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Obituary: Sculptor Herberholz forged love of art at CSUS

By Robert D. Dávila - Bee Staff Writer

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(Originally published as 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

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.

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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