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Constance Stotzer | Episode 878
Currently residing in Las Vegas, Constance Stotzer graduated from California College of Arts and Crafts with a BFA and a major in sculptural ceramics. After a few years teaching special education Constance transitioned into becoming an Art Specialist in elementary school. Constance was involved with the foundation of Clay Arts Vegas, a local ceramic studio and loving clay community. Currently, Constance is a high school ceramics instructor.
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Did you start with an empty palette in terms of what you were going to be showing?
If my show doesn’t exude my absolute randomness, I had huge dreams and aspirations of a theme and what I was going to do and did not of it. Because coming off of Covid and quarantine last year as a starting first year ceramic teacher I really struggled and fighting the student’s apathy was absolutely soul-sucking last year. So not only struggling with learning all new curriculum and learning how to run my own studio I have been fighting my own depression and funk just being so drained. So trying to put the show together with the ebbs and flows of wanting to make and having the energy and mental capabilities to make work was definitely a start and stop process. I really appreciate Charlie Cummings and the fact that they asked me to be in different shows, it gave me something to focus on through Covid and quarantine and helped give me a purpose. So they saved me, my art saved me and kept me afloat.
Was it critical for you to have a year to plan for it?
I make stuff insanely slow so it was really good to have that year, to be able to have that much time to work on it.
Is it difficult to put on a show and to work full-time even though it’s in the same field? Is it a hard gig to pull off both?
I am a morning person so I like to do a lot of my work first thing in the morning and I don’t have much left of me in the afternoon, but trying to get a good chunk of time before work especially now that I leave the house at 5:30 am. is rough. So I think it is just more time adjustment and trying to make time and have the energy because by the end of my day I am just spent.
Do you see putting on a show more of a production as opposed to an event?
I don’t know. I think of it as more of an event. I had an end goal and I just needed to make the 435 pieces in the year. And I had to make a variety of sizes and I know everybody likes mugs so I tried to make mugs. If I do batch of ten I might have two or three that come out. I think I came just under the twenty mugs that I wanted to make for the show. Think about all the ones that died along the way.
How much curation comes in not because the piece failed but because it doesn’t quite meet the theme?
Yeah, I tried to have a theme, I didn’t end up with a theme. I derailed from that theme. Basically just ladies and nature stuff is the theme. I wanted to have ocean stuff and woodland creatures. I started out with more of a focus towards story-telling and with the year I was having it was a big enough fight to just make work. So my show is incredibly eclectic.
You are putting on a show and you are going to be the featured artists at a gallery. How much responsibility is on your shoulders for promoting the event?
I don’t know. I put a newsletter out as well as blasting it out on my social media. I kind of feel like that is just the norm on top of anything the gallery provides as well.
Book
FIrebrand by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Contact
Instagram: @constancestotzer