Jennifer Mecca is a utilitarian potter. She creates pots that are visually pleasing and unique in character, but also useful in everyday life. She enjoys making serving pieces and tableware that bring delight to the daily activity of eating, setting a table and enjoying a meal.

Jennifer was born in upstate New York and moved to the Piedmont of South Carolina in her late teens. She earned a BFA in Interior Design from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1989, and returned to school at East Carolina University in 1995 to complete a BFA and MFA in Ceramics in 1999. She is currently a fulltime studio potter and teaches classes and workshops parttime.

While growing up, Jennifer spent many weekends observing and participating in the traditions and rituals of her paternal Italian-American extended family. Among the most prevalent of these traditions were the preparation and presentation of elaborate meals. As a child, she observed how the tableware was as important as the planning, preparation and enjoyment. This served as the foundation for her interest in utilitarian pottery and love of creating elaborate surfaces and forms.

Jennifer has been a studio assistant for Silvie Granitelli at Penland School of Craft in Penland, North Carolina, and attended a weeklong workshop with Linda Christenson at Arrowmont School of Craft in Tennessee. She has attended workshops with Chris Staley and Donna Polseno at the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Craft, as well as workshops with Suze Lindsey, Gay Smith, Steven Hill, Brad Schwieger and many others. Jennifer has attended several clay conferences, including The International Clay Conference in Helsinki Finland, VI Utilitarian Conference at Arrowmont School of Craft, and numerous National Clay conferences. In 1996 Jennifer studied abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia, Estonia and Finland though an exchange program sponsored by East Carolina University.

Jennifer has participated in several nationally juried craft and pottery shows throughout the country. She has exhibited her work at the North Carolina Pottery Center, Rocky Mount Museum of Art, Greenville Museum of Art, Genaseo State University and the Odyssey Center for Ceramic Craft. She has taught college level ceramic classes as well as children’s clay classes. In 2004 her work appeared in the publication in 500 Cups. Jennifer’s work is displayed in several fine craft galleries on the East Coast.

She currently works from her studio at her home in York South Carolina, where she lives with her husband Joey, their son Quaid and twin daughters Aydan and McKenna.

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