 Schwarz was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a city with historical links to Regionalist painter Grant Wood.The son of a welder, his initial interests were in athletics, but as an undergraduate student at Iowa State Teachers College (now called the University of Northern Iowa), he developed an interest in ceramics, painting and other visual arts, and abruptly changed his major.He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1960, and a Master of Arts in 1961.