Obituary: Sculptor Herberholz forged love of art at CSUS
By Robert D. Dávila - Bee Staff Writer
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/96768.html
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Published 12:00 am PST Friday, December 22, 2006
Story appeared in METRO section, Page B4
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Donald
W. Herberholz, a renowned metal sculptor who became a nationally
recognized expert on training elementary art teachers at California
State University, Sacramento, died Sunday. He was 83.
He died at his Gold River home after a two-year battle with prostate and bone cancer, said his wife, Barbara Herberholz.
Mr.
Herberholz was a prolific sculptor of welded metal, including
fountains, wall art and smaller objects. He sold works to private
collections and received commissions for public art, including an
African animal scene at the Carmichael Library and wall sculptures at
Arden Christian Church. He exhibited at the Crocker Art Museum and won
top prizes at the Nut Tree scarecrow contest in Vacaville.
Besides abstract pieces, he created whimsical sculptures
reflecting his wry sense of humor, friends said, including rabbits
dancing under a carrot tree. His trademark works were owls, including a
4-foot-tall figure he fashioned from hammered copper and named "Henry
George."
"He was just born inspired," said his wife, a retired CSUS art
professor. "He loved to make art, and the only thing that slowed him
down was macular degeneration he had the last few years."
Mr. Herberholz was an art education professor for 35 years at CSUS,
where he co-wrote several textbooks with his wife. In 1964, the couple
published "Artworks for Elementary Teachers," which became the leading
text for art education students at U.S. and Canadian colleges,
colleagues said. The book, now in its ninth edition, has been in print
longer than any other of its kind and sold more than 500,000 copies,
CSUS officials said.
Mr.
Herberholz was a strong proponent of art education who decried school
curriculums that emphasize "left brain" subjects -- including reading,
writing and math -- at the expense of art lessons that help children
think creatively with their "right brain," colleagues said.
He
supported the CSUS Barrio Arts Program, which introduces future art
teachers to different cultures, and was honored by state and national
professional groups for his support of art education.
"We've
lost the last of the pioneers on the importance of art education in the
schools," said Jose Montoya, a retired CSUS art professor. "The books
that he and his wife put together were crucial to the whole notion of
developing creativity in young people."
Mr. Herberholz was born to German immigrants in 1923 in Detroit and grew up on a farm.
He
earned a bachelor's degree in art from Michigan State University in
1946 and a master's degree from the University of New Mexico in 1954.
He taught art at schools in Michigan, Colorado and New Mexico and at
Bloomsburg State Teachers College in Pennsylvania for two years and
married Barbara Bailey in 1954.
He joined CSUS in 1956 and served three years as art
department chairman before retiring in 1991. He received the California
Art Education Association's Award of Merit in 1981 and 1988 and was
named 1985 California art educator of the year by the National Art
Education Association.
"Students really liked him," said Maria Winkler, Sacramento
artist and CSUS professor. "He was extremely knowledgeable about art
and really loved talking to students."
Mr. Herberholz enjoyed
combing flea markets for art books, collecting American Indian and
Mexican folk art and traveling with his wife to Europe and Mexico.
Friends said he was a warm, caring man with an offbeat sense of humor
who loved puns and wore a red clown nose while making Sunday pancakes
for his family.
"He was like an onion," said John Lopez, a Sutter Creek
gallery owner. "He had many layers to his personality, with a definite
bent on art."
About the writer:
* The Bee's Robert D. Dávila can be reached at (916) 321-1077 or
bdavila@sacbee.com.
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/96768.html
Donald W. Herberholz
Born: July 2, 1923
Died: Dec. 17, 2006
Remembered for: Renowned sculptor of welded metal artworks; national
expert on art education and art professor for 35 years at California
State University, Sacramento; co-author of leading college textbook on
art education; served on the Crocker Art Museum board of directors
Survived by: Wife, Barbara Herberholz of Gold River; daughters, Amy
Scherschligt of Carmichael and Heidi Grasty of Gold River; son, Eric
Herberholz of Rocklin; sisters, Louise Sielski and Virginia Collins,
both of Michigan; and eight grandchildren
Memorial service: 2 p.m. Jan. 10 at Christ Unity Church, 9249 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento
Remembrances: In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Mr.
Herberholz may be made to Futures for Children, 9600 Tennyson St. NE,
Albuquerque, N.M., 87122.
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