Ruth Asawa: A Sculpting Life

Pelican Publishing Company
(pub. 8.30.2018)
32 pages

A True Tale with
A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Joan Schoettler
and illustrator: Traci Van Wagoner
 
C haracter: Ruth Asawa

O verview from the jacket flap:  
     "Ruth Asawa believed in making the world a better place. She understood that exposing children to art was one path toward that goal. Form the Japanese-American internment camps to the creation of the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, Asawa's life journey is one filled with family, art, injustice, inner strength, education, and arts activism. She drew upon her transformative life experiences and worked with unconventional mediums - using lines, space, and wire to create sculptures that move people to this day. 
     Asawa became known as the 'Fountain Lady' for the many fountains she designed. One she created was the San Francisco Fountain outside the Grand Hyatt. Asawa worked with children from different parts of the city to create whimsical bas-relief panels that she incorporated in the design. Public support has kept this magnificent piece in place - a monument to a courageous and inspirational artist who changed the world.
     Touched by the celebration of Asawa's life, author Joan Schoettler viewed exhibitions, studied Asawa's art, and researched to portray the life of this remarkable woman.  In a perfect complement, the thorough research by illustrator Traci Van Wagoner is vividly apparent in the quietly compelling depictions of Asawa and her life."
    

T antalizing taste: 
      "Ruth experiments using lines, curves, and spaces and makes looped-wire art from a practical technique she learned in Mexico.
     She twists thin, flexible wire. With loop after loop, Ruth builds sculptures of wire and air.
     'It's like drawing in space,' she says."...
     Ruth weaves her love of family and art together. When she works on her looped-wire pieces, her children play nearby. Ruth's hands coil brass, copper, and iron wires into hanging sculptures. Her children help her twist the wires around wooden dowels, or rods, to form coils. Using a simple chain stitch of loop after loop, Ruth coils metal into new shapes. She tapes her sore fingers to protect them. They are her tools."
    

and something more: Sometimes we are given the gift of meeting someone who becomes a close friend, and meeting Joan Schoettler is one of those gifts. I met Joan at a SCBWI writing conference at Big Sur, and we immediately felt like long-time friends.  She kindly shared her thoughts about writing this wonderful book:  
    "Ruth Asawa believed art makes people better. Her looped-wire sculptures, her many fountains, and her public art demonstrate her creativity throughout San Francisco and the Bay Area.
    Knowing the powerful impact art can have on a child’s life, Ruth worked to incorporate art in schools. Students continue to benefit from her passion to expose children to art, to observe objects in nature, and to create each day.
    I hope this book shares her wisdom that art is an essential part of a well-rounded life.”