Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa

Fascinating bio

I began this book with trepidation, since most works about art and artists are written by academics and art historians, who cannot write to save their lives and are thus virtually unreadable. I need not have worried. Marilyn Chase’s writing is so clear and her storytelling so accomplished that her book is a delight to read from start to finish. Ruth Asawa deserved a remarkable biography and Ms Chase has done her proud. What an extraordinary life, what an extraordinary person, both gifted and humble, a rare combination! Highly recommended.

This is a marvelous and gripping story of an incredible and incredibly committed artist.

Education about a great artist.

Very moving and well researched book on iconic and influential artist. Would highly recommend.

Of the books I have read this year, Marilyn Chase's "Everything She Touched" reached me with a profundity that I never would have imagined. Richly visual doesn't begin to describe this excellent volume, which tells the saga of an artist who faced the incredible challenges of racism and sexism only to gain courage and direction from these obstacles, drawing strength from episodes in a life that would have rendered a lesser spirit inert and bitter. The weaving technique of her art, crocheting wire into abstract forms, mirrors her ability to bend to her will the harsh challenges she faced again and again. Author Chase does a magnificent job of doing her own "weaving" of a tale of a life brilliantly told. HIGHLY recommended not just for those interested in art and artists, but to ANYONE who enjoys learning and expanding their reading horizons.

This outstanding book reflects tireless journalism combined with an unusual understanding of the many obstacles overcome by Ruth Asawa as she perfected her art as a sculptor. Ruth never was cowed by the humiliating treatment of Americans by our government after Pearl Harbor. She never accepted the reduced status of women assumed by some in the art world. Ruth battled relentlessly yet courteously for the properly significant role of the arts in public education and in public spaces. This book offers a superb learning experience about an important period in modern American history and about a great American hero who “made a difference” every day. And, it’s a delightful “read”.

Author Marilyn Chase brings her writer's skills and reporter's training together in this remarkable book, which meticulously documents the life of one of America's great women artists. More than just a biography, Everything She Touched is a page-turner telling of Asawa's life story -- her hard-working childhood, imprisonment in internment camps during World War II, the emergence of her art in its many forms and her unlikely romance with noted architect Al Lanier, who would be her lifetime supporter. Along the way they raised the six children she had always wanted, her multi-racial clan surrounding and working alongside Asawa as she created. Chase deftly unrolls the story to document Asawa's activism, indomitable spirit and the devotion to education that led to what is now the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts. Beautifully illustrated and a compelling read, this is a book for the ages -- and for all ages.

Everything She Touched: The Life of Ruth Asawa by Marilyn Chase is a phenomenal work of biography and history (art and United States). I came to this book because I admire Asawa's art and wanted to learn more about her. I expected to gain some appreciation for who she was but did not expect to be moved to the extent I was. I almost don't know where to begin discussing this book. Ruth Asawa had a life that tested her at every turn. That is probably true, to some extent, of every life, it is the moments in our lives and how we respond to them that test us and make us who we are. Asawa, however, endured things that could easily have broken her, or made her bitter and hateful, or simply made her shut down. Yet through everything she tended to find a positive way to deal with and move through each ordeal. I found the entire life story compelling but, because of my interests and old friends, I was particularly moved by her experience of the World War II concentration camps the US government set up to jail (contain) many of its own citizens. The ability to both be present in the moment (school, letter writing on behalf of her father, art instruction) and move into the future (going to teacher's college, a trip to Mexico) shows an amazing degree of strength. To also come out of the experience without a long and abiding hatred of all things American is more than I think I would have been able to do. To then work toward making the world a better place for future generations is the stuff of movies. Chase writes about this life with both a keen eye and a compassionate heart. The details and research is astounding yet the narrative of Asawa's life never gets bogged down in detail. Rather, it is enhanced by being able to connect more of the dots. I can't speak highly enough about how well written and organized this biography is. I highly recommend this book to readers of biography, this is a wonderful example of the genre. Also any readers of art or art history books will find a lot of interesting information here. Finally, those interested in US history will appreciate this as a work of historical importance because of the efforts Asawa made to reunite her family during WWII and the response (or lack thereof) of government officials. Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

Marilyn Chase’s “Everything She Touched” is likely to become the definitive resource on the life, times and art of sculptor Ruth Asawa. Meticulously researched and evocatively written, this biography gave me a fuller appreciation of Asawa’s quiet courage and her remarkable contributions to the arts and public education.

Author Marilyn Chase exquisitely reveals Asawa’s steadfast focus on her art, her warmth and caring for others, her creativity, her love of family, from her first art classes at the internment camp during WWII to formative years at Black Mountain College to family and career in San Francisco; she always stayed true to herself and her values. We feel her tireless energy filling days and nights with children (Asawa fulfilled her desire for six children, raising them amidst her art and her studio in her Noe Valley home.), gardening, friends, her art and her activism. Beginning in the 1960s, she actively began to follow her dream to create children’s art classes taught by artists. This occupied much of her time during this period, and San Francisco public school students were and are the fortunate beneficiaries. Ruth Asawa lives and breathes on these pages, revealing a whole person, someone we feel like we know and admire and care for. In addition to providing discourse on Asawa’s evolution as an artist and her seminal work, we also come away with love and admiration for the artist herself.

I began this book with trepidation, since most works about art and artists are written by academics and art historians, who cannot write to save their lives and are thus virtually unreadable. I need not have worried. Marilyn Chase’s writing is so clear and her storytelling so accomplished that her book is a delight to read from start to finish. Ruth Asawa deserved a remarkable biography and Ms Chase has done her proud. What an extraordinary life, what an extraordinary person, both gifted and humble, a rare combination! Highly recommended.

Marilyn Chase deftly sets the scene of the Asawa family life as Japanese American truck farmers in California pre-Pearl Harbor. It is a life of hard work, honor and family. The middle child in a family of seven, Ruth is given solitary chores due to her scrappy nature. After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, the family is torn apart in two internment camps. Ruth’s life unfolds in a daunting series of what for anyone else would be setbacks, but for Ruth, it becomes the backbone of her art and her life full of serendipity and incredible endurance. (I doubt that Ruth thought she endured anything.) Her dedication to her husband, her family, her art, art education for children, friendship and keeping everyone fed are the themes of her life. A racially mixed marriage, post-World War II anti-Japanese sentiment, advice from Imogen Cunningham to use her own name as an artist, a fierce dedication to her art, her blossoming public persona in the fight for art as part of all children’s educations (endlessly sketching at various board meetings) – it is hard to pick any one facet of Ruth to admire most. What artist could endure a discussion of whether her remarkable wire sculptures were actual sculptures, since they were hung instead of sitting on pedestals? Marilyn Chase found the perfect subject for her meticulous research and produced a book of astonishing power letting Ruth’s life inspire.

Marilyn Chase in “Everything She Touched” does a fantastic job of telling the story of Ruth Asawa, both the artist and the person. The writing is beautiful making the reader feel like they are there. The book offers a glimpse into the life of a traditional Japanese family, an internment camp during WWII, an artist enclave, and a struggling artist’s home and work life. I love the detail that went into the creation of her art pieces and found it fascinating to learn how Ruth used local talent, including children, to create panels in some of her public murals. I was aware of Ruth as a respected artist, but I feel through this book I got to know her on a personal level as an individual, a wife, a mother, and an activist for arts education. I would definitely recommend!