Image by Jeff Tessier

Award-winning Canadian ceramic artist and designer Tara Lynne Franco is a graduate of the Crafts and Design program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario and has been working with clay for fourteen years.
 

Tara earned an Honours Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies, Urban and Regional Planning, from the University of Waterloo and worked as a professional planner and policy advisor in the public sector where she played a leadership role in environmental and sustainable development issues in her home community of Hamilton, Ontario.  When not working with clay, Tara works for the Province of Ontario in the Ministry of Goverment Services.  Passion for the environment, and a commitment to make a difference in her community, both inspires and informs her work and is at the root of her goal to evoke positive and creative responses to the stark realities of the impacts of our actions on our local and global environments.
  

Working with porcelain and her own custom earthenware, Tara designs pieces which afford enjoyment to the eye and are a pleasure to use every day.  Her collection of work includes a wide range of contemporary tableware for the home and a line of porcelain pendants, both of which hint at aspects of the natural environment - the veins of a leaf, the curve of a petal, and the shape of an animal.  Her palette is creamy white with hints of fresh vibrant colours of turquoise, apple, turmeric and lilac.  Tara also creates one-of-a-kind sculptural pieces for the wall and table. Each piece is a unique collection of porcelain and earthenware flowers, leaves and other natural elements combined with pressing of what we are leaving behind in our environment such as waste and non-recyclables.

Tara Lynne Franco’s work can be seen at prominent galleries throughout Canada. In 2011, Tara was awarded the City of Hamilton Art Award for Fine Craft.  She has received several other awards and recognitions for her work. Tara has  permanent installations in the Archives of Ontario at York University, and the Crafts and Design wing of Sheridan College and her work is part of the Permanent Collection of the Burlington Art Centre.

Since graduating in 2006 Tara Lynne Franco has been designing and producing work in her studio in Hamilton. 

Tara is a Founding Board Member and Membership Chair for AllSorts Gallery on Ottawa Street in Hamilton, on the organizing committee for the West Hamilton Artists Tour and is a former President of the Potters' Guild of Hamilton and Region.