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Herbert was born in 1925 in Mortelstein near Heidelberg, West Germany. He grew up in the small town of Weinheim, where his father was a well known public figure. From early childhood Herbert showed great talent for drawing and wood carving, gifts which he had in common with his forbears, many of whom were sculptors, stone masons, and master builders. By age twenty he qualified for university and possessed journeyman papers as a joiner and carpenter.
Originally, recorded about 1250, the family name was Plasterius, which was derived from the Greek word plasso meaning "I build, I form". Interesting considering Dr. Plasterer eventually became an Architect 'I build' and Sculptor 'I Form'.
Alongside a full-time degree program in architecture, town planning and engineering at the University of Karlsruhe, Herbert also studied sculpture at the nearby State Academy of Fine Arts. Then while completing his Doctorate in Engineering, Herb opened his own architect's office in Weinheim. The rebuilding of the "Parkhotel" in nearby Mannheim and the design and building of the "Verlag Chemie" in Weinheim were his first professional tasks.
Immigrating in 1954 to Vancouver, Canada with his wife Rose Maria and two children, Herb became a founding member of the Northwest Institute of Sculpture. Early works were exhibited at the Vancouver Art Gallery and at the University of British Columbia, where he exhibited the 7 foot sculpture, "Music".
For the next 20 years, Dr. Plasterer created fine terra-cotta works but mostly practiced Architecture as a founding member of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. His designs were built in Lethbridge, Alberta, in Vancouver, B.C., and in Victoria, B.C. where he resided from 1960 on.
In 1975 he turned to sculpting full time, dedicating the last ten years of his life to art. His wife, Rose Maria, one daughter and five sons, and a considerable number of grandchildren bear living proof that he lived the harmonious relationships in the family - between husband and wife, mother and child - which he so prolifically expressed in his sculptures. His highly collectible figures are cast in bronze, signed and numbered. They are found in galleries and private collections in Europe and North America.
