For years my son and I have had the routine of bringing out a Halloween puzzle. It is a favorite puzzle of mine and I have come to learn recently that it is also Nathanael’s, too. What is there not to love about the artwork of Jane Wooster Scott? The mixture of colorful details and cute characters make for a perfect puzzle to piece together. Not to mention the spooky surprises hidden in the shadows of a New England pumpkin farm.
Boo!
With all this said, I feel everyone should pause for a moment or two and do a puzzle. My son just made the declaration that he wants to become a graphic designer, (aside from wanting to be a professional soccer player and space explorer) so we had a conversation about the artistic benefits of puzzle making, this morning.
They help with understanding proportion and perspective. Seeing the overall puzzle as a composition, you realize where pieces go exactly, just by studying the puzzle cover on the box. I noticed Nathanael doing this technique better this year. Another, is paying attention and focusing on the details. This 1000 piece puzzle has a quaint little Northeastern town with the typical white houses speckled about. This, may cause confusion and frustration on why certain pieces don’t fit, but if you look closely you can observe the window sills are different. As we talked on, Nathanael and I dove in deeper on how great puzzles are.
Puzzles, simply, become connected. They show us that everything is related to one another, for you to successfully complete it. Objects and people’s interactions, during events, are captured through pieces of a puzzle. It is the same with the special moments of our lives. We are all connected. This expression is also the unwritten duty of an artist. They show us the beautiful, most wonderful moments of connection that we all can relate to.
Nathanael agreed with all these points, but wanted to let me know of another reason, as well.
“What’s that buddy?” I asked.
Without taking his eyes off the puzzle he said back, “It is something that just you and me do together, mom. That’s why I like it.”
There was a minute or two of silence, then. We had our heads down looking at the puzzle pieces and placing them together — just the two of us.
Good point Nathanael. I need to take advantage of all these moments I get with him.
