David Salk can truly be considered a California Idyllwild artist, having moved to the mountain community as a full-time resident many years ago. Even before moving to Idyllwild, David, who grew up in Palm Springs, was a frequent visitor. Idyllwild played a decisive role in confirming David Salk’s career choice when he was still a young college student finding his way. ISOMATA (now Idyllwild School of the Arts) provided David the rare opportunity to study with the famous San Ildefonso potter, Maria Martinez. The rest is history. To this day, David remains a close friend to the Martinez family as well other Native American potters, especially the Acoma potters of the Lucy Lewis family. Over the years David Salk has created a unique style of both functional and decorative pottery. His wheel-thrown baskets are reproductions of the intricate designs and coiled shapes of 18th and early 19th century southwest Native American baskets. The combination of iron oxide and high firing enhances the beauty of the clay while also preserving these designs for generations to come. Ceramic Monthly magazine has called David Salk’s clay baskets “completely unique in the field of ceramics.” In addition to clay basket replicas, David Salk also creates beautiful, multi-colored, free-form and wheel-thrown pottery. These unusual pieces of various shapes and sizes can be enjoyed both for their aesthetic merits and used functionally as unique serving pieces. Salk’s work has been recognized for its accuracy by the Museum of National History in Santa Barbara. His clay baskets and glazed pottery are in collections throughout the United States and in over thirty-six countries throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. Salk has been written about in several art publications and has won numerous awards throughout the American Southwest. Over the years David Salk’s work has been shown in a variety of galleries including Santa Fe, NM, Sedona, AZ, Jackson Hole, WY, Alexandria, VA, Springdale, UT and several galleries in California.