Digital Painting by Allison Kufta
Ms. Allison Kufta is an artist based in Chicago, IL and medical student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine. Through digital art and traditional mixed media, she tries to explore the intersection of imagination and reality. After completing her block in cardiology and pulmonology, this piece was inspired by the Japanese concept of Kintsugi, the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. As a future doctor, this is a reflection on topics like quality of life, mortality, and what it means to be a healer.
“Kintsugi is a centuries-old Japanese art of repairing broken pottery and transforming it into a new work of art with gold, the traditional metal used in Kintsugi. The name of the technique is derived from the words “Kin” (golden) and “tsugi” (joinery), which translate to mean “golden repair.” The scars and cracks of the broken ceramic become the focus and turn the object into something unique and exquisite.
Kintsugi pottery pertains to the Zen ideal of Wabi sabi, the concept of embracing imperfection. It means finding pleasure in aged and worn objects, and value their blemishes as beautiful. Kintsugi repair also relates to other Japanese expressions, such as mottainai, which means to regret wasting something, and mushin, which means to free one’s mind and accept change.”
–definition from Invaluable Online Magazine
