Kintsugi Pot Repair

rockm

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Guilty as charged. I'd do that in a heartbeat. @lieuz's kintsugi looks even better in person
Wish he'd been around before I glued this thing back together... 😁 Big 23" one-off Tokoname nanban
 

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lieuz

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Wish he'd been around before I glued this thing back together... 😁 Big 23" one-off Tokoname nanban
Epoxy is reversible by boiling which I've reversed on a plate. This was out bacj together with super glue and I boiled it until it was soft and that took an hour.20230714_150705.jpg
 

rockm

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Epoxy is reversible by boiling which I've reversed on a plate. This was out bacj together with super glue and I boiled it until it was soft and that took an hour.View attachment 504824
I wouldn't know how to boil this nanban that's two feet across I'd guess i'd have to use an open fire out in the backyard and get a large cauldron. Maybe I could do it on Halloween 😁
 

lieuz

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I wouldn't know how to boil this nanban that's two feet across I'd guess i'd have to use an open fire out in the backyard and get a large cauldron. Maybe I could do it on Halloween 😁
You know, if I can scrape the stuff off the surface, I can come back in with lacquer as a semi filler, gild and polish. It's a hybrid approach and I'd say it's the best of both worlds.
 

thams

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Oh man, I have a broken Nick Lenz pot that I've had for years that I've always wanted repaired. Arrived in the mail broken and it's just sat in a box since. I would love to see whether you'd be able to mend it. IMG_8642.jpg
 

August44

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You sure that is a Nick Lenz pot? There are several things about it that don't look right to me.
 

thams

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You sure that is a Nick Lenz pot? There are several things about it that don't look right to me.
Yep, I'm 99% positive that it's a Lenz. I bought it from Pauline Muth of PFM Bonsai some years back. She always seemed to have a decent stash of his work for sale at any given time, so I ordered this one along with 4-5 others from her. In the pictures you can see that all 4 pots have similar glazes, styles, and throwing lines. The two smaller ones are signed while the two larger aren't.IMG_8646.jpgimage003.jpgimage002.jpgimage001.jpg
 

rockm

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Yep, I'm 99% positive that it's a Lenz. I bought it from Pauline Muth of PFM Bonsai some years back. She always seemed to have a decent stash of his work for sale at any given time, so I ordered this one along with 4-5 others from her. In the pictures you can see that all 4 pots have similar glazes, styles, and throwing lines. The two smaller ones are signed while the two larger aren't.View attachment 511879View attachment 511880View attachment 511881View attachment 511882
It's a Lenz pot for sure. Pauline Muth had stashed more than a few pots by American potters. I got a pretty nice Don Gould pot from her at an ABS show a while back.
 

thams

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It's a Lenz pot for sure. Pauline Muth had stashed more than a few pots by American potters. I got a pretty nice Don Gould pot from her at an ABS show a while back.
Yeah, from what she told me she would visit him regularly and bring back a pot haul to her shop to resell. I can understand people being dubious about unsigned pots, but these seem to be spot-on Lenz.
 

lieuz

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@thams It's certainly repairable. We can discuss over DM if you'd like. I see something I'd like to confirm.
 

lieuz

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I was very humbled by Shannon Salyer from Kusa Farms who has such confidence in me. He gifted me this antique Chinese pot that came broken from Japan. He was able to get it refunded but was stuck with a broken pot. It's very similar to the other antique pot but this one is very very destroyed.

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What amazes me is the thin walls of this pot. It's heavier than it looks, but it is incredibly light! The uniformity of the walls is also very impressive.
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I believe that's the mark of a good quality pot, a pot that's able to convince you that it's heavier than it is.
 

lieuz

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Having adapted to new approaches and better techniques, I've come to the realization that tape does not hold things extremely well. It can pick up slack from not being as sticky and that generally is not helpful to the curing process as pieces can shift as the urushi hardens. Hot glue is the answer and that holds pieces VERY well.

Putting this antique pot back together with hot glue has been very helpful and it allows me to push pieces together very tightly and with the use of the hot glue, things stay on like liquid nail.
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The hot glue is also a great tool to make little feet to elevate the bottom off itself should it not have feet and there is overspill of urushi.
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Now to let it cure....
 

lieuz

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Also being repaired is this Roy Minerai pot for Mark Fields. It's back together again but that's one "leg" of this project as it is missing one entirely. That'll be the hardest part, to sculpt a leg from lacquer putty to support the pot. I will not be adding in the foot detail, approaching this as a conservation matter, it mainly should be simple and not detract. I am not sure how this pot broke but I was told that at Nationals, it fell from a pretty great height.
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Pitoon

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Dave,
Excellent work as always! You give me the urge to break one of my pots on purpose just to put it back together, lol.

Pitoon
 

lieuz

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After the Winter Silhouette show I will break a pot and put it back together.....I'd like for you to critique it.
Are you considering the hybrid attempt or will you consider going the traditional approach? If you're interested in the traditional approach, this kit got me started.

 

Pitoon

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Are you considering the hybrid attempt or will you consider going the traditional approach? If you're interested in the traditional approach, this kit got me started.

Not sure yet, I'm leaning more towards the modern approach.
 
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