kazuhiro yamanaka colors and repurposes broken glass into unique vases

in his latest ‘irotsugi’ project, artist and designer kazuhiro yamanaka recycles broken pieces of glass into unique vases. the collection is deeply influenced by the kintsugi technique (also known as golden joinery), the japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with lacquer dusted or mixed with gold powder.

a series of ‘irotsugi’
all images courtesy of kazuhiro yamanaka 

following an approach similar to the kintsugi technique, kazuhiro yamanaka colors the edges of the glass sheets in order to emphasize the beauty of the broken line. first, the artist finds the best composition for the broken fragments, trying out various layout options on a flat surface. then, he applies a bright color on the edge and connects the sheets together. the resulting piece is covered by an ultra-thin layer of glass and is set using UV glue. 

a vase with two broken lines colored in blue and green

a vase with one broken line covered in bright red

a vase with two broken lines colored in red and yellow

the artist adds a bright color right on the edge of the broken glass sheet

reuniting the pieces of broken glass

the resulting piece is sandwiched with ultra-thin glass and fixed using UV glue, weight is then applied to get all the air bubbles out

the broken pieces are then set as a container, to form the unique vase

a sheet of broken glass

in order to find the best composition, the artist explores the different layout options on a flat surface

japanese bowl with kintsugi

japanese bowl with kintsugi

project info:

name: irotsugi – when it breaks
designer: kazuhiro yamanaka

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: myrto katsikopoulou | designboom