The Kintsugi Collection
A few months ago, I clumsily knocked one of my favorite ceramic dishes to the ground and it cracked in half. I was devastated and I didn’t have anyone to blame but myself. (I honestly prefer when my daughter breaks my stuff cause at least then I have someone to be upset with and blame.) My husband watched it all happen and I could tell he felt bad for me because he started suggesting how to fix it. He told me about kintsugi which I had never heard of before and as he described what it was, a little spark flickered in my heart.
For those who are like me and don’t know what it is, here is a basic description. Kintsugi is a Japanese practice of taking broken pottery and piecing it back together using gold. The cracks, which were the biggest flaw of the ceramic piece, are repaired and transformed into the focal design element. The part that I love about this art form, is how it can be interpreted. I like to view each of us as a beautiful piece of pottery and as we go through life we get dropped, bumped, knocked over and naturally chips and cracks develop. This is where the beautiful part happens- when we take those cracks, piece ourselves back together and heal, we form scars. Scars are often viewed as flaws and something to hide, but really they are a part of our story.
As a fiber artist, my mind automatically started translating this concept into weavings. I created this collection to illustrate how we are all different and alike at the same time. You are an individual and there is not one person exactly like you. At the same time, every single person in this world is going through hardships, navigating challenges, and learning to love themselves and each other. This collection illustrates how we can piece ourselves back together and change our flaws into a unique and beautiful part of our story. These weavings have been sitting in my mind, on my loom, and then hanging on my walls for months. So finally, I am now proud introduce to you my Kintsugi Collection!
