Fran Swinden trained as an art teacher at Alexander Mackie Teachers' College and the National Art School before completing the Ceramics Certificate course at Brookvale Technical College. With a group of fellow graduates, by 1987 she had become a member of the Clay Things Potters Gallery set up in 1983 in Dee Why in the northern suburbs of Sydney. She was an active member of the Society of Arts and Crafts of New South Wales during the mid 2000s, specialising in glazed terracotta bead necklaces and planter pots as well as working in a variety of other media. Her ceramic work is incised 'Fran Swinden'.