WRITINGS

Wooden Kintsugi

Kintsugi is a Japanese art form that began in the late 15th century. Whenever a beloved dish or vessel breaks, instead throwing the piece away or even trying to conceal the cracks, kintsugi highlights them by repairing the item with gold, silver, or platinum mixed with lacquer. The piece is then retired to a place of honor in the home (like a mantel or shelf) where it can “rest” and be admired. The breaks become an integrated and beautiful part of the object itself which tell of its rich history. In short, they don't diminish the object's value, they actually deepen it.

Kintsugi isn’t just an “cool” artistic repair technique though; it’s a way of seeing life itself. It's about finding beauty in imperfection. It suggests that impermanence and the scars of time are not flaws to hide but truths to respect and even honor. It asserts that damage is not the end of an object’s story but an essential chapter in its evolution from one form to another.

I’ve recently found something similar in working with discarded wood. I find scrap wood- weathered by time, marred by impact and trauma, cast aside, thrown away, considered worthless- and then burn an image into it, more specifically, an icon.

For centuries, monks in my religious tradition have created icons, not to worship, but to aid them in prayer and contemplation. Religious icons were originally meant to function like windows, sacred art that pointed to something beyond itself, a reminder of an immanent presence that both transcends and transfigures everything.

Much like the philosophy behind Kintsugi, making these icons helps to remind me that what people dismiss or look down on is not at all insignificant; in fact, it might even offer us a glimpse into the divine. The imperfections in the wood don’t disappear; they become the very thing that makes the image set apart (i.e., “holy”). The knots, scars, colors, textures and shapes are integral parts of the image as a whole. They give it its depth and they hint at a long rich story; something a perfectly prepared and polished surface just cannot hold in the same way.

Though my icons are thematically specific to my own personal faith traditions, one need not share my thoughts or theology to agree that nothing is ever truly worthless, nothing is ever truly wasted. What someone has thrown away or deemed useless can actually become luminous. All it takes is a new perspective. Indeed, it is often the case that the silent, the discarded, the overlooked, and dismissed is what speaks the loudest (that is, provided you have the eyes to see and the ears to hear). This is true with people, with nature, and even with bits of lumber and broken dishes.

Kintsugi reminds us that cracks can shine. Making these icons reminds me that even discarded-wood can whisper something about God. Both speak same truth- That there is still art in everything broken, and divinity in everything that has been rejected. Nothing is static. All things are in a constant state of transformation. And that means anything can become an icon of beauty and goodness, a glimpse of the mysterious presence that shines through even the most ordinary and mundane moments and matter. When we see things that way, damage ceases to be an obstacle to becoming. Instead, it is the very thing that paves the way.

-Ryan