Tara Thacker

BIO

Tara Thacker is a visual artist specializing in ceramics, crafting sculptures and large-scale wall pieces composed of thousands of individual components. Her work emphasizes fluidity and softness, challenging conventional perceptions of the material.

Born (1970) in Lynchburg, Virginia, Thacker pursued her passion for ceramics and sculpture at Virginia Commonwealth University, earning her BFA in 1992. She continued her studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she received her MFA in Ceramics in 1995. While maintaining an active studio practice since graduate school she has actively been involved in arts education. In the early 2000’s, Thacker moved to Vermont to work at the Vermont Studio Center and as a faculty member at Northern Vermont University in Johnson. In 2024 she moved back to the south and currently lives and works in the central North Carolina town of Star where she is a resident artist at Starworks. 

GALLERY

ARTIST STATEMENT

At the heart of my artwork is a love of materiality and fascination with transformation. I am absorbed in a labor-intensive process. Each part is unique, serving as an architectural component, combined in various ways to discover their visual behavior. I aim to transcend initial forms and create unforeseen surfaces, drawing connections between observation and memory.



Clay is my chosen material for its tactile beauty, malleability, and technical challenges. My intention is to make works that do not immediately appear to be ceramic, often seeming soft or fabric-like instead and also eliciting a desire to touch.

Inspired by the avian world, my current work explores repetition of form and material transformation, creating layered, tactile works referencing bird wing structures and specifically flight feathers (Remiges and Retrices).