Mildred Howard
Mixed media sculptor
Emeryville, CA, USA
Recommended by American Craft Council
Home to powerful stories
- Mildred's artworks are made from found objects such as glass and silverware
- Her large installations and mixed media assemblages are guided by her materials
- She is driven by an intutive process that develops during the creation phase
Mildred Howard creates powerful mixed media works that explore history, place and community. She transforms found materials into compelling narratives that reveal overlooked stories and challenge conventional understanding of the American experience. "I am driven by a sense of curiousity that has accompanied me from childhood," Mildred says. Her large-scale houses, made with bronze and recycled everyday objects such as glass bottles, are part of a series that has been ongoing since the 1990s. "I recreate smaller versions of places I have lived in," she says. Inspired by personal memories and collective histories, Mildred's work takes shape in sculptures, installations and public art pieces. Today, she creates paper pieces and assemblages in her San Francisco studio, and collaborates with a nearby foundry to create her larger works in bronze.
Discover her work
INTERVIEW
I was always surrounded by art: I took ballet courses and attended arts and crafts classes. I had a natural sense of wonder and curiosity about the world that was encouraged by my parents. They would take me to the de Young Museum, the Japanese Tea Garden and the Oakland Museum. The same sense of wonder continues to guide my work today.
I remember enamelling copper jewellery at a very early age. I sprinkled little pieces of glass on the copper, and the instructor put it in a tiny kiln. It was magic to me. I also remember piecing together fragments of furniture.
My favourite materials are whatever the work calls for at the moment, including found objects, glass and bronze. As a maker, I let the material and the place often guide my technique.
Sometimes my work responds to a particular incident in life, and at other times, the message develops during the process of working. I am always open to following a train of thought and taking the path it leads to. If it does not work out, I can always start over or make something else.
