Japanese lacquerware workshop at the V&A, London
As part of the ‘Collacqueration – Designed in the UK – Lacquered in Japan’ exhibition programme, designer Julia Lohmann and I took part in the workshop ‘The Art of Japanese Lacquer’ in the Art Studio of the V&A Sackler Centre on 30 October 2010.
Parallel to Maki-e and Chinkin lacquerware demonstrations by the Japanese master craftsmen Takashi Wakamiya, Yoshinori Shibayama, and Akira Sugimura from Wajima prefecture, I completed two Chinkin-illustrated bowls. Since I cannot equal the mastery of the Wajima craftsmen I decided to use the bowls like sketchbooks, engraving quick illustrations of people and renderings of letterforms. The Chinkin tools I used are similar to those used in etching.
At the V&A, I coated the engraved bowls in clear lacquer and wiped the surplus off like from an etching plate, leaving lacquer only in the lines of the illustrations. Then, I applied gold pigment to the whole bowl and used a polishing compound to remove the surplus, resulting in golden line work. The bowls are on display at the Embassy of Japan, 101-104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT, from 15 October – 30 November 2010. More information
The gold-stained Chinkin line work emerges