Stuart Gair grew up in Northeast Ohio where his interests in local materials, historiography and the ceramic process first began. He often references past cultures and civilizations in his work as a way to understand specific groups through the objects they created. Gairs recent research has focused on alternative ways to firing soda kilns, a process that was developed in the 1980s as an alternative to traditional salt firing techniques. This approach of adding sodium bicarbonate to the kiln yields a greater range of color in the clays surface and has a lower carbon footprint than salt.

 

Gair received an MFA in Ceramics from The University of Nebraska and a BAS in History from Ohio University. He has also spent time teaching at Harvard University and Colorado Mountain College and was a long-term resident at the Archie Bray Foundation.  He has a studio in Canaanville, Ohio where he has been experimenting with local clays and exploring the ceramic history of the region. He is the co-founder of Green Creek, a gallery and artist residency that is focused on bringing nationally and internationally recognized artists to the area as well as highlighting artists and craftsman from the Appalachian region working in traditional methods.

 

Gair is currently an Assistant Professor of Instruction at Ohio University.