Jessica Druxman
Fine Arts (Studio Art)
Art installation: “Jessica Druxman’s Irrationali-tea Set,” 2008

One of the most memorable scenes in children’s literature occurs when Alice partakes in a delightfully ludicrous tea party with the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse. Much of the conversation in the chapter veers into absurdist territory, such as when the Mad Hatter out of the blue asks the rhetorical (and wholly unanswerable) question: “Why is a raven like a writing-desk?” The third place winner in 2008 celebrates the whimsical nature of Carroll’s original tea party. Druxman created a seventeen-piece “irrationali-tea set” then invited her friends to join in on the well-documented festivities. While the cups are able to hold liquid, one expects they would probably be unwelcome in most households.