"Kintsugi" with Rowyn Hjelle and her Scar from Adrenocortical Carcinoma in Wet Plate
![](https://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://nostalgicglasswetplatestudio.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/3/-kintsugi&media=https://nostalgicglasswetplatestudio.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p2246847999-5.jpg&description="Kintsugi" with Rowyn Hjelle and her Scar from Adrenocortical Carcinoma in Wet Plate&layout=none&ref=https://nostalgicglasswetplatestudio.zenfolio.com/blog/2017/3/-kintsugi)
"Kintsugi" with Rowyn Hjelle and Dan Miller. 5x7" black glass ambrotype in the historic wet plate collodion process. This pure silver image will last hundreds and hundreds of years.
In her words -
"I had a large adrenocortical carcinoma removed from my left adrenal gland just four months before this image. Doctors worked for five and a half hours to remove the tumor, my left kidney, my left adrenal gland, and repaired the damage to my inferior vena cava.
This image is highlighting my surgical scar, it is a reminder of how powerful our bodies are. It's a reminder that sometimes the radiant, loving light is best shown through the cracks.
In Japan, there is a 500-year-old art called kintsugi where craftsmen repair broken pottery with gold. This is interwoven with the wabi-sabi philosophy of finding beauty in broken things. Instead of trying to cover the crack or seeing it as having lost value, they make it stronger, more beautiful, more valuable, by repairing with gold.
Embrace your scars! Wear them like a medal of strength and honor! You're even more beautiful with them! You're so beautiful! Love your body!"
"Kintsugi" Adrenocortical Carcinoma Scar in Wet PlateRowyn Hjelle
Comments
Nostalgic Glass Wet Plate Studio was founded on October 4th, 2012 by Shane Balkowitsch.