Tag: Pomegranate

Mandala World, 2025-01-12

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Well I didn’t have to wait long to find out if I would find a puzzle with several pieces missing (No. 9 of the puzzle challenge). This puzzle is missing a whopping 7 pieces, 5 edge pieces and 2 pieces that would have been connected to the edges. Since the border meant that this was very much an edges last puzzle, I didn’t realize there were pieces missing before I was close to the end.

Despite the missing pieces, this was a lovely puzzle, and easier than I was expecting. I started with the small circles, then filled in the large circle in the middle. The edges were the trickiest part, and I did them last, of course. Loved it!

Mandala World by Paul Heussenstamm, Pomegranate, 1000 pieces. Completed on January 12, 2025.

Crayfishing, 2023-02-28

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About a year ago, someone in a Facebook puzzle group had done this puzzle and hated it, she pretty much wanted to burn it after finishing. I have to say, I found it perfectly pleasant. The image is a painting by Swedish artist Carl Larsson (1853-1919). While Pomegranate puzzle quality has declined a bit recently, this was still the best kind of Pomegranate, absolutely no false fits and a silky finish that had be running my hands over finished sections thoughout. It wasn’t the easiest puzzle I’ve ever done, but it wasn’t that difficult either.

For my puzzle challenge, this is #14, crab / crayfish (it’s the same word in Finnish).

Crayfishing by Carl Larsson, Pomegranate, 1000 pieces. Completed on February 28, 2023.

Tibet Wheel of Life, 2022-05-20

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This puzzle was not easy, but it was a pleasure from start to finish. The quality was excellent, the best kind of Pomegranate. According to the box, the image explanes the concepts of Buddhism, and images like this are placed outside temples, so that people who can’t read can also understand the teachings. The artist is unknown but presumed Tibetan.

Untitled, 2021-12-11

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I’m back in Helsinki, but after this, I still have two other puzzles that I finished in Dortmund before leaving. I’ve been enjoying puzzling so much that I’ve taken no time to post about them. The artist, Edward Gorey, did a lot of book covers, but I don’t know where this illustration was used. It’s called Untitled (or, perhaps it’s just untitled), and from 1965, according to the box.

Untitled by Edward Gorey, Pomegranate, 1000 pieces. Completed on December 11, 2021.

I thought this might be difficult, but even though the colours are a bit muted, it was fairly easy to pick out the pieces for each dress and coat, because the patterns are all different. Very enjoyable and I love the image. Reminds me of illustrations in a series of horror story books that I loved as a child (that wasn’t Gorey, though, it was Swiss-Swedish artist Hans Arnold).

Edward Gorey’s Book Covers, 2021-05-13

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Great collage with book covers by Edward Gorey. Loved it!

Edward Gorey’s Book Covers, Pomegranate, 1000 pieces. Completed on May 13th, 2021.

Dracula is my favourite as an image, although I did the black and white images last.

There weren’t a lot of books that I knew in this collage, but at least I know this one!

Many of the books are non-fiction.

Gorey’s black and white covers are especially gorgeous, although more difficult to puzzle than the ones with more colours.

Alice in Wonderland: Inspecting the Tarts, 2020-07-20

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I would love to do more Alice in Wonderland-themed puzzles, but there aren’t that many, and even fewer with the original (or original style) illustrations that I prefer. I just had to get this, even though I rarely buy new puzzles with less than 500 pieces.

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Inspecting the Tarts, Pomegranate, 300 pieces. Completed on July 20th, 2020.

This had 300 enormous pieces, the puzzle is almost as big as a normal 1000 piece puzzle. The fit was a bit too tight for my taste, but it was still very enjoyable.

The Aztec Cosmos, 2016-11-25

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The Aztec Cosmos, also known as the Aztec Calendar (it’s a calendar, but also sort of a map of the universe). This was hard, especially the black part. Pieces would fit where they didn’t belong, which surprised me because I had only heard good things about Pomegranate (this was the first I did). My second Pomegranate did not have this problem, in fact, the quality was great.

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The Aztec Cosmos, Pomegranate, 1000 pieces. Completed on November 25th, 2016.

Cakes & Pies, 2018-12-06

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Cakes & Pies by Wayne Thiebaud, Pomegranate,1000 pieces. Completed on December 6th, 2018.

Excellent quality. The pieces are really thick and great variety in shapes – the traditional “two pegs opposite” pieces are in a minority here. The texture is also especially nice. I tend to run my hands over puzzles while working on them, and this one feels really nice 🙂

When I spread out the pieces I was a little worried that it would be really difficult, and while it wasn’t the easiest puzzle I’ve ever completed it wasn’t that hard either. In the end, there were fewer white pieces of the same shade than I expected.

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From here on I had to rely on shape alone – not a problem in this case.

Somehow the level of difficulty remained the same during the entire puzzle, which is unusual.

I looked up the artist, Wayne Thiebaud, and it turns out he is 98 years old! He was a kind of forerunner to the pop art movement, although he did not consider himself a pop artist and he disliked Andy Warhol’s style. He often painted pastries and cakes. I would love to do more puzzles with his paintings.