About

Oxo Tower-based wagumi offers workshops in the Japanese crafts of kintsugi and kokedama moss balls.

Kintsugi Workshop
Kintsugi gives broken ceramics a beautiful afterlife. It is a process that uses lacquer, sealants and metal powder to trace the lines of a breakage, and create something new. More than a simple act of restoration, kintsugi makes a feature of the cracks formed in a moment of chance. This touches on classic concepts in the Japanese decorative arts, such as the impermanence of things, and beauty in imperfection.

Kintsugi practitioner Iku Nishikawa leads the workshops, and is able to instruct in the principles and techniques of kintsugi.

Held in two formats, the workshops offer either a simple introduction to kintsugi, or more bespoke advice for individual pieces. The first format sees small group workshops held at wagumi, to provide entry-level instruction. Including some shortcuts, the sessions are intended as a first encounter with a deeper art. This style of workshop allows participants to work on Japanese ceramic fragments, that they are then able to keep. The second format offered this year is one of bespoke repair. Here participants are free, with prior consultation, to bring their own ceramics pieces to work on. The instructor provides advice on how to repair these individually brought pieces, within a two-hour intensive class. A kintsugi kit is included within the ticket price.

Kokedama Moss Balls Workshop
There is also an introductory workshop on Japanese kokedama moss balls. Somewhat related to bonsai, the practice of wrapping plants in a sphere of moss is relaxing in its process and satisfying in its results. The workshops offer the chance to acquire the skills of kokedama creation, and to take one home after the session.