Kintsugi project archive
– Kintsugi
This is an archive of all the Kintsugi projects I have started, most of which are still in progress. I’ve categorized them from simplest to most complex:
Filling in cracks & chips
Gaiwan Lid
I skipped straight to Painting Urushi Lacquer, only did one layer. It has since chipped off in several places.
Japanese Teacup 1
Sabi Urushi & Kokuso followed by Painting Urushi Lacquer. The first time, I didn’t paint enough red layers, so I scraped it off and started over with a thicker line.
Japanese Teacup 2
Chanco blue bowl 1
UPDATE: This entire chunk of lacquer fell off the other day. Granted, I had soaked it in the sink for a while before hand washing. I also accidentally ran it through the dishwasher once. I’ll be investigating how to make sure it adheres better—perhaps I should have started with a raw urushi layer on the porcelain as step 1???
Celadon Teacup
Skipped straight to Painting Urushi Lacquer but I should have started with Sabi Urushi & Kokuso to fill in the crack.
Status: Need to remove the lacquer with acetone and start over
Wolf Tea Gaiwan
Painting Urushi Lacquer on the bottom only—it has since been chipping off with regular gaiwan usage and washing. Perhaps I don’t need to paint over hairline cracks at all?
Conclusion: There isn’t enough adhesion on hairline cracks for this to last. Also, it’s not even leaking, so there’s no point to this.
Like other projects, I might need to look in to a transparent top layer or a base layer to make sure the red lacquer sticks better to glazed porcelain. Or maybe buff it first? I’ll look to nail lacquer for inspiration.
Japanese Matcha Bowl
Many years ago, I tried to bleach this bowl and totally messed it up—the bleach water got inside the clay somehow and it puffed up and discolored in weird spots. I’m not going to use this bowl for drinking, but I want to make it look nice.
Soaking in a hydrogen peroxide water solution helped remove some of the discolorations.
Big Donburi Bowl
Tried Sabi Urushi & Kokuso but I need to adjust the recipe to account for these deeper chips.
Simple Breaks
Chanco blue bowl 2
Mugi-Urushi complete.
Complex Breaks
Wolf Tea Gaiwan Lid
Attempted to bind with a Mugi-Urushi made of wheat gluten, it fell apart. Starting over.
Chanco Donburi
