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Join Iku Nishikawa of Kintsugi Oxford for an experimental workshop of the centuries-old Japanese technique for repairing broken ceramics, Kintsugi, which translates as ‘gold-mend’.

Kettle’s Yard has two objects in our collection which have been repaired using the traditional Japanese technique of Kintsugi; ‘The Heron’ by William Staite Murray, c. 1928 and a Song Dynasty temmoku tea bowl.

Tickets are £175 and include a private tour of the House, all workshop materials, lunch and refreshments
18 years +

The day will start with a House tour with Dr Bonnie Kemske and a visitor assistant looking at the pieces in the collection.  The group will then move to a private room for a talk by Dr Kemske, whose book on Kintsugi will be published next year.

Enjoy lunch and refreshments, included in the ticket price. After lunch Kintsugi practitioner Iku Nishikawa will explain the principles and techniques and introduce how, with traditional techniques, broken ceramics can attain a beautiful afterlife.

Nishikawa says “the moment of breakage can be a moment of beginning: this is part of the spirit which guides the craft of kintsugi, a process which uses lacquer, sealants and metal powder in the repair of broken ceramics. More than just an act of repair however, Kintsugi creates a new narrative on the impermanence of things by highlighting the lines on which they break.”

Important information for the workshop

Participants are invited to bring a plate or other small ceramic item to work on – the plates will then be broken by Nishikawa as it is preferable to obtain a simple break for a first repair by those new to Kintsugi.

Please also bring a box or container (big enough to fit your item) with a lid to take it home with you.

Due to conservation and security reasons, no bags, including handbags, or large coats are allowed in the House.

Access

The galleries, entrance area and Clore Learning Studio are all fully wheelchair accessible. Around three-quarters of the House is not accessible to wheelchair users. The upper part of the ground floor extension area of the House is accessible for wheelchair users and if you let us know when you book we can arrange to put a ramp out so that the whole of the downstairs extension area is accessible.

There are several sets of stairs in the House, including a spiral staircase. Please let us know if you would prefer not to use the spiral staircase and we can provide an alternative route around the House.

About Iku Nishikawa

Iku Nishikawa was born and grew up in Shikoku, Japan and learned the craft of Kintsugi from both Muneaki Shimode and Sato Kiyomatsu Shoten in Kyoto, Japan. Iku assisted Muneaki with Kintsugi workshops at the Ashmolean Museum and Pitt Rivers Museums in Oxford and has run Kintsugi workshops in Japan, Italy, Spain and the UK, she also carries out Kintsugi repairs for private clients. Iku has worked with artists including, Lisa Hammond, Bouke de Vries, Kat Wheeler and Claudia Clare.

About Dr Bonnie Kemske

Dr Bonnie Kemske is a ceramic artist, writer, and curator. She was Editor of Ceramic Review and author of The Teabowl: East and West, Bloomsbury 2017. Dr Kemske writes features and reviews for international publication and was a contributor to BBC Radio 4’s, ‘Mending Cracks with Gold’, her book on Kintsugi, also for Bloomsbury Press, will be published in 2020.

Terms and Conditions

Tickets are non refundable.

If you need to cancel your booking, please inform us in writing as soon as possible at Kettle’s Yard Courses, Castle Street, Cambridge CB3 OAQ or email us at courses@kettlesyard.cam.ac.uk

No ticket may be resold or transferred.

We ask that you let us know at time of booking, of any allergy or food intolerance, and any dietary requirements.

Kettle’s Yard reserves the right to alter any part of the programme if necessary. We will only cancel courses after careful consideration, but reserve the right to do so under exceptional circumstances. In the event of a cancellation, participants will be informed in writing as soon as possible and course fees will be refunded in full.