Specialist Béatrice Jacotot introduces participants to the concept of wabi-sabi and the ancestral Japanese technique dating from the 16th century, Kintsugi or “gold patching”, which allows a broken object to be restored using lacquer. plant.

At the end of the training, the trainee will have assimilated:

Theoretical knowledge of the concept of wabi-sabi
The history and traditional technique of kintsugi and lacquerware practice.
Learning the different stages of making kintsugi: gluing, filling, applying different lacquers and metallic finishing powders
Knowledge about the drying conditions of urushi lacquer

Kintsugi is a Japanese technique that dates back to the 16th century. Kintsugi literally means “gold patch”. From a practical point of view, it involves the restoration of a broken object using a vegetable lacquer (urushi in Japanese), enhanced with gold powder. The gold is placed on the gaps, breaks and cracks thus giving rise to a delicate golden network.

The main advantage of the kintsugi technique is its resistance to humidity and heat, as well as the non-toxicity of the materials used in its production, which makes objects repaired with golden lacquer usable in tableware. and tea.

This is the technique that you will learn during the three-day training. However, this three-day training does not take into account the hardening time of the lacquer between each step (approximately one week). During this internship you will therefore work on four different pieces to carry out the four stages of the work (gluing; cleaning the collage and filling; sanding and 1st layer of lacquer; 2nd layer of lacquer and gold powder or silver powder).

Objects prepared for each stage will be provided. This is an introductory course, therefore we will not use real gold powder, but mica powders, with a similar appearance (non-food). For a food-safe result, a finish with black or red lacquer is possible, or even silver powder.

Béatrice Jacotot

After a master's degree in ceramic conservation-restoration and training in Japan with a master lacquerer, Béatrice Jacotot created her company Cérakin in Paris dedicated to restoration and kintsugi. This traditional Japanese technique is part of highlighting the object and its history, offering it the possibility of prolonging its existence while giving it a new aesthetic. Béatrice Jacotot has been practicing kintsugi since 2016 for tea and ceramic lovers, and also works in collaboration with ceramists to create original and unique pieces. She began teaching the Japanese technique of kintsugi in 2020.

Above all practical training
Historical and theoretical introductory phase on kintsugi and its origins, followed by a presentation of the training process
For each stage of the work, demonstrations will be carried out by the trainer, followed by immediate practical application by the participants.
The work will be carried out on several ceramics

Educational resources and supports

Work in ceramic workshop
Small tools, materials and ceramics (provided)
Works on wabi-sabi and urushi lacquer; examples of pieces restored with kintsugi (in consultation)
A document summarizing the steps of kintsugi will be distributed, but note-taking remains recommended
Individual and collective experiments supported by technical and theoretical supervision
Exchanges, interactions between participants based on sharing and mutual assistance in production

• Applied theory: theoretical contribution illustrated with a demonstration, individual exercises
  Individual and collective monitoring
  Design of a personal project: learning comes from experimentation and needs
  Collective restitution: experience report at the end of the internship
  Payroll per half day
  Certificate of completion issued by Campus MaNa