Potters Market at the Mint
September 26, 2026
Jennifer Mecca Pottery, Gastonia NC
Porcelain: cone8 oxidation thrown & altered vessels with imitation celadon glaze. My surfaces are highly decorated with intaglio, multi-color stain drawings, stamps, sprigs & accent glazes. Multiple glaze firing is done to achieve layers of visual information. My pieces are functional & decorative.
I am a utilitarian potter. I create pots that are visually pleasing and unique in character, but also useful in everyday life. The inspiration for my pieces comes from Victorian pottery, glass and silver serving forms and floral designs on Japanese pottery of the same era. I use a high fire porcelain body in an electric kiln and have formulated my own glazes to imitate the look of a traditional celadon glaze. Since graduate school, I have fired my pieces in an oxidized environment to achieve bright colors weather in a gas kiln or atmospheric kiln. My pieces now are fired in an electric kiln in which I can control the cooling process.
My surfaces are comprised of intaglio drawing which is a process of using a shape drawing tool, such as an Exacto knife and cutting into the surface when it is leather hard. After this surface dries a bit, I then brush on colored stains, let them dry and whip them away with a clean sponge. I have made my own sprigs and appliqué which I also add at the leather hard stage along with my own stamp designs. After the pieces come out of the bisque kiln I add a variety of accent glazes to my drawings and depending on the effect they have with the base glazes I may use them under or alongside my faux-Celadon glaze. On a few of my decorative pieces, I will sometime do a very low firing with some added lusters.
The pots I create reflect the enjoyment I have for throwing, embellishing, creating and using. I enjoy creating each piece with its own unique character and personality, whether I change a rim, foot, handle or decorative element. All of my pieces are wheel-thrown and altered in some way. The majority of my forms are altered at a wet state and then cleaned up with a wood rasp or sharp metal rib. Many of my pots are thrown in two pieces so I can achieve a variety of shapes. The forms I make are usually organic in nature, which stems from my love of the material I use, and my personal preference for a fluid line.