Teeny Tiny Room

Puzzle Bottle is a self portrait by the artist Charles Ray. The artist worked with a craftsperson to make a puzzle out of his body in small pieces of painted wood that could be put together inside the bottle, the same way that a traditional model ship in a bottle is made. The artist stares through the glass with a worried look on his face. This sculpture invites us to consider not only how that tiny figure takes up space within the bottle, but how it got there.

Use a clear plastic cup, a clear plastic container, or a small tupperware to design a teeny tiny room that you could live in if you were one inch tall! Use materials that you can find at home such as paper, card, aluminum foil, and fabric to design and furnish your new mini space. Build yourself tiny furniture, decorate your walls with tiny art. Add a mini version of yourself!

See all Whitney Kids Art Challenges.

A miniature figure of a man standing inside a clear glass bottle sealed with a cork.
A miniature figure of a man standing inside a clear glass bottle sealed with a cork.

Charles Ray, Puzzle Bottle, 1995. Glass, painted wood, and cork, overall: 14 1/8 × 3 3/4 in. (35.9 × 9.5 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Contemporary Painting and Sculpture Committee and Barbara and Eugene Schwartz 95.85a-b