WELCOME TO
KINTSUGLUPEDIA:

What is a Kintsuglupedia?

The idea behind this Kintsuglupedia (kin-soo-glue-pea-dear) is that the key material used for a traditional kintsugi repair - urushi lacquer - whilst undeniably MAGICAL, is rather hard to source and work with outside of the regions of East Asia where it grows. This investigation sets out to consider what substitutes for urushi lacquer we might find if you’d like to do a kintsugi-inspired repair outside of a Japanese lacquer workshop.

What is a traditional kintsugi repair?

Traditional kintsugi is the method of repairing broken ceramics with urushi lacquer and decorating it with gold. As an art form, it sits within a long tradition of lacquer working, called maki-e; one of the cornerstones of Japanese craftsmanship.

So, why muck about with it?

Great question! Well, whilst mucking about with materials is my favorite thing I’m not doing it to be iconoclastic, but rather out of the huge amount of respect I have for lacquer arts and artisans. Japanese urushi lacquer isn’t for everyone, kintsugi techniques and mindsets have a lot to teach us. The go-to alternative to traditional lacquer is epoxy resin - which has its own issues - so I set out to think about some other options.

How might the Kintsuglupedia be useful?

The Kintsuglupedia is first and foremost a place to think about the amazing potential of materials - I’m especially enthusiastic about materials that come from ethical, renewable, biomass sources.

But…?

But, if you want to you can use it to mend broken ceramics in a variety of strange and pleasing ways.

Is it finished?

Just getting started, and I’m sharing the process as I go! Right now I’ve got a system in place, a list of 100+ ‘sticky materials’ I’d like to try, and 50 test plates cut in two as of April 2021, there are ‘control’ traditional kintsugi plates curing in the furo, and the first ten tests in process.

I’m hoping that somewhere down the line, this can be put into a searchable database, meaning that your interests and requirements could be searched and a handy kintsugi-style repair - for example, you might search ‘Mexico + vegan + kid friendly’ and come up with a corn-based repair, ‘Thailand+food waste’ and come up with mango skin, or ‘Iceland + reversible’ and be offered lanolin.

Disclaimer!

Please work responsibly. Urushi lacquer and conventional epoxy resins are both known for their dangers - and if I’m teaching someone a traditional kintsugi repair I work with an ABUNDANCE of caution, ventilation, and PPE - but any material listed here could cause an allergic reaction. Please work with care, respect the materials + take no risks.

SHELLAC

Shellac is a natural resin derived from the Lac beetle. It’s an appealing alternative to urushi for a kintsugi-style repair; as both come out of a long decorative arts background and has been used to ‘stick, seal, and decorate’ for hundreds of years in a number of regions.

HIDE GLUE

A bovine animal glue, regularly used in woodworking for thousands of years until synthetic glues, like PVA took over. Used in the production of ‘compo’ in a process not dissimilar to the sabi stage of a kintsugi repair - this has the potential to form a strong bond - but it’s not a vegan option.

ROSIN