Majorie Sahs, a noted art educator, writer and activist who also created works ranging from stone sculptures to hand-painted silk scarves, has died at age 82.
She died Oct. 14 after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer, said her daughter, Victoria Butler.
Mrs. Sahs was a dynamic advocate for art as a teacher and creator. She presented papers on art education at national and international conferences. She edited a newsletter for the California Art Education Association and served on the boards of arts organizations.
She raised money for the Crocker Art Museum as an active member of the Creative Arts League of Sacramento and helped establish the Visual Arts for Youth program at the Boys & Girls Club of Sacramento. She organized a popular community auction of shade umbrellas painted by local artists that raised thousands of dollars for a swimming pool for the Carmichael Recreation and Park District.
"She was a leader and always on the go," her daughter said.
Mrs. Sahs also was an experimental artist who used a variety of materials and techniques. She created mixed-media sculptures in stone and metal, silk paintings and scarves, jewelry and art cards. In 1995, she designed a limited edition of artworks for the Breast Cancer Fund, including a hand-painted scarf that was presented to first lady Hillary Clinton.
Majorie Jane McCarty was born in 1926 in Altadena. Her father owned a newspaper, and her mother worked as a reporter and editor. She graduated from high school at age 16, attended Emerson College in Boston and completed her education at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles.
She worked as an advertising art director in Southern California before marrying Eugene Sahs in 1949. The couple had three children and lived in Ohio and Minnesota before moving to Sacramento in 1964. After her children were grown, she went back to school to earn bachelor's and master's degrees and a teaching credential from Sacramento State.
Mrs. Sahs enjoyed being at home with her family, traveling and attending the opera, symphony and theater. Her husband, who was a Sacramento State professor of social work and criminal justice, died in 2004.
Her artwork was exhibited at the Sacramento Fine Arts Center and the Doiron Gallery, and her hand-painted scarves were included in "The Best of Silk Painting," a compilation published in 1997. But she was most proud of her role as an educator, especially sharing art with at-risk children.
"She used to say, 'I believe art has to be the best problem-solving activity anyone can do,' " her daughter said. "She was creative, compassionate and very generous."
Services are 2 p.m. today at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1615 Morse Ave., Sacramento.
Call The Bee's Robert D. Dávila, (916) 321-1077.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.