Garcia, Jessie

Jessie Garcia (1913-1984) was recognized as one of the three most important potters at Acoma Pueblo in the mid-20th century. She and her friends, Lucy M. Lewis and Marie Z. Chino, revitalized the Acoma pottery world through resurrecting ancient Mimbres and Anasazi styles and designs.

Jessie made traditional polychrome and Anasazi-Revival black-on-white jars, bowls, vases, wedding vases, turtles, turkeys, owls, storytellers and other figures. She also almost single-handedly resurrected ancient corrugated styles of pottery.

After Jessie’s death, her daughter, Stella Shutiva, carried on with the corrugated styles. Those styles then passed on to her daughter, Jackie Shutiva, when Stella passed on.

Jessie’s work can be seen at Smithsonian Institute, the School for Advanced Research, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture and others. She was an exhibitor at the Santa Fe Indian Market from 1961 to 1972.

Jessie taught her daughters how to make pottery as they were growing up. Her son, Chester, married Sarah Garcia from Laguna Pueblo and she moved to his home at Acoma. Sarah adjusted her techniques and designs to Acoma clays and ways with Jessie’s help and had almost as great an impact on Acoma pottery as Jessie did.