Two years ago during the pandemic I collaborated (at a distance) with Craftsman Bobby Mills on a unique Kintsugi project and I recently had the opportunity to collaborate with him again, a private commission bought us together.

Bobby, using a specially made support for his lathe turned two very large and beautiful walnut vessels, these were naturally dried to a point of cracking and given to me to repair using the art form of Kintsugi or ‘golden seams/scars’. In the case of these two vessels ; resin, gold skewings and 24kt gold leaf have bound the broken pieces together, It’s a tricky technique that involves dexterity and a lot of time and patience.

Kintsugi is an art form based on a Philosophy ‘wabi-sabi’ this philosophy teaches us that all things, including us and life itself, are impermanent, incomplete, and imperfect. It’s about embracing the broken not hiding the imperfect but displaying it with pride as nothing is or can be perfect… beauty is in the imperfect.

Photos by Bobby Mills…

Photos by Bobby Mills