Urushi and Kintsugi Workshop
according of the tradition of Japan's Kyoto School
with Martine Rey, laqueur artist
Introduction to traditional and modern methods of working with urushi vegetable lacquer, used among other things for repairing various objects and ceramic pieces with gold lacquer and other metals.
"Since 1979, after an apprenticeship with a master lacquerer in Kyoto, I have been working with this noble material, urushi. One of its applications is kintsugi, an ancestral Japanese practice that involves repairing wounds with the most precious of materials, gold, and give life to what has been broken."
-Martine Rey, laqueur artist
Urushi is a Japanese term for the vegetable lacquer used to make traditional objects. This lacquer comes from the sap of the Rhus verniciflua tree. Its cultural heritage and the evolution of its technique have given it its letters of nobility. Today, it holds an exceptional place in Asian craftsmanship and is beginning to be used in the West. Naturally amber in color, urushi is exceptional in more ways than one: it is waterproof, has strong adhesive power, and is characterized by exceptional hardening and heat tolerance up to 400°C. What's more, this lacquer is highly resistant to both acids and solvents, and its anti-germ properties make it ideal for coating parts destined for contact with food.
In essence, an urushi project takes time. It's a process that takes place in a number of stages and under very specific conditions; material application and touch-ups, as well as curing time, are sequenced and repeated until the project is deemed complete. Time is of the essence, both in terms of the lacquer's intrinsic properties and the finish of the parts themselves.
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The course will begin with a brief history of urushi vegetable lacquer, and an introduction to its properties. This will be the time to discuss its general characteristics, its specific curing characteristics, its advantages, and the many forms it can take. Some objects will be shown as examples to inspire practice over the next five days.
During the course, each participant will work on a minimum of two parallel projects. Several lacquering methods will be presented and accessible.
The first object to be worked on will be provided: a wooden bowl, to be lacquered using the wiped lacquer technique. This technique involves applying many coats of lacquer and sanding the hardened surfaces.
The second and subsequent objects can be ceramics, glass or any other object whose wounds you wish to repair. Clay-based coatings that consolidate objects and enable restoration will be presented.
The possibilities of using dry lacquer on textile or paper materials will also be explored, opening up a wide field of creativity.
At the start of each day, the operations required to bring the pieces to completion will be discussed, both technically and artistically. As each piece is unique, each stage will require special attention. At the end of the course, and with a view to understanding the stages that complete the urushi process, finishing lacquers will be studied on the bowl and other repaired pieces. If finished with a layer of gold, the technique is called kintsugi; if finished in silver, the technique is called gintsugi. In some cases, however, for aesthetic reasons, a black or colored lacquer repair may be preferable.
Pendant ce stage, chaque personne travaillera sur un minimum de deux projets parallèles. Plusieurs méthodes de laquage seront présentées et accessibles.
Le premier objet à travailler sera fourni : il s’agira d’un bol en bois, à laquer grâce à la technique de laque essuyée. Cette technique nécessite l’application de nombreuses couches de laque et le ponçage des surfaces durcies.
Le second objet et les suivants pourront être une pièce en céramique, un verre ou tout autre pièce dont vous voulez réparer les blessures. Les enduits à base d’argile qui consolident les objets et permettent la restauration seront présentés.
Les possibilités d’utiliser la laque sèche sur des matériaux textiles ou papiers seront également explorées, et permettront d’ouvrir un large champ de créativité.
Au début de chaque journée, les opérations nécessaires à l’avancement des pièces seront discutées, tant au niveau technique qu’artistique. Chaque pièce étant unique, chaque étape nécessitera un temps particulier d’attention.
En fin de formation, et dans le but d’appréhender les étapes qui terminent le processus d’urushi, les laques de finition seront étudiées sur le bol et autres pièces réparées. Si la finition se fait par une couche d’or, la technique s’appelle alors kintsugi ; si elle se fait en argent, la technique est appelée le gintsugi. Dans certains cas, pour des raisons esthétiques, une réparation à la laque noire ou colorée peut toutefois être préférable.
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To take part in the workshop, you need to have a certain comfort level with manual work, as well as an interest in lacquering and/or repairing parts.
As the number of places is limited, a brief written description of your motivation to participate in this activity is required prior to registration.
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$745 for 5 days of training, Monday to Friday (9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
N.B.: The cost of gold powder or other precious metal is not included in the training price, but you can bring your own precious metal powder, or buy on site depending on your use.
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Materials will be provided during the course, but you should bring :
- A few injured objects (around 3) that can be repaired during the week. Avoid, of course, objects in a million pieces.
- Pieces of various materials and a few ordinary objects (pieces of wood, paper, leaves, plants, etc.) on which you can test lacquering and see how lacquer transforms with different supports.
- 1 apron or work clothes that can get dirty.
- A few old towels or beach towels to keep the moisture in during the curing process.
- Soft cloths such as old sweaters, towels, sheets, etc.
- A box of gloves in your size. Vegetable-based hairspray can cause allergic contact dermatitis, so use gloves when handling it until it has hardened. To lessen any effects, Martine Rey recommends taking homeopathic remedies one week before (and one week after): RHUS VERNIX 9 per day (3 x 3).
Would you like to take part in the next session with Martine?
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