At Terry Rens’ Blue Door pottery studio in Umdloti, favourite broken pieces are not regarded as rejects or discarded.
They are given new life through the Japanese practice of Kintsugi.
In the movie The Last Samurai, Katsumoto spends his life searching for the perfect cherry blossom, only to conclude in his last breath that they are all perfect. Kintsugi, the ancient Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with gold, teaches us to value imperfection.
Rather than hiding breaks and cracks, kintsugi highlights them with gold, allowing repaired pieces to become mementos of personal history.
As a metaphor for life, it teaches us to see the beauty, character and strength in our flaws.
With wildly colourful murals and an assortment of artistic creations on display, all leading to a double volume blue door that ushers you into where the magic happens, Rens’ studio oozes flamboyant creativity, but with an unmistakably down-to-earth undertone.
After 19 years of teaching pottery, Rens still finds inspiration in the mundane to keep evolving, her latest ‘aha’ moment coming from a student’s broken favourite piece which led to her attending a kintsugi workshop in Cape Town.
“Because I teach pottery, there are often incidents of broken favourite pieces. Since Japanese ceramics are so admired by all potters, it’s a natural progression to want to learn their method of restoration and admiration of the repaired piece.
She believes this Japanese art resonates with people today because they are tired of the “throw away” society we’ve become.
“I think it’s a beautiful way to pay homage to a broken handmade piece. It’s an artform in itself.”
Although they will not be breaking any pieces on purpose, Rens says she will be integrating kintsugi into her classes by teaching her students how to repair special pieces that took ages to create and have broken.
“It’s an add-on for anyone who would like to try it out on a beloved piece. Originally done with 24 karat gold, the practice has caught up with the financial realities of the modern world and is today also done using gold leaf or gold dust sprinkled over lacquer or glue.
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