Joyce Harris Mayer studied at the New York City Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences. Exhibiting as Joyce Harris, in 1960 she showed at Horizon Gallery in Greenwich Village and in 1966 in a group show at the National Arts Club in Manhattan in the 1960s she worked as an art director in magazine and book publishing, becoming one of the first female art directors in the country.

After marrying in 1969 and having her son, Mayer did not exhibit again until 1974. Moving to New Orleans five years later, she exhibited in more than fourteen group gallery exhibitions in New Orleans and 6 one-person exhibitions at New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), Tulane University, Aaron Hastings Gallery, and Mario Villa Gallery. She received commissions from NOMA and the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) and was chosen Century Club Artist of the Year in 2002.

When illness forced Mayer to put down her paints and brushes, she discovered her new media in the computer by using the empty screen as a blank canvas to create abstract images.