I determined to try the art of kintsugi. I heard about it a long time ago, then again in a fiction book I recently read. It’s beautiful, it’s functional, it’s exotic and practical. What’s not to love?! And… it even seemed like something I could tackle. Not like the time I tried to make my nephew a croissant crab….

But like something I could actually do and it might turn out. My research began on YouTube. Then I read all the articles. Then I did all the supply research and made my purchases. Here are some of the blurbs from YouTube and the aforementioned articles: “Shockingly easy!” “Four easy steps:” “Anyone can perform kintsugi repair.”

Here are some blurbs from me as I attempted kintsugi: “What the heck?” “I thought this was ‘shockingly freaking easy!” “I DID hold this for four minutes! The internet lies!”

So, I’m awful at it, but my gosh- I think it’s beautiful. Here are some pieces done by people who got it right:

Isn’t it lovely? I love the philosophy behind it: that things are redeemable, that broken things can be repaired. A vase, a bowl, a person? Maybe they’ve been shattered, but they can be put back together and beautiful, only beautiful in a different way than before. It makes me a little weepy, to tell you the truth. It makes me think maybe I should give this thing another try.