Joan Bruneau is a professional Studio Potter and Regular Part-Time Ceramics Faculty at NSCAD University. She maintains her studio/showroom, Nova Terra Cotta in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Joan was born in 1963 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her love of travel and food sparked her desire to become a potter after discovering the authentic cuisines and pottery traditions of Europe on a trip in 1983-84. She went on to earn her BFA from NSCAD University in 1988, and MFA from the University of Minnesota in 1993.

Bruneaus work is exhibited throughout North America and is in recognized private and public collections. Bruneaus work is also published in current Ceramics publications including the feature article Idyllic Place; The Work Of Joan Bruneau by Andrea Marquis in Ceramics Monthly magazine ( April 2014) the ebook, American iPottery by Kevin Hluch , 2014 and Mastering The Potter's Wheel by Ben Carter ( 2016)