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An art installation that stood in King Plaza in front of Palo Alto City Hall for almost a year was being dismantled Thursday, Aug. 23.

"Clear Story" by Berkeley artist Mildred Howard was made of wood and thousands of glass bottles, forming a bottle house stretching out 10 feet high and 12 feet wide.

The work's inspiration was twofold, according to a press release from the Palo Alto Art Center, which presented the installation. Howard's house paid tribute to Palo Alto's many Eichler homes, and also honored the bottle houses of the American South and West Africa. The traditional structures were often built to protect a family or a grave against evil spirits.

Howard's works have been on display in the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.; the Oakland Museum of California; the San Francisco and Sacramento airports; and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Wash.

"Clear Story" is headed to New Orleans, where it will be installed at the Joan Mitchell Foundation.

— Palo Alto Weekly staff

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