The weather forecast today called for a mix of freezing rain, ice pellets, snow, and rain. I tipped the shutters this morning before sunrise to see what kind of precipitation was occurring and was in awe of the beautiful red sky. "Red sky in morning..." is a warning of bad weather ahead and within an hour, freezing rain and snow did start to fall. I was grateful to enjoy a few moments of beauty on an otherwise grey day.
I have admired Japanese kintsugi for some time. Last weekend there was a kintsugi workshop at a local hospice, but the spaces were filled when I tried to sign up to attend. Kintsugi seeks to embrace what is flawed or imperfect and the repairs accentuate rather than disguise wear and tear on a piece of pottery.
"Kintsugi (金継ぎ, "golden joinery"), also known as kintsukuroi (金繕い, "golden repair"), is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum; the method is similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise." (Wikipedia)
I found a local artisan who does kintsugi pottery repairs using 22K gold powder mixed with sap from the Urushi tree. I ordered a couple of teacups and was pleased with the quality and beauty of her work.
I have been fortunate to meet people over the years who have demonstrated great resilience in the face of brokenness and misfortune. None of us will avoid the wear and tear of life and hard experiences come to everyone eventually. We can choose our response to difficulties and decide if they will weaken or strengthen our character. These patched teacups remind me that our cracks and scars, while still visible, can be repaired and do not need to sideline our purpose or resolve. There is strength and beauty in the restoration.
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