Mary Janice Ortiz was born
to Seferina Ortiz from Cochiti Pueblo in 1954. She is the older
sister of Virgil Ortiz and the granddaughter of Laurencita Herrera.
Her other siblings include Joyce Lewis, Juanita Inez Ortiz, Leon
Ortiz and Angie Ortiz.
The tradition of making storytellers
and other figurative works originated at Cochiti Pueblo and surged
around the turn of the 19th century. Nearly all of Janice family,
friends, and neighbors are connected to the artform in some way.
In the spirit of that same tradition, Janice began making clay
figures at an early age, and although she took a brief hiatus
to pursue a formal education, she returned to her roots after
starting a family and has reaped many rewards of a successful
career as a pottery artist including numerous awards at the top
shows for Native American art throughout the Southwest.
Janice uses all natural pigments
for her paints, natural clay, and traditionally fires all of
her pottery outdoors. She credits her ability to her mother and
grandmother who encouraged her to "try" as a child.
She signs her work MJ Ortiz.