I have several quality pots that, oaf that I am, have been broken. I repaired them with the epoxy and gold mica faux kintsugi method. Is it appropriate to use them for a tree in a major show?
It's 100% usable in shows. I've been repairing bonsai pots and various other pieces with kintsugi and have submitted a few to local shows and a collection heading to a major National Show. Several others have already mentioned this, but it largely depends on quite a few factors. For me, most of the considerations are mainly about the aesthetics; secondly, the other consideration is durability. The durability aspect is less tangible when displaying at shows; however, it does play a factor. It sort of sets the basis.
Regarding durability, my repairs are mainly traditional so from an epoxy standpoint, that's pretty much moot, as epoxy is just more stable and overall functionally more usable. But from a traditional standpoint, size is also a consideration. My repairs range all pot sizes and shapes; but, the best usable size for traditional methods is nothing over a shohin-sized pot. Anything over, the risk of the repairs failing, exponentially increases with weight. With epoxy, it can be whatever size. Even on the shohin sized pots repaired with traditional methods, I do sometimes worry about failure, so I won't let my trees live in them for too long; however, I do know my pot repairs through traditional means are so far still good even through a few freeze-thaw cycles. It's been a few years, I have a few pots that is still in one piece and exposed to all the elements. So on any pot I've repaired, I'll generally suggest they be show pots where trees live in them for a little bit and then the trees come back out and go back into intermittent pots.
Regarding aesthetics, echoing the previous notions, it's probably the most important. With that being said, it's pretty difficult to make epoxy repairs look clean and consistent due to its runny nature. However, If you're able to make it look consistent and contained, you can absolutely use it. It's a preference thing; some people like thicker lines, some people like thinner lines. Generally, kintsugi repair has trend towards showcasing joinery lines on the much thinner side. Thicker lines seem to be more contrived looking, also takes away from elegance; however, functionally speaking, it is much more stable due to more surface area holding the pieces together.
It's becoming more apparent to me that for bonsai pots to last longer, a mix of modern and traditional methods needs to be employed to bring both durability and aesthetics to the table. Bonsai kintsugi is different than your typical repaired pieces. Most kintsugi-repaired pieces are repaired to be displayed and lightly used. Your repaired figurines will be put on display to be stared at. Your repaired bowls and plates will be used lightly. Traditional means and methods make sense for your everyday use items like cups, plates, or bowls, to figurines. Bonsai pots, however, need to be exposed to the elements and used more, and can handle a chopstick stabbing it during repotting, or an anchor wire being applied.
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