The local artist behind The Cup’s alien-like art

The Cup’s patrons might take their beverage into the seating area to the tune of an indie-alternative song and like Jessica Wolfe, a 2023 graduate of Ball State University, they might notice new additions to the walls since their last visit. “I’ve always liked the National Geographic wall, and then I like that they added the two paintings on top,” Wolfe said. “It’s all of them together, they fit so well. They’re all so unique.” Another patron, Meghan Lutes, an English graduate student at Ball State, said her favorite art piece is a black-and-white painting of two figures drawn in the same signature style of multiple eyes and mouths. “I always noticed that one because it just catches your eye, and I always thought it was very interesting,” Lutes said. For frequent visitors, there might be a sense of recognition with the style of the artist known as “Sleep Seeker.” Recently, he has been close enough to hand them their coffee under a different name — Zorn Crowder. “I didn’t want to be attached, as an individual, as a person,” Crowder said about his pseudonym. “I wanted it to be more of some type of alter ego, where it wasn’t...