01/28/2026
Welcome to .artists.collab; a group of artists dedicated to community, intention, and creativity. This month’s artist is Ruth Asawa. Find all the contributions from the group in the Stories .artists.collab
Ruth Asawa was a Japanese-American artist most celebrated for her intricate wire sculptures. Her work bridges craft and fine art, transforming simple materials into delicate, meditative, and visually rhythmic structures. A few themes stood out for me when studying Ruth’s work: Her focus on geometry; her use of common materials found around her home; and her belief that everything is art.
Here are some of the pieces that I created this month with inspiration from Ruth Asawa:
(1) I used stems from plants in my yard to stamp them into geometric patterns. I didn’t initially realize it, but this is also borrowed from the Hawaiian practice of Lau kāpala. I used banana, ti, and ginger stems for the stamps.
(2) I dried flowers and plants collected from my yard to create a botanical art piece.
(3) I became very drawn to making photographs in my yard, using the (non-macro) lenses that I have to capture geometric patterns. I shot an entire series on the banana tree, which I might share at a later time. My favorite was discovering that the inside of the banana tree has mesmerizing geometric patterns that can be viewed after harvest.
(4) A spider and her delicate web.
“The arts will save us.”— Ruth Asawa
