Kintsugi Blessings
Kintugi Blessings started as a hand built vessel, a very feminine imagining of the mother goddess. I was inspired by Diana of Ephesus, an ancient Greek image of fertility and potential. I then cast the heads from a mold and attached them to the vessel body. Around her head is a crown or halo of hands. This piece is made with porcelain which is a notoriously tricky and sensitive material. Unfortunately, during the firing, her head exploded. There is a always a potential of the unexpected with the alchemical process of ceramics. I was very upset and discouraged when this happened after so many hours of work. However when Faryn and I looked at the damage it had miraculously separated into four even pieces which created a perfect cross section of her face. We would have glued her back together anyway but the ‘wound’ made her more special. Especially after the gold was applied to the breaks. Kintsugi is the Japanese method of respiring a broken vessel with gold which celebrates and elevates the brokenness.
Kintsugi [is] not just a method of repair but also a philosophy. It’s the belief that the breaks, cracks, and repairs become a valuable and esteemed part of the history of an object, rather than something to be hidden. That, in fact, the piece is more beautiful for having been broken.
- Kathleen Tessaro
