Inktober Cups - Intimidation Factor

I'm learning a lot about myself as I choose a mug each day to draw. I may have mentioned this before but when I see letters in any scene I decide to sketch, be it on the side of a building when urban sketching or now on a mug, I immediately freeze and think, "I can't copy that." But I can, if I just settle down and take it one letter at a time. Block printing isn't nearly as difficult to recreate as my panicked mind wants me to believe. But script, like in the Chicago cup, had me nearly putting it back on the shelf as undoable. Which is not acceptable. It didn't take me long to settle down and remember, letters are just shapes. Break each down into their parts rather than look at the whole thing. It worked! And frankly, I go through the same intimidation sometimes with textile work, with the solution being just the same.

But text is not the only thing intimidating me. Some of my cups have rather intricate designs like the cup next to the Chicago one. Oh my, I thought, do I have the patience and skill to pick out the details on the urn, and the flowers and that butterfly? That initial intimidation really did set in and make me want to just sketch the basic shape of the mug and move on. But again, just find one logical place to start (in this case that urn) and build from there. Is it 100% accurate? Does it include every single flower and detail? No, but it doesn't have to. You get the feel of this 70's mug whose design is similar to applique projects I would tackle in the future.

But some days I need something relatively simple, either because of how I am feeling physically or mentally, or the amount of time I have to spend on the sketch. Yesterday I had an unexpected appointment that found me spending most of my afternoon out of town and leaving me with a tiny opportunity when I returned to work in a sketch. And a tiny space too at the bottom of my page. So I chose a pink Depression glass cup that belonged to my grandmother. I've never thought much about what that cup might have held. There's only the one, which often is the case with things from my grandmother's possessions. Mom told me she would often take advantage of offers for a free this or that, which explained the many designs of silver spoons in her collection. That may be the case here too, and after pondering this small glass cup for awhile, it dawned on me that it is probably a punch cup. Here's to Grandma!