George E. “Gus” Schairer began carving images in Ivory Soap as a child. Classes at Cornish School introduced him to clay and his progression included wood and wire as he grew up. As a very young man he was deeply affected by a picture of Brancusi’s “Bird in Space”. Leonardo’s amazing repertoire and Michelangelo’s “Captives”, “Moses” and “David” have always fascinated him. Rodin’s “Balzac” is one of his favorites. His art was a hobby throughout his education and business career. He worked in stained and leaded glass for several years.

Now semi-retired, he has devoted much of his time to taking classes in stone, clay and bronze sculpture at Pratt Fine Arts. He enjoys working in Soapstone because of the variety of colors and the forgiving nature of the stone. Marble, alabaster, and chlorite are increasingly included and he is translating some of his stone forms into bronze. Portraits in clay, plaster, then bronze or stone are his current area of interest. He works mostly at his Vashon Island studio.

My work is intended to elicit, remind, and suggest to the viewer the exquisite beauty in the world around us. The turn of a leaf, a spiraling tree trunk, the play of water on stone at a waterfall, the eternal wonder of the female form, the magic flight of a soaring bird, the essence of a rust encrusted sunset, the effect of a capricious breeze on a blade of grass, the wonderful heaving of the mountain peaks, a pensive expression on an innocent face, the beautiful complexity found inside a painted shell or a carefully guarded soul, all these serve as my inspiration. If the viewer’s memory of a secret wonder is stimulated by my work, then that is my success.

Gus is an award-winning, internationally recognized sculptor who has been the featured artist at Whetstone Gallery and Blue Heron Gallery. His work has been shown at Heron's Nest, Kirsten Gallery, The Artist’s Gallery, The Hardware Store, Barnworks, the Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts, and the VAA and PONCHO Auctions. His work is included in private collections in Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Indiana, and Canada.