Includes bibliographical references and index.

"This is the story of a woman who wielded imagination and hope in the face of intolerance and who transformed everything she touched into art. Born in California in 1926, Ruth Asawa grew from a farmer's daughter to a celebrated sculptor. She survived an adolescence in the Japanese-American internment camps during World War II, attended the groundbreaking art school at Black Mountain College, fought through lupus, and revolutionized arts education in her adopted hometown of San Francisco. She forged an unconventional path in everything she did-whether raising a multiracial family of six children, founding a high school dedicated to the arts, or pursuing her own practice independent of the New York art market. Her beloved fountains are now San Francisco icons, and her signature hanging-wire sculptures grace the MoMA, de Young, Getty, Whitney, and many more museums and galleries across America. In this compelling biography, Marilyn Chase brings Asawa's story to vivid life. She draws on Asawa's extensive archives and weaves together many voices-family, friends, teachers, and critics-to offer a complex and fascinating portrait of the artist. With 70 photographs and artworks reproduced throughout the book, this is a richly visual volume that invites readers to step inside Asawa's story"--,Provided by publisher.