Talking Tables “Pooch Puzzle”

This was a Christmas gift I received.  Finally got around to it while staying at an AirBnB after my home was damaged in a flood.   It's been great to have something calming and meditative while dealing with this stressful situation.

This puzzle required a lot of sorting.  Separating the puzzle into its individual portraits definitely made it easier. 

I'd never heard of the brand "Talking Tables" but this one was definitely well made.  All in all a quality, fun puzzle!

 

Pomegranate “Flower Cycle” by Rosalind Wise

From Nov 2020 thru April 2021, I had the good fortune to have a Key 2nd AD job on a network show with a truly fun and gracious crew.  We were on the CBS Radford lot, and I had an office in the main production office building.  My office was a large room with four desks, to serve my entire department.  But I was the only one there during the course of the shooting day; most of my department was on set from call to wrap and only used the office at wrap.  So I had a generous amount of room.   My job as the information collector for the day's filming plan, known as the callsheet, meant I had find all sources I could.  One of my techniques is to always have a puzzle in the works in my office.  Folks would come in for a few minutes at a time, to find a few pieces as a break, and I would get to talk with them, picking their brain for info on their manpower for the next day.  

There were a few specific key players in my office that liked to puzzle as much as I do - John, the APOC, Michaela, the Office PA, and Bryan, the Base Camp AD.  Between the four of us we finished at least six large scale puzzles over the season.  

This Pomegranate 1000 piece is one of the most colorful puzzles I've ever worked.  The micro detail made it possible for there to be many elements to the design, and made it extremely difficult to solve.  The back of the puzzle box talks about artist Rosalind Wise's work:  "The composition of the painting is based on a large elliptical spiral along which twines a garland of garden flowers and wildflowers.  The earliest of blooms, the snowdrop, appears at the center, around which circle spring and summer blossoms....in the order in which they flower."  This was a fun puzzle to complete because I got it secondhand.  Happily, it was complete.

The finished size of 25x20 inches required a custom frame which was costly.  I ordered the white wood finish from ArtToFrame.Com and waited several weeks for the order to be filled. 

Pomegranate “Country Dog Gentlemen” by Roy De Forest

 

This Pomegranate is right up my alley - it features a painting by Roy De Forest from 1972 titled "Country Dog Gentlemen."  Knowing the time period of this work, it's not surprising that it contains a hallucination of mushrooms, amoebas, and dogs.  The box mentions De Forest as one of the original "Humorous Figuration" artists of the early 1960s.  He resided in the Bay area and taught at UC Davis from the '60s to the '80s.

 

My house has a new addition - current foster dog Carl, who may stay in our home as part of our family.  He needs a little time to settle in before we decide.  But he's getting along well with my girls and is a great playmate for Callie!  He was pulled from East Valley shelter in mid-August.  And apparently is fine posing for photos.  Meanwhile Claire and I just celebrated her 14th adoption anniversary, which means she is legitimately 15 or 16 years old, as she was fully grown when I adopted her from the Carson shelter in September of 2006.  She was recently diagnosed with kidney disease so every day with her is precious.

I received this puzzle from a local puzzle exchange group.  I couldn't believe it was complete, with no missing pieces!  We had a heat wave in California with temperatures reaching 113 degrees for about three days.  I holed up with the pups in our bedroom to conserve the air conditioning from our small window unit, and did this puzzle on my bed.  I was thankful to have something to focus on to pass the time.  It took me about two days to finish.

The finished puzzle size is 29 x 20 inches.  I'm able to find a poster frame from Wal-Mart for about twenty bucks that should fit this nicely, and so will be able to pass it along to a friend who owns a kennel. 

I love the quality of Pomegranate puzzles, both for their texture, thickness, and fit.  The pieces fit so well that it's easy to move finished sections around.  This puzzle in particular has such a range of bright colors that it was really fun to play with.  There is no copyright on the puzzle itself (though the painting is dated 1972), but looking at the Pomegranate website it seems this one is out of print, so I was lucky to get it secondhand.

New York Puzzle Company "Life in an Oak" By Justine Lee Hirten and Virginia Greene

The popularity of puzzling has skyrocketed during Coronavirus pandemic quarantine, and I'm seeing the benefits.  I had a friend pass along a stack of puzzles that she had completed.  This puzzle is the first I opened.

The New York Puzzle Company's collaboration with The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has birthed a beautiful line of images.  This 1000pc puzzle Measuring 26 5/8" x 19 1/4" contains so much information!  Titled "Life in an Oak," it illustrates the entire biologic cycle of life within a tree.  The box explains it "reveals the intricate relationships between insects, plants, and animals that live in and around oak trees.  Learn about the mushroom that vaporizes into an inky liquid to spread its spores, the weevils that eat acorns and in turn become food themselves, and the foxes and owls that live in the oak and prey on the mice and voles that feed on acorns."  The puzzle is copyright 2019, and comes with a poster that illustrates the puzzle, but also has insets explaining each of the animals listed in the description.

The quality of the pieces were museum-level, with a tight fit that I'd compare to Pomegranate.  I'll definitely be looking for more from this brand and series.

From the poster:

White Mountain “National Parks America” by Randy Green

This is the first 1000pc puzzle I've done in quarantine.  It did keep me busy for quite a while.  I spread out two pieces of foamcore on my bed, one with the puzzle pieces and one as a worksurface.  This is a very cool map puzzle from White Mountain - my first time trying that brand - that I bought new from Zulily.com.  I plan on framing this one without glass and getting map pins to mark all the national parks I've visited.  There are some nice descriptions and insets of the major parks.  I grew up some of my youth in Utah, which has many parks, so I'll have a good start at marking them.  

Copyright 2019, the puzzle measures 24 x 30 inches.  The artist is Randy Green.  The box is marked Made in USA. 

Springbok “Route 66”

Jenny bought this Springbok "Route 66" puzzle because it looks like her cousin's workshop, with many electric signs.  She and Landon completed this together, and they're now sending it to the cousin that inspired the purchase.  At 1000 pieces, the finished puzzle measures 24"x30".

Pomegranate "The Arrangement" by Eric Wert

This is my first puzzle by the brand Pomegranate.  I bought it off Zulily.com in January, as a reward when I was working long hours on a film project, but it was March before I got around to opening the box.  I've been looking forward to this lovely image.  I thought the bright colors would make the puzzle easier to complete, but I actually found this one to be quite difficult!  There were lots of subtle differences in shading, and lots of blue and red in distinct areas of the puzzle.  Even the mostly brown background had a very subtle texture.  It took me most of a week to complete.  I then found I was missing a single piece, and had to contact the company via their website to fill out their replacement piece form, and wait for the hole to be filled via the mail.  So it was several weeks before I could glue this puzzle.

The next hurdle was the fact of its unusual size.  Thinking it would look great above my stove, I had always intended to frame this one, but completed it when I was laid off from work due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Since funds were slim, I had to find a way to frame this on the cheap.  Eurographic's SnapFrame puzzle came in my color choice of gold, on Zulily at only around $30 (plus about $6 shipping).  But the finished puzzle was 20" x 25", not the same as Eurographics.  So I came up with the idea of using cork at the top and bottom of the frame.  I'd found the cork months ago at the dollar store and was initially thinking of using it as a puzzling surface but came up with other solutions for my table.  So the cork squares had been lying around.  I was glad to find a use for them, and really liked the idea of incorporating the natural material into my kitchen decor.  The snap frame was easy to use, though because I was trying to frame an odd size, the corners don't match up well.  I could shave off the sides of my puzzle for a better fit, but for now, I just wanted it done and off my table so I could start a new project. 

I find Pomegranate to be one of the better brands I've worked with.  The pieces are not large, and are cut on a grid-type pattern, rather than irregular pieces.  The thickness is lovely and the print has a nice sheen.  I'm not surprised this brand is often sold in museum gift shops.  And the company has great customer service, as I experienced when I was looking to replace my single missing piece.   I'll definitely be looking to add to my Pomegranate collection.

The artist, Eric Wert, is a contemporary American painter who began his career as a scientific illustrator. The painting is dated 2015, an oil on panel.   The back of the Pomegranate box had a nice bio on the artist and his work. 

Eurographics “Minerals” Chart

I am a big crafter, including beading and jewelry-making, so I've long been attracted to gems and minerals and attended lots of rock conventions.  In fact, when I was in sixth grade I entered a science fair with my rock collection and made it to the state level of the competition.  You may remember in early March when I did my first Eurographics puzzle, a chart of Gems.  I photographed that one before I'd framed it.  In mid-March, after Los Angeles had been shut down due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I finished the companion chart puzzle on Minerals.  I bought both of them new at the same time but found I needed to take a little break in between.  By comparison, the Gems puzzle contained much more information that the Minerals chart, including a map listing where the gems could be found, and definitions of some terms used to grade them.  The Minerals puzzle had great pictures which showed color and shape of the minerals, but no other information beyond their names. 

The Minerals chart is 1000pc, printed in Canada but made in USA.  The finished puzzle is 19 1/4" x26 5/8".  There is no year of copyright listed on the box.  

My idea was to find a lightweight frame, so that I could hang both charts inside the door of my wardrobe coat/game closet.  I was concerned about the odd size of the finished puzzles and expected to have to do some sort of custom thing.  But I found out Eurographics actually makes a frame called a SnapFrame, and it's sold on sale at Zulily.  They come in black, silver, or gold for around $30 plus shipping.  It was reasonable, shipped flat, and turned out to be fairly easy to assemble the puzzle in the frame.  I also liked that the same framing would allow the two puzzles to be further unified. 

Eurographics "Gemstones" Chart

I picked up this Eurographics puzzle when I discovered Zulily.com.  Charts are a favorite of mine, and Eurographics makes several cool ones.  I love gems and minerals, and actually spotted the companion puzzle on minerals first but it sold out before I had spending money.  I've since gotten both puzzles, so that one will be soon to come.  I have a white wardrobe cabinet as my coat closet, and it has a side shelf cabinet where I store games and some crafts.  I'll mount both these puzzles in some light framing - maybe just gluing to foamcore - so that I can hang them on the inside door of the cabinet.  

There are thirty six gems in the puzzle, each with composition, hardness, luster, and colors listed.  At the bottom of the puzzle is a strip that defines terms, shapes, cuts, and shows main locations of harvesting gems.  The puzzle itself was difficult with all the wording, white background, and gradient gray shading to each rectangle.  At a finished size of 19 1/4" x 26 5/8", it would be an expensive framing job if I chose to do it, as it would require a custom size.  

The puzzle pieces were not cut incredibly tight, but reasonably so.  There was a fair amount of puzzle dust in the box, and several pieces were interlocked with resulting splitting of the cardboard when the pieces were twisted apart.  Where quality is concerned, Eurographics does not rate among my favorites.  I'd say the quality is average, but I liked the design.  It took me about eighteen hours over two and a half days to complete.

Mega Puzzles The Saturday Evening Post "Time to Eat"

"Time to Eat" marks the second from The Saturday Evening Post series that I've completed.  This 2013 puzzle has a distinctive 1970s theme in its design.  So much fun to go back in time!  I have the perfect foodie recipient to whom to gift this puzzle, so I glued it when complete and will be looking for a frame. 

This is also the first puzzle I completed since losing my little Caitie to an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting four weeks ago.  I'm so glad I have the photos documented with her for this blog.  She was my little companion who would sit on my foot while I worked on a puzzle, and sometimes snuggle in my arms as I puzzled. 

Postscript:  I had this puzzle framed and gifted it to a friend who works for a large produce company.  It was a great way to thank him for regularly inviting me to foodie events and cookbook author presentations.  

Callie modeled the framing job.  Too often, puzzles are not finished in standard sizes, so that they must be custom framed.  To save money, I buy a standard frame bigger than the puzzle, then have a custom mat cut so that the puzzle will fit the frame.  I think this one came out great, but even with this tactic, it was still expensive to finish.

Eeboo "Cats at Work"

I got this puzzle from a trade - my first of the brand Eeboo.  Their puzzles have a lovely shiny smooth texture.  The bright sheen makes them great for hanging, with or without a frame.  The bright colors were more fun to work with than I had expected, and it made the time pass quickly.  I decided to put this together for a cat-loving friend's birthday.  I hope she likes it. 

I thought it fun to show you the photos I'd taken in sequence; apparently even puppy Caitie gets tired if I take too long.

Hennessy Puzzles "California Map Puzzle"

I did an internet search to find a California state puzzle that I could frame for my kitchen.  I was looking for one that specifically had a lot of pictures, with the state bird, state flower, and whatever other icons that could be worked into the drawing.  This is one of the first ones I've framed to keep myself, and it'll look great with the vintage green walls of my kitchen.

Hennessy Puzzles is a family owned business, smaller company, with high-quality puzzles both in the designs and the manufacture.  I was very pleased with this one.  They have several other designs now on my wish list that I can't wait to have, including a vintage xmas and one on vintage trailers.  I'll be a repeat customer!  They were also very kind and responsive when I thought I'd lost a piece, mailing me the piece in question within a couple days of my contacting them.