About this Event
Kintsugi is the Japanese practice of repairing broken ceramics with lacquer and metal powder, leaving the repair visible rather than hiding it.
This is the basic course, and it covers one thing properly: a clean break. You bring a small piece broken into a few fragments, with no chips and nothing missing, and over four weekly sessions you take it from fragments to a finished repair. Chips, hairline cracks, and missing sections each need their own methods, and I demonstrate some of them along the way, but the work in your hands is a straightforward break from start to finish.
A clean break is where every other repair begins. Once you can join, fill, level, coat, and finish one, the rest is a matter of adding techniques to a process you already understand.
This is a four session course. Your ticket covers all four.
Saturday 11am - 1pm
October 24, 31, November 7 and 14.
What you learn
Session 1 :
The history of urushi and safe handling, then joining your fragments with mugi urushi.
Session 2 :
Filling and levelling the seams with sabi urushi. Demonstration of kokuso urushi.
Session 3 :
Sanding back the sabi, then the middle coat in black roiro urushi. Demonstration of how cracks are handled.
Session 4 :
Sanding the coat, then applying the metal powder.anding the coat, then applying the metal powder.
The process is simplified to fit four sessions, so you won't leave with a flawless piece. You will leave knowing how the material behaves, why each stage exists, and what your hands need to do. These are the basic steps of a food-safe traditional kintsugi repair.
Who it's for
Anyone drawn to Japanese craft and its materials. Beginners are welcome and no previous experience is needed. Classes are capped at four people so I can sit with each of you.
Working with urushi, and what to know before you book
・Urushi is natural lacquer tapped from the urushi tree. It contains urushiol, the same compound found in poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.
・Until it cures, contact with skin can cause redness, itching, swelling, or blistering. A reaction may not appear until a day or two after contact, and it can happen even if you have never reacted to poison ivy.
・I provide nitrile gloves and we go through safe handling before anyone touches lacquer. Even so, a reaction is possible and you take part at your own risk. Please tell me beforehand if you have sensitive skin, a history of reactions, or a compromised immune system, or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
・Participants must be 18 or older.
Bring your own piece
It should fit in your palm, be broken into one to three fragments, have no chips and nothing missing, be fully glazed, and never have been glued or repaired before. Send me a photo when you book and I'll confirm it works. If you don't have a suitable piece, I'll have one ready for you.
This is a practice course, so please don't bring anything valuable or irreplaceable. Your piece stays at the studio between sessions and comes home with you at the end.
What to bring
Your piece in a small box so the fragments stay together, and an apron or clothes you don't mind marking. Urushi doesn't come out of fabric. All tools and materials are provided.
Price
$425 for all four sessions, including materials, tools, and a brass powder finish. Silver is an additional $25 and 24K gold an additional $50.
Payment in full at booking. Minimum two participants for the course to run.
Where
Sayako Hiroi Studio
119 Braintree St, Suite 507, Allston, MA 02134
Event venue & nearby stays
119 Braintree St, 119 Braintree Street, Boston, United States
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