit of kintsugi supplies prior to the workshop. All you need to provide is a broken dish! The kintsugi kit includes:
• Tonoko Powder
• Urushi Lacquer
• Gold Powder
• Rice Glue
• 3 Paint Brushes
• Swabs
• Spatula
• Painter's Tape
• Gloves
About Alexandra Kitty
Alexandra Kitty is an artist, author of eleven books, and educator who specializes in kintsugi and metalworking. She has taught her craft at Niagra College and the Dundas Valley School of Art. She was the first female recipient of McMaster University Arch Award for career achievement. She runs A Dangerous Woman Story Studio where art weaves with matriarchal fiction. Kitty also teaches other ancient art forms such as encaustics, kumihimo, and picassiette, as well as modern techniques such as glass fusion and alcohol inking. She has written for Elle Canada, Maisonneuve, Critical Review, and Skeptic, among others. When she is not working on her art, she goes antiquing, writes about media issues, and plays the theremin. She lives in Stoney Creek, Ontario.
Alexandra's award-winning book, The Art of Kintsugi: Learning the Japanese Craft of Beautiful Repair, is described by Publisher's Weekly as a "beautifully photographed and eloquent survey of kintsugi" of "an art based on 'one of the most powerful and resilient beliefs: that we can triumph over catastrophe."
More details on the book available from Schiffer Publishing at www.schifferbooks.com
For more information on Alexandra, please visit her website at www.alexandrakitty.com