Ruth Dwyer and Tara Lynne Franco at the Katherine Butler Gallery Opens Tonight

I am pleased to present a selection of new pieces that were created specifically for this exhibition at the Katherine Butler Gallery. To create this new body of work I built upon some designs and themes I had been working on as well as taking some ideas I have been pondering for some time and bringing these concepts and drawings into reality.
This work continues to explore my interest and concern about our impact on the environment in which we live. I have also reached back into the pool of ceramic history for inspiration for some of the new forms. There are three major themes in the work that is in this collection – the ceramic pillows, the window garden and the Reflection Series.

For images of the work in the show and directions to the gallery visit www.kbutlergallery.com/Templates/featured-exhib.html. The artist reception is tonight, Friday January 16th from 6 to 10pm.

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Holiday Sales Continue through to Christmas

Thank you to all that came out to my Holiday Open House and Sale. It was a great weekend, a chance to reconnect with friends and share some holiday cheer and help people find the perfect handmade gifts for friends, colleagues and loved ones. My studio will be open up until Christmas for sales and I will be hard at work in the studio finishing up some orders and making work for my show at the Katherine Butler Gallery in Sarasota Florida that starts on January 14, 2009. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and the best of the season to all of you.
Tara

Open House Starting This Friday December 5th to 7th

The shelves are stacked and the final firings are underway to prepare for this weekend's open house. All that is left is a bit more firing, some cleaning and of course a whole lot of baking so visitors can enjoy some delicious goodies while browsing. I am really excited as I have some new designs in my functional line as well as new pendants. And of course, in time for the holidays I have some beautiful holiday ornaments that are wrapped and ready for hostess gifts or stocking stuffers. I hope you can stop by to my home and studio - 135 Kent Street Hamilton. For a link to a map, please see my website at http://www.taralynnefranco.com/

The times are:
Friday December 5th - 4pm -8pm
Saturday December 6th - 10am - 4pm
Sunday December 7th - 10am - 4pm

On a personal note, today is my grandma Pasqualina Franco's 110th birthday. Yes, she was born on December 2nd, 1898. We celebrated with her this past weekend. This is my sister Nycole (left) and I with Gram. I had just told her something and just before Robert snapped the picure she looked at me to respond. Is she cute or what?

The Holiday Sale Season Begins

Have you noticed any changes at your local stores as yet? You know the holiday season is coming along quickly when the day after Halloween the orange and black are removed and the red and green make their appearance. That day, even at Fortinos, our local grocery store which is owned by Loblaws the cashiers were wearing holiday shirts advertising that PC has released new products for the holidays. The cashier and I had a laugh over that when she told me that she wore her costume to work the day previous and then arrived at work that day to be presented with her new holiday shirt.

Well the same is true for the art and craft scene. This week I have 3 openings and 2 sales events. Tuesday was the launch of the Hands on History Tile at the Gardiner Museum which was fantastic. I loved seeing the other 7 interpretations of Ontario's archival heritage. Last night was the VIP preview night for the Art Gallery of Hamilton's Art Sale that I have pieces in (see http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/as_shop_art_sale.php) which will continue over the weekend. Friday is the opening for Designer Craft at the Carnegie Gallery as a part of Arts Dundas (see http://www.carnegiegallery.org/ArtsDundas/ArtsDundas2008/events.htm). The photo is the piece I have in this exhibition. And this weekend I, along with 113 other potters will have our work for sale at the Fall Sale of the Potters' Guild of Hamilton and Region at the Dundas Community Centre. And then it continues from there culminating in my own Holiday Open House and Sale December 5th to 7th. With that, I will return to the studio to keep making ....

Tara CAN Read

As you may have noticed in the bottom right corner of my blog, I have been posting reviews of Canadian fiction I have been reading as part of the "Great Canadian Book Challenge Eh!". This section was getting a bit long, and I felt that I wanted to write more about these fantastic books, so I have started my second blog dedicated solely to my reading habit called Tara CAN Read - the "CAN" being the Canadian part .... So, I will soon be transferring over my reviews which will become more detailed over to this new site - http://www.taracanread.blogspot.com/. I hope you will drop in and visit and offer your thoughts on these books or suggest some of your own. I just finished "King Leary" by Paul Quarrington and have just begun "Not Wanted on the Voyage" by Timothy Findley.