John's experience at the University of Michigan and his father's interests have shaped him as an artist.

From Sculptural Pursuit Magazine, Fall 2008:

Growing up, Schwarz learned from his father, a NASA engineer, how mechanical things worked and how various gadgets on spacecraft and the lunar module were used. "My father is a science-fiction fanatic and influences me a lot. He holds two patents in robotics parts and, at seventy-seven, still attends Saturday morning physics and astronomy classes at the University of Michigan. He taught me how to take things apart to see how they work and work with hand and power tools when I was in middle school. Since then, I've been taking things apart and building things out of wood and metal.

The act of bolting unrelated recycled objects together and creating a dinosaur or a fish is more satisfying than working exclusively in clay or other traditional materials.

"I love the process of building with rivets, nuts, and screws, and because of my upbringing, I'm completely at home with it."