San Francisco artist Ruth Asawa spent much of her career working with wire, weaving metal into shapes that emulate forms in nature.
She was endlessly inspired by the possibilities this material brought to her art practice, dedicating decades of her life to the deep contemplation of what it could express.
“Techniques are simple to learn,” Asawa noted. “Digesting them and making them something that represents you will take a lifetime.”
Asawa learned the looping technique that formed the basis of her signature style on a trip to Mexico in 1947, fascinated with local wire baskets designed to hold eggs. The process she developed required patience and rigor. Asawa compared the repetitive coiling of wire by hand to the farm work she did as a child: “It’s very easy in a way for me to do it because it’s out of my own past … like stringing the bean pole for beans to climb up on and … sowing and planting onions.”
A pressure to be productive has emerged in our quest to fill time at home. It may seem like everyone is brushing up on a new language or baking sourdough from scratch. But it’s okay to slow down, scrap the to-do list, and be gentle with ourselves. Asawa’s meditative focus reminds us that there’s a wealth of opportunity in something as deceptively simple as making shapes with wire. Wherever you are, we hope you’re doing one thing that you love.
Explore Asawa’s uniquely expansive vision in our online exhibit about the artist.
-From “de Young/Legion of Honor, No.7 Meditation”