Jenny Morten was born in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham in 1947 and between 1965 and 1970 studied at York School of Art and Design and the Central School of Art and Design, London, where she was awarded the Queen Mary Scholarship in 1968. On leaving college she became a production thrower for Kate Weaver Potteries in London before opening her first workshop in South East London in 1972.  After working as a freelance designer and visiting lecturer in London, in 1980 she returned north and opened her second workshop in North Yorkshire where she continued to undertake commissioned works and freelance design.  Since 1990 Jenny Morten has held a number of ceramics and visual arts residencies, lecturing and tutoring posts in the north east of England.

As well as receiving several Design Centre awards and major commissions, Jenny Morten’s work has been featured in various publications and is also held in a number of collections, including: the V&A’s Contemporary Ceramics Collection; Central St Martins School of Art, London; J Sainsbury plc; The Tea House, Covent Garden, London; Ikeada Ceramics, Tokyo, Japan; University of Sunderland; Galleria 28, Timisoara, Romania; Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia; and Darlington Borough Council.