Antonietta Mazzotti

Ceramicist

©Raffaele Tassinari

All the world's a stage

Antonietta shapes, styles and decorates ceramics
She is inspired by the traditional ceramics of Faenza
She collaborates with architects and artists

Since her childhood, Antonietta Mazzotti has loved to play with clay, to touch matter with her hands. Her primary school teacher advised her to devote herself to art, and she followed this advice. For years, she dedicated herself to contemporary ceramics, but after meeting her husband, she also experimented with the most traditional ceramics of Faenza, which has a very ancient history. Over the years, she has taken part in group and solo exhibitions at an international level. In 1976, she transformed her neo-gothic greenhouse of villa Emaldi (where she still lives and works) into her workshop, a fairy tale place where she spends most of her time.

Interview

©Raffaele Tassinari

©Raffaele Tassinari

What is your educational background?: For eight years, I attended the renowned Gaetano Ballardini State Ceramic Art Institute in Faenza. In the morning I went to school, in the afternoon I learned the disciplines related to ceramics. After graduating in 1972, I opened my workshop in Faenza.
What are your sources of inspiration?: At the beginning, I was inspired by my childhood. For example, from the small sacrifice of Lent, when you couldn’t eat sweets or watch television. So, I adopted symbologies by making vessels with a mouth, an eye or a lily, which represented purity.
What do you love most about your profession?: I really like to work with the clay, before I used to spend most of my time painting. I really need to work with clay and create with my hands, I love to feel the matter.
What suprises people about your work?: The design and construction times of an object are really very long. From conception to design, from drawing to execution, it takes a lot of time. When you buy a handmade object, even a small one, you should realise that it is a precious thing.

Antonietta Mazzotti is a master artisan: she began her career in 1972 and she started teaching in 1973