INAE Enterprises

I decided to make “a couple” small bottles for ceramic glaze testing. “A couple” became “a few” then became “many”. I originally called them 100 Bottles of Solitude but changed their title after completing over 200 with endless permutations still in my head. Ultimately, they have taken on a life of their own.

Selections from 1000 Bottles of Solitude

I consider the bottles three dimensional sketches and the entire series a sculptural journal. I particularly enjoy using random events (dropping, throwing or shooting) and domestic items from my daily life (spark plugs, forks, bones), as this allows me to distill that moment in time. Taken out of context and made permanent in high fired ceramic, they become compelling in ways I hadn’t planned, expressing the melancholy, whimsy, despair, absurdity or preciousness hidden within the mundane, the common and the every day.

And yes, I’ve read 100 Years of Solitude. I didn’t like the book, I do like the title.

“Solitude is unAmerican.” Erica Jong

Detail images of a few of the bottles:

Research Projects are designed to introduce students to an assigned subculture genre.  They are due every Thursday and consist of 1 image, 2 websites and 10 descriptive words characterizing the genre.  They are to be presented on 8 1/2 x 11″ paper to share with other students, either posted in the classroom for the class session or displayed in one of the art department hall cases.  This is my Research Project for Week 1:  Tribal/Graffiti:

Rich of "Reducer". Photo copyright James Drury; from The Art of the Tattoo by Henry Ferguson and Lynn Proctor.

Websites: Art Crimes: The Writing on the Wall and Tribal Tattoos at Tattoojoy

Descriptive Words: symmetrical, stylized, monochrome, graphic design, bold, solid, black, arabesque, repetitive, negative space

I chose this particular image as it resembled a butterfly made from sprockets and gears, imagery that is part of my personal iconography already.  As the syllabus is highly experimental, I played it safe on the first few assignments, preferring to work with subjects I know well and love drawing.