Naranjo, Jennifer

Born in 1960, Jennifer Naranjo is the daughter of Dominguita Sisneros of Ohkay Owingeh. Her grandmother was Tomasita Reyes Montoya, one of the original seven women in the revival of the Ohkay Owingeh pottery tradition in the 1930s. Dominguita and her sister, Rosita de Herrera, were also very active in the Ohkay Owingeh pottery world. Jennifer grew up learning how to make pottery by watching and working with her mother, aunt and grandmother as she grew up.

In the late 1980s, Jennifer met and married Johnnie Tse-Pe of San Ildefonso Pueblo. She moved to his home there and learned how to make pottery the way he did. About 10 years later they divorced and she moved to her father’s pueblo, Santa Clara. There she met and married Alfred E. Naranjo. They have a son, Alfred J. Naranjo.

Jennifer mostly makes small redware jars with sgraffito designs. She often incorporates micaceous clays and polished and matte green paints in her designs, similar to some Russell Sanchez and Tse-Pe pieces. It is said her sgraffito bear profile design is very like that of Tony Da, too.