Cherokee clay artist David Pruitt creates art that incorporates both ancient traditions and contemporary visions. His art gives us a unique way to look at the ancient and the new combined. David grew up in Adair County in Oklahoma, the heart of the Cherokee Nation, with a family steeped in tradition and educated in a very contemporary world. The Pruitt family, David, his wife Sandy and their son Trey, all have a passion for working in clay. At the present time he is employed as Director of Housing Rehab for the Cherokee Nation. His work puts him in daily contact with the elderly and disabled, rehabilitating and rebuilding their homes. David has worked as a master craftsman in wood and has excelled in making fine furniture, custom cabinets and building homes. He has successfully transferred many aspects of this experience and knowledge to the medium of clay. David has attended Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, East Central University, Ada, Oklahoma and Stilwell Vocational School, Stilwell, Oklahoma. He had the basic art courses of drawing and painting. With very limited instruction he has produced an impressive body of work. His love of clay and his innate artistic talent is at work in all the pieces he creates. Cherokee National Treasure Anna Mitchell inspired David. His ancestral connection to Southeastern Woodland designs is evident in all his work. His innovative approach to incorporating them into his work is clearly his own artistic expression. Commitment to excellence and his passion for clay art, has earned David recognition and awards for his efforts. His work has been purchased by corporate and private collectors. He has exhibited his art in museum shows, art markets and galleries. Currently David has a piece “Hands of the Real People” traveling across the US and Canada in the “Changing Hand 3” Show. His work is on exhibit and for sale at the Spider Gallery, in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.