Silver Sugar Bowl c. 1938

Lawrence Flynn made this drawing of a silver sugar bowl sometime in the twentieth century, using ink on paper. You can see the planning that went into it, the multiple views, like an exploded diagram, and all the different design motifs. When I look at this, I feel like Flynn is trying to describe something he has seen. Like a memory of a sugar bowl. And he is remembering all the different ways it sits in space. I wonder what he was thinking when he made it? Each line is carefully considered, like each one is describing a different kind of form. The way the light falls on the bowl, the shadows, the intricate details. The repetition of lines and shapes creates a sense of rhythm and movement across the page, giving the object a kind of life. It's almost as if he's trying to capture the essence of the sugar bowl. You know? Like, what it feels like to hold it in your hand, to use it, to have it be part of your everyday life.