Kintsugi Foundations: A Five-Week Course in Traditional Repair

Have you ever felt a special connection to an object, only to see it broken and discarded? What if you could transform it into something even more beautiful?

Join us at 7s Art for the exclusive Kintsugi Beginner Course, where you’ll learn the art of Kintsugi to repair broken pottery. This technique uses natural urushi lacquer as an adhesive, and powdered gold to decorate the repairs. By highlighting the cracks and breaks with gold, Kintsugi embraces the beauty of imperfections. The course aims to help students get hands-on experience with authentic Kintsugi repair using natural lacquer. By the end of the course, students should have gained all basic knowledge of Kintsugi and completed at least one relatively simple repair project.

Instructor: makomako (Instagram: @makomako.kintsugi)

Course Schedule and Agenda

The course begins on May 25 and will be held on Sundays from 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM (except June 1) over 5 weeks.

The detailed schedule and agenda is as follows:

• May 25 (SUN), 10:30 am to 12:30 pm: Introduction to ceramic restoration and Kintsugi, introduction to natural lacquer, examine and bond broken pieces
• June 1 (SUN), 10:30 am to 11:30 am: Virtual class on Zoom
• June 8 (SUN), 10:30 am to 12:30 pm: Filling missing chips
• June 15 (SUN), 10:30 am to 12:30 pm : Paint urushi lacquer
• June 22 (SUN), 10:30 am to 12:30 pm : Polishing, applying gold, and finishing.

*There will be no in-person class on June 1st due to the 2-week waiting period required after the first bonding step; instead, the session will take the form of a virtual class on Zoom.

Enrollment Requirements

This beginner level course explains the basic knowledge, process, and steps of Kintsugi repair. It is suitable for beginners without previous Kintsugi experience, or those with some self-study experience. Students are required to bring a broken or chipped ceramic item and complete the repair during the course.

What to Bring:

A Broken or Chipped Ceramic piece that is:

• Glazed with a smooth and even surface
• Any missing chip must not exceed 1cm size
• If broken, it should broken into 2 or 3 simple and clean pieces
• No large missing pieces, crack length (on one side) does not exceed 20 cm
• Smaller than 15x15x15cm diameter
• No previous glue on it

After enrollment, please take clear photos of the piece you would like to repair and send them to the instructor’s email at [email protected] by May 20.

*Please note: If the item you bring does not meet the requirements for the beginner-level course, it will be replaced with a pre-selected item prepared by us for in-class repair.

Course Materials

We will provide tools and materials for use during the class. Please note that this course will use natural lacquer, which can cause allergic reactions if it comes into contact with the skin. Gloves and other protective measures will be provided in the classroom. Please follow instructions carefully during the course.

Location: 36 East Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10002 (next to D C Meat Market 德昌肉食公司)