DIY Kintsugi - Broken bonsai pot repaired with gold colored powder and epoxy

I'm using a DIY kintsugi approach to get my broken bonsai pot repaired with gold colored powder and epoxy.

You may remember this papercrete bonsai pot from a video I made this spring showing how it god damaged by frost. Because it became unusable I had to do an emergency repot on my elm pre-bonsai that was occupying the pot. Here's a link to the previous video https://youtu.be/OyKxfaGi7rQ.

Even then I had the intention of gluing the bonsai pot back together but when I learned about the Japanese art of kintsugi it was clear that I had to attempt a kintsugi repair on the pot. Kintsugi (金継ぎ) literally translates to "golden joinery" and it is also known as kintsukuroi (金繕い) which can be translated as "golden repair". This is the Japanese practice of mending broken pottery with a special lacquer (made from the sap of the urushi tree) which is dusted with real gold powder (other metals like silver and platinum can also be used).

Although it's not the bonding agent used in traditional kintsugi, epoxy resin became a popular tool for DIY kintsugi. However, this approach is not food safe unless you use special food-safe epoxy. Instead of real precious metals, gold colored pigment powder, from arts and crafts stores, can be used to create the illusion of having the cracks in a broken pot filled with gold. So whether you want to repair a broken pot to use it again or even if you just like broken pot decorations you should definitely consider using kintsugi.

Video outline:
00:00 A broken bonsai pot
00:51 What is Kintsugi?
01:31 Preparation for gluing
02:29 Gluing back the pot
05:57 Applying gold joinery highlighting
08:12 The finished Kintsugi repair

Images used in this video are available as Open Access on the website of The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
Jar, Jun ware (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/460659)
Dish with Bamboo Leaves (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/45514)
Tea Jar with Peony Arabesque and Plum in Cochin (Kōchi) Style (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/63087)
Bowl, possibly a copy of Jun ware (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/460662)

#kintsugi #bonsaipot #brokenpot

Видео DIY Kintsugi - Broken bonsai pot repaired with gold colored powder and epoxy канала Odd Bonsai