Pure Gold

Pure Gold

Hi there,

Thanks for popping in. Saturday’s blog a new technique, right? Well, this may actually be one of the oldest art techniques: Kintsugi

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken pieces of pottery back together using gold. The idea behind this is that in embracing imperfections, you can create an even stronger, more beautiful piece of art.

Dave came to me this morning with a broken pot. He’s got something special in the garage that he’s working on, it’s a surprise. So, he had pieced this little old ceramic drawer back together again, and then asked me if I could perform a little kintsugi on it, by adding liquid gold in the cracks.

No problem, says I!

Give it here – I’ve got just the right gear!

It’s Japanese too!

I remember watching a really talented calligrapher use it in Frankfurt, and I placed a sizeable order, because I had never seen liquid gold like it. It’s actually gold mica paste. The calligrapher also agreed that it was the best he had ever used. And Linda Williams was in raptures over it, because it works on parchment so beautifully.

So this morning, I squirted out a goodly amount onto my mix mat, stirred it well, and proceeded to perform a little Kintsugi job on said old drawer…

Applied it in the cracks, then wiped it back, to see if it had worked. Like a charm…

It dried quite quickly too…Job’s a goodn! I can see this is going to work like a dream with my pottery! Cracked Pot?! Perfect!

Then I looked at how much I had squirted out – gasp. No way that was going back in the bottle.

So I thought I would put it through its paces and see what else it could do. If it works on ceramics, I bet it works on lots of surfaces! We’ll have to try wood too…

There was a little stamp board triangle on the table, stamped with one of Cherry’s Doodleology stamps, so I thought that would be a good starting place for us Paper crafters! Lush. Very thick. Totally gold and opaque.

Then I got my thinking cap on. If this is Mica paste, I bet this gear’s water soluble. So out with a water brush. One of the finer ones. Added a little water and mixed it in well.

And then we were flying. Absolutely fantastic. Especially using the waterbrush. It just flowed like liquid gold.

Does the diluted liquid gold spread over larger areas well? Yes.

The doodler in me woke up then. Would the black micron pens work over the top… yes. So you can not only design over the top once it’s dry, you can tidy up the line art if you‘ve gone into the black.

And what about the edges of the stampboard? I did the usual black Sharpie pen trick, which was black black, unless it hit the gold – and then it turned a fab black-gold.

Remember when we were taking a peep inside the German dresser yesterday, and I mentioned that I was a big Rosenthal ceramics fan? Well, they went through a Black and Gold phase back in the 80’s, and this little triangle art reminds me very much of that!

And then, after a happy hour playing with the liquid gold, trying to use up the excess mica paste on the Mix mat, I realised something very obvious! It’s water soluble. It can sit on that mix mat until the next time I want to use it. I can re-activate it with my water brush any time. Of course. So it’s not wasted, and I only needed a tiny amount!

I reached out to our Jilly, she who has a handle on our stock levels, and asked the golden question. We have a modest number of Japanese Gold Mica paste bottles left. When they’re gone they’re gone though. So if you go to the website but you can’t find it, that’ll be because we’ve sold out.

Here’s the link You’ll only ever need to buy it once, that’s for sure! And if you want the water brushes, here’s the link.

Love and Hugs

Barb xx

23 thoughts on “Pure Gold

  1. Oh wow that is gorgeous!! Very art decoish (if that’s a word) which I love.

    Thank you for being our driver, I’ve enjoyed every turn in every road lol xx

  2. Oh wow Barb that’s stunning! How totally weird too! Not entirely sure where I saw Kintsugi this week, maybe on my FB Feed sometime in this very busy working week. Your pot also looks totally amazing! Weird how coincidence works. I’m enjoying some messy crafting listening to the rain outside, all warm and cosy with a huge cup of tea! Looking forward to tomorrows shows. See you at 2pm. Crafty hugs Christina.

    1. Hi Christina, I posted the article on Clarity Worldwide this week. I thought the technique was gorgeous, I am going to have to buy the paste now. Elaine xx

  3. Hello Barbara
    I love my little bottle of Mica paste. Can you really not get any more? That would be tragic for future customers.
    Love
    Roz.xxx

  4. Omg, that is a bit of me. I’ve got a little Chameleon Ware trinket box, that I bought about 20yrs ago, that has had quite a major crack repair (not by me). This would be perfect for Kintsugi! Your little pot looks fabulous – love it!
    Debbie x

  5. Oh wow Barbara I love gold it gives such good results. What you have made is gorgeous. I had better go shopping. Have a good weekend. Take care. Hugs xxx

  6. What a fab way to fix the cracks! – I hope I dont forget about doing that next time I need to repair something! – Although I’ve been lucky enough to get some from the Clarity website, so that should remind me! – It looks stunning on the stamp boards too. Cant wait to have a play! – Oow I wonder what surprise Dave has for you? – Sounds intriguing! X

  7. Gold paste ordered. Been doing an oriental project and this will be a wonderful on the kimono. It will also be useful in the illuminated calligraphy I’m currently trying to perfect.
    How do you always come up with just what I need? Thank you.
    Stay well, stay safe.

  8. Ah, I wondered what I bought it for ! What great uses, at the moment it just sits on the shelf. Love black and gold effect. I’ve got a standing meerkat family and had to glue a piece back on a while ago, going to look to see if it needs a bit of gold, although it was a good join if I remember. Now, what’s that surprise in the garage then ? I bet he’s got the kiln going and is going to produce a tea service ! X

  9. Wow! That is gorgeous! Great you can leave the excess on the mat and re use it with more water! Sounds like a win win situation!

  10. Very impressed. I have a bottle of that. I bought it from Clarity ages ago! There’s a surprise! I have never used it because I had no idea what to do with it! won’t be doing anything tonight with it. After 9.5 hours online at the General Assembly today – the other half hour was for lunch – the brain has seized up!! Anyway, nice demo. Enjoy your evening. Hxx

  11. That is stunning. Over the winter I’m going to try sashitzo stitching and some visible darning/mending – trying to reduce waste so need to practice how to fix things and keep them beautiful x

  12. That’s really lovely. I bought a bottle of that ages ago and was wondering how I could use it. Great to know that you can fix your errors with a micron pen.

  13. Love everything you’ve done with it. Fantastic stuff. I watered it down and used it with a mapping pen you your wedding card. Xx

  14. Hi Barbara
    Isn’t this fabulous! I love the effect on the broken China and it looks amazing on the piece of board. By the looks of it it’s sold out, I wonder if my good friend Jackie will let me borrow a blob! 😊.
    Love Diane xx

  15. Just love the effects with the gold mica paste, so stylish. Hunted but couldn’t find it so guess it has gone. I wonder what Dave has in store for you?
    Enjoy Sunday.

  16. Very clever – love the gold and I wonder what Dave is fixing up.

    By the way I loved your story about your Oma. My family are exactly the same and as a child I loved waiting for the church bells to announce it was time for lunch. To this day my mum eats at 12 and the local radio station in Kaernten (south Austria) still ring out the church bells. Love a brot und wurst ! My Oma was such a good cook. Goulash Wiener schnitzel Sauerkraut Schweinsbraten knoedel kaesenudel gemuesesuppe To name a few – such lovely memories and a culture that is deep rooted.

    Just love listening to your stories and reminiscing ❤️

  17. Hi Barb, this is really fabulous stuff, pity it is gone now. Love the little item you have done for Dave, and the stamp board too. Wonder what Dave is up to in the Garage. Take care and stay safe everyone. Bx

Leave a Reply to Sue Carpenter Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *