As the heatwave raged across the National Capital Region (NCR), Delhiites found refuge in the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi at the Delhi Times Life.Styled Club's Kintsugi workshop, held in partnership with Small World last weekend. Rooted in finding beauty in imperfections, this practice fixes broken ceramics using lacquer and precious metals to create new decorative items.
What is Life.Styled Club?
Life.Styled Club is a curated community for those who don't follow a lifestyle but style life itself. The club promises a series of exclusive experiences for NCR's dynamic audiences.
Breaking Bowls in Perfect Shape Offers a Cathartic Release
Attendees gathered with anticipation, ready to smash perfectly shaped ceramic bowls into pieces. The workshop had a two-pronged approach: the breaking of bowls offered a cathartic release, while the delicate piecing together allowed for deep reflection. Turning broken pieces into works of art, the hands-on workshop encouraged introspection and healing. Careful mending and painting of the bowls using lacquer with gold urged participants to focus as they let their creativity flow.
Piecing the Work Together Delicately Allows Deep Reflection
For the Agarwal family from Gurgaon, who attended together, the experience was all about reflection. Rashmi Agarwal, mother of two daughters, noted, "Once precious things are broken, it's very difficult to mend them. It's a way of teaching how life is. If you fall somewhere in life, you should not be disheartened. A broken or fallen piece can become something better and beautiful. Just like this ceramic, it's been broken, mended and now it's stronger. Life teaches you that despite loss and failure, you can be successful."
Learning to Embrace Imperfections
Beyond the bonding experience, Rashmi's daughter, Tarushi Agarwal, made her bowl with intention and reflected on the process. "From my perspective, in a world where there is so much airbrushing on pictures, and makeup to hide imperfections on your face, we see in Kintsugi that even when we use gold, it's not to hide but embrace and beautify the imperfections. That's how gold is being used; it's making the object pretty despite there being cracks."
Attendees proudly displayed their creatively pieced bowls decorated with gold, each a unique testament to the beauty of imperfection. The workshop left participants with a renewed appreciation for resilience and the art of mending, both in ceramics and in life.
