Happy October, !
We at New Classics Study Guides are thrilled to welcome Meredith Davis to our lineup of quality "New Classics" books that will encourage and edify your young readers. Today, Meredith wants to share from the heart and introduce you to the Japanese art of Kintsugi. I confess that I had never heard of this before, but now I'm fascinated. You will be too! She has even included an art activity to take your own broken bowls and create beauty. Take it away, Meredith!
Beauty from Brokenness: Raising Resilient Kids
We hear a lot about the importance of resilience these days. We need it, and our kids need it because we all experience hard things. Our bodies and this world are broken. Kind of like these bowls and vase once were.
This image shows the art of kintsugi. In Japanese, kin means “gold” and tsugi means “to mend.” Artist Makoto Fujimura explains the process in a very short video here. Essentially, the cracks of a broken bowl are highlighted using gold, and a new creation comes out of the “trauma” the dish has gone through, making the mended bowl more valuable than the original one.
Sometimes suffering is big and obvious, like an illness or death. But it can also look like being left out or failing. When we recognize that suffering can produce something beautiful in us, it can be easier to endure. How can we help our children understand this truth, and remind ourselves? Through example. Through story.
In a 1997 Nike commercial, Michael Jordan said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions, I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Resilience through failure was key to Jordan’s success.
We can also learn by doing. I had the chance to try my hand at kintsugi at a church retreat, and the mended bowl sits on my desk. I only pieced four fragments together and my “gold” was globby and smeared, but the process of taking those broken pieces and making something new and original is a constant reminder that our brokenness can lead to something beautiful.
I look at that bowl and remember all the many years of hearing “no’s” from publishers, before I finally got my “yes.” It was hard, but I see now how God used that time to grow my faith, my writing community, and my trust in His perfect plan.
What are some of the “cracks” you’ve experienced, and how is your life not just different, but better, because of them?
Try a Kintsugi Art Activity
If you or your child (suggested age 10 and up) would like to give kintsugi a try, here’s how we did it at our retreat. (Note, we used this Gorilla Epoxy Ultimate glue and this Gold mica powder). Click the button to download a PDF file with instructions on how to create your own beautiful piece from broken pieces.
More Encouragement About Being Resilient
Seeing how people we respect and admire not only persist in the face of suffering but also thrive because of it can encourage us and our kids to do the same. Dr. Seuss’s first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, was rejected 27 times before a publisher accepted it. Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time was rejected 26 times before it found a publishing home.
And after five rejections, L.M. Montgomery put her manuscript in a hat box in her closet. It sat there two years before she got the courage to take it back out and submit it to another publisher. I can’t imagine a world without Anne of Green Gables.
. . . writes award-winning, family-friendly books about superheroes and super-heroic kids. Her New Classics book, The Minor Miracle, is featured on our site and includes a free study guide to explore superhero fantasies, where things that make you different, even make you suffer, can be your greatest strengths. She has also written a sequel to The Minor Miracle (The Minor Rescue). Meredith loves connecting with kids at author visits and homeschool conferences. Find out more about her books and visits on her website.
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