Meet the Artist
David Parry
Ceramics
Whistle Post Pottery is based in Olalla, Oregon, about 20 minutes outside Winston in the Coastal Mountain foothills of Douglas County. After nine years of semi-urban living, in 2018 David Parry and his wife, Melissa, decided to go rural and found a spot decidedly different from the River Road neighborhood of Eugene, Oregon, where Whistle Post Pottery was founded.
Whistle Post Pottery was created in 2009 after they moved from England to Eugene in search of more space and adventure. Originally from Stoke-on-Trent, England, an area known as 'The Potteries' due to spawning Royal Doulton, Wedgewood and many others, David moved to Bristol to attend the University of the West of England. After graduating in 1997 with a BA in Ceramics, he established his own studio and sold his work in markets and galleries across the southwest of England.
In 2000, David met his wife, Melissa and joined forces, establishing a home together in Bristol and adopting far too many dogs. Feeling curious about the world outside his studio David retrained as an Arborist in 2004 and wound down his pottery. Needing even more excitement than swinging in trees with a chainsaw, the two moved to America and settled in Oregon, where Melissa had grown up. More by circumstance than design they ended up in Eugene and found themselves in a region where trees and pottery were plentiful. The abundance of natural inspiration and creative outlets rekindled the urge to work with clay and Whistle Post Pottery was born.
David’s work features thrown and altered ceramics balancing manipulation of form with preservation of function. The emphasis is on interplay of color, glaze and texture. Curves and indents finish each piece creating tactile interest.
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