By Haragayato – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50344039
I learned about something beautiful this week. It’s called kintsugi: the Japanese art of taking broken pottery and using gold to piece it back together. The idea is that flaws and breakage aren’t things we need to hide, but are things that can be beautiful. Even highlighted.
With gold.
If you search “kintsugi” online, there are so many beautiful images of it. My personal favorite is the turquoise bowl with gold repairs. I can’t post an image of it here (copyright issues), but you can probably find the very one if you do a quick Google search :). Do you see it? Do you LOVE it?
I’m tempted to buy a turqoise bowl and break it just so I can use gold to put it back together. Except I think that’s not really the point, and… I also don’t know how to melt gold and stuff. But I definitely like the “after” version of this pottery better than what I imagine the “before” was.
I love this illustration of exchanging something worthless into something beautiful and good. The obvious Christian metaphor is how we are like broken jars of clay, and Jesus is like the gold that makes us whole and beautiful.
It’s also a beautiful reminder for every broken part of my life. The sins that I can’t seem to conquer, the times I lose my patience, the loved ones I’ve lost, and the times I simply feel… broken. At those times, I want to hide and disappear. The last thing I want is to show others my brokenness, but this art form is a beautiful reminder that we don’t need to be ashamed. We can embrace our flaws as part of what makes us who we are- beautiful through and because of our brokenness.
How about you? What is something broken that has become beautiful in your life? I’d love to hear your stories.
4 responses to “Kintsugi: Making the Brokenness Beautiful”
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I love this and have used this image many times on my course Peaced Together (www.peacedtogether.co.uk) we believe that broken does not mean rubbish, it is however an opportunity for creative design. Love reading your blog, thank you
Thank you, Heidi! That’s a lovely way of putting it. <3.
Jo, you are so amazing at bringing new ideas and understanding to others, especially me! Thank you. I love this post. It brought new imagery to mind of one of my favorite scriptures, “27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” -Ether 12:27. It’s a book of mormon scripture but I figure you’d like it anyway.
Thanks for sharing, Christi! <3.