Jessie Garcia, Jessue C. Garcia

BIOGRAPHY

Jessie Garcia was a Native American potter known for coil pots, both traditional in construction and  “corrugated” as well as animal figures, all made with locally sourced clay and natural pigments. Garcia’s corrugated texture pots were made by pressing a stamp into each coil layer, instead of using her fingers. Garcia’s small figurative work were coil built with geometric line paterning.

Along with Marie Z. Chino and Lucy M. Lewis, Garcia was a key figure in the Anasazi revival style of the period 1950 to 1970. All three ceramic artists are from the Acoma Pueblo in New Mexico; their pots share similar characteristics with traditional pots, including thin walls, fluted rims, and thin line geometric designs, often in black and white, and also polychrome slips, made from natural, locally sourced materials.

Garcia is the mother of Anita Lowden and Stella Shutiva and mother-in-law of Sarah Garcia, all three are considered to be important potters in their own right.

Public Collections

American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, California

Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California

Bibliography

Dillingham, Rick, et al. Acoma & Laguna Pottery. 1st ed, School of American Research Press ; Distributed by the University of Washington Press, 1992.

“Jessie Garcia (1910-1990) Biography.” Mark Sublette Medicine Man Gallery. Last accessed: 16 December 2021.  https://www.medicinemangallery.com/jessie-garcia-b-1910-1999-biography

“Jessie Garcia.” Artist Biography and Facts, askART, Last accessed: 16 December 2021. https://www.askart.com/artist/Jessie_Garcia/11300949/Jessie_Garcia.aspx

“Pueblo Clay: America’s First Pottery.” Resource Library: American Museum of Ceramic Arts, May 17-July 12, 2008.  Last accessed: 16 December 2021. http://www.tfaoi.com/aa/8aa/8aa108.htm

Schaaf, Gregory, et al. Pueblo Indian Pottery: 750 Artist Biographies ; c. 1800 - Present ; with Value/Price Guide Featuring over 20 Years of Auction Records. 1. ed, CIAC Press, 2000.

Southern Highland Craft Guild