movie day: Cecilia Kraitz – Raku

by | Aug 30, 2017 | movie day

“Cecilia Kraitz has been working with the raku technique for more than 20 years and is deeply fascinated by this unrestrained method with its origins in 16th century Japan. The raku pieces are created in a kiln that is fired with wood until the temperature has risen to 900 or 1000° C. The glaze melts in a relatively quick process and the red-hot wares are put into a container with damp sawdust or leaves where they are treated to a post fire reduction phase. This makes the glaze crackle and gives the raku piece its very special character.”

kraitz.nu

movie day: Kintsugi – The Art of Broken Pieces

by | Aug 9, 2017 | movie day

Filmed & Directed by:
DANIEL EVANS

Produced by
SIMON OXLEY

Edited by
ALEX MEAD

Music
FREDDIE WEB & JOE FARLEY for WAKE THE TOWN
[ wakethetown.com ]

Kintsugi craftsmen:

Muneaki Shimode & Takahiko Sato

Project originator: Teruo Kurosaki

UK co-ordination: Tim Toomey

With special thanks to Yamakyu Japanware & tokyobike London [ tokyobike.co.uk ]

About Kintsugi:

Kintsugi is the craft in which chipped, cracked or broken ceramic pieces are repaired using a combination of urushi (lacquer) and rice glue. This process inadvertently results in a decoration, the form of which is dictated by the breakage the piece has suffered. Powdered gold is usually applied to the repaired patch or seam before the urushi has set, although less embellished repairs can be made by using urushi alone, materials used do vary. Kintsugi can also be applied to glass. Larger repairs are sometimes enhanced by the later application of decorative patterns or illustrations painted with urushi or a fine grade of powdered metal, in a technique known as maki-e.

The craft dates back to at least the 16th century, and there are various engaging historical anecdotes which emphasise the value placed on items pieced back together, particularly tea-ware. The famous tea master Sen no Rikyu was renowned for his appreciation of the Unzan Katatsuki, an exquisite tea bowl, precisely because of the roughness of its repair.

The moment in time when something has been shattered is permanently captured by the painstaking labours of a craftsman in building up the layers of lacquer to repair a piece. It is this reference to the now that recalls mushin, a lack of attachment to anything, but rather being present in the moment, something constantly available to all, but particularly so when we drop a piece of china.