Kintsugi: The Story of Cracks That Shine

1. The Road to Kintsugi: The Beauty of Imperfection

How I began my Kintsugi journey

My environment has always had a strong influence on me. Visually, auditoryly, tactilely. I am sensitive to "beauty" – but that beauty is not always what someone would initially consider beautiful. Beauty for me can be anything that awakens harmony, concord, and even restlessness or excitement.

Ceramics have always given me wonderful surprises – its uninhibitedness within its own boundaries, the imperfection of handmade work.

I love to see the hand of the artist behind the object. I admire master potters who do everything with precision and perfection, but I am attracted to expressiveness, creation, the unexpected. Maybe that's why I love the Wabi-Sabi philosophy so much.

Accepting imperfection

keramička vaza "Škartoc, čeka iscjeljenje

Cracks happen often in ceramics. I even desire them. For me, they are a reflection of the free will of the clay – the material that I try to shape and “trap” in time, and it answers me: “You will not.” Kintsugi celebrates these cracks. It celebrates every break. Through Kintsugi, a broken object not only regains its form, but becomes even more special – golden. Its value increases.

But if we step outside the world of ceramics for a moment, this philosophy can easily be applied to life. Every fracture, every wound, and every healing has its own story. And people, after going through their fractures and healings, usually become better, stronger, with new values and perspectives on the world. That's how I see my works – they tell a story, they carry emotion. Maybe they excite someone, just as I feel excitement while making, creating, and thinking about them.

In the next post, I will share my experience with the practical side of Kintsugi – what the process of repairing ceramics with urushi lacquer looks like and what I learned through this slow but healing process.