David Porter was born and raised outside of Chicago, Illinois. At an early age he was introduced to art from his parents. The last of their six children, he was allowed to explore his environments with an open mind. Their love of travel introduced him to other cultures and different ways of thinking. Being very sensitive to nature, art was a natural expression for him.

      His higher education was both in the Midwest and California. In 1964 he settled in San Mateo, California, where he attended the college of San Mateo. There he met his art mentor Vincent Rascon. Rascon, A great painter and etcher, was a very close friend of the clay artist Peter Voulkos and through this association, Porter was strongly influenced by the style and philosophy promoted by Voulkos and his contemporaries.

      Porter finished his education at San Jose State University in 1968. At which time he moved back to Chicago to pursue his dream of a career devoted to contemporary clay work. After nearly 5 years in Chicago, he moved to the Ozarks of Southeastern Missouri. Sense his family owned some woodland in the area, porter felt the time was right to learn the art of firing his work with wood. The first few years were difficult as there was much to learn about the nuances and problems that went with that intriguing world. As all potters know, kiln construction and design are crucial to the craft, and as time went by there have been many hard working kilns of various sizes to accommodate his work.

      Porter’s home and studio are surrounded by over 40 acres of Ozark mountain terrain. It has been a good place to work for him considering that the firing of kilns goes well in a country setting. Porter says the years have been good to him with the creative process and physical effort it takes to continue making pottery and clay sculptures. It has kept him in shape. He has always loved to travel and bringing his work to distant places has been a rewarding life experience. With a smile he says it’s “the journey, the spontaneous inventing and the act of making that keeps one’s spirit fresh.”

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