A Life Made by Hand

The Story of Ruth Asawa (ages 5-8, introduction to Japanese-American artist and sculptor, includes activity for making a paper dragonfly and teaching tools for parents and educators)

by Andrea D'Aquino

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Pub Date Sep 03 2019 | Archive Date Jul 10 2019

Princeton Architectural Press

Arts & Photography | Children's Nonfiction

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Description

Ruth Asawa (1926-2013) was an influential and award-winning sculptor, a beloved figure in the Bay Area art world, and a devoted activist who advocated tirelessly for arts education. This lushly illustrated book by collage artist Andrea D'Aquino brings Asawa's creative journey to life, detailing the influence of her childhood in a farming family, and her education at Black Mountain College where she pursued an experimental course of education with leading avant-garde artists and thinkers such as Anni and Josef Albers, Buckminster Fuller, Merce Cunningham, and Robert Rauschenberg. Delightful and substantial, this engaging title for young art lovers includes a page of teaching tools for parents and educators.

Ruth Asawa (1926-2013) was an influential and award-winning sculptor, a beloved figure in the Bay Area art world, and a devoted activist who advocated tirelessly for arts education. This lushly...

Advance Praise

"This distinctive biography brims with artistic vision as it informs about a signature sculptor." -- Kirkus Reviews

Available Editions

EDITION	Other Format
ISBN	9781616898366
PRICE	$17.95 (USD)

Additional Information

Average rating from 12 members

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Featured Reviews

April G, Bookseller

I'd not heard of Ruth Asawa until very recently, and just, wow. What amazing work, and what an inspiring woman. I enjoyed this book very much, and I appreciate that the text focuses on her art, her curiosity about the world, the shapes found in nature, and her education rather than her family's internment during WWII. Not that that isn't important, but her work deserves to be the focus. The collage style illustrations throughout the book go well with the organic nature of Asawa's work, and compliment the subject nicely. The author's note at the end includes more biographical information, and the book concludes with an art project, how to make a paper dragonfly. Overall, a lovely book!

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Rogene C, Educator

An ambitious and beautifully organized and collected narrative and images to accompany them. A must for young children and young children's classrooms.