Mildred Howard (American, born 1945)
Blackbird in a Red Sky (a.k.a. Fall of the Blood House), 2002
Glass, wood, and cabling
Museum of Glass, gift of Paule Anglim

Mildred Howard (American, born 1945)
Blackbird in a Red Sky (a.k.a. Fall of the Blood House) detail, 2002
Glass, wood, and cabling
Museum of Glass, gift of Paule Anglim

Blackbird in a Red Sky (a.k.a. Fall of the Blood House), 2002

Mildred Howard
July 2, 2002 – June 22, 2004

Organized by the Museum of Glass
Sponsored by Pierce Country Arts Commission, Spectrum Glass Company, Inc., and Specialty Forest Products

Using the ordinary objects of everyday life - glass bottles, flip-flop slippers, shoe polish containers, old photographs and the like - mixed media and installation artist Mildred Howard creates works of profound aesthetic and cultural significance. Drawing on a wide range of historical and contemporary experiences, the prolific artist chooses materials that reference African-American folk culture then reinterprets them in contemporary language.

Much of Howard’s art focuses on potent subject matter, fertile with symbolism. In her hands, fragments of memory and history, architectural elements and found and store-bought objects mingle to create a visual language that is both personal and communal. The unique contributions of the African diaspora to world culture, both in music and art, also are celebrated in her work. Improvisation, often prominent in these African-derived forms, is crucial to her artistic methods.