Got a broken dish? Learn Kintsugi, or golden joinery, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery and embracing its imperfections.
Recently, A reader on Instagram inspired me to try Kintsugi when she recommended repairing my ginger jar lid this way. I taught myself with this coral plate and will repair my broken, more complicated ginger jar lid is next!
This isn’t true Kintsugi. Kintsugi kits are much more expensive and involve several additional steps. However, the essence is the same: repairing what’s broken and celebrating the imperfections with golden joinery.
I’ve tried a few different methods involving clear epoxy as well as adding gold mica powder to the epoxy, but neither gave the look I was after. JB Weld Epoxy Resin was the ticket!
Here we go!
Supplies:
- Broken Dish
- JB Weld Epoxy Resin
- Toothpick
- Cardboard Square
- Liquid Leaf Paint (Gold leaf paint is not food safe, so the result is more decorative.)
- Art Knife or Box Cutter
- Painter’s Tape
- Small Paintbrush, size 0/2
1. Glue the dish back together using epoxy resin. Apply with a toothpick and work quickly as it sets up pretty fast.
2. Once dry, carefully use a craft knife to scrape off excess epoxy that oozed out of the cracks.
3. For larger gaps or missing pieces, apply painter’s tape to one side and fill in with epoxy resin. Then trim excess again with a craft knife.
4. The final step is to use a tiny paint brush to apply gold leaf paint over top of the epoxy.
I love Kintsugi’s philosophy of celebrating our imperfections rather than hiding them. What do you think? Will you give Kintsugi a try?
