Piece by piece, only way to make a work of art

April 1, 2020 8:39 PM

Does Mo Rocca's tale of assembling a jigsaw puzzle in isolation make you wish you had your own – but you're concerned about coronavirus-affected mail? New Zealand's Te Papa Museum has you covered, with many works of art available as digital jigsaw puzzles. Prefer American artists? The Colby Museum of Art has a few puzzles for you. Seeking bucolic British scenery? The Pendon Museum has digital jigsaw puzzles featuring early 20th century country scenes in a range of difficulties from children to adults. You can also assemble selections from National Geographic's photo collection piece by piece.

If you want to learn more about jigsaw puzzles, the Strong National Museum of Play has the story of the first jigsaw puzzle. Collector's Weekly has a thorough history of the jigsaw puzzle. The Victoria and Albert Museum explains how antique puzzles are conserved.

posted by rednikki (13 comments total)

Excellent - something to do!
posted by growabrain at 9:06 PM on April 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Holy crap, thank you! I just discovered little jigsaw puzzles online combined with a podcast are a lovely way to spend some time, and this is even better than the little 10 by 10 ones!
posted by Savannah at 9:26 PM on April 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

I've been using jigsawpuzzle.io for puzzles but these look amazing. Thank you!
posted by gingerbeer at 9:43 PM on April 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

If you've got windows, MS jigsaw can turn any image into a jigsaw puzzle. I'm not much of a jigsaw guy but doing jigsaws of personally significant images really scratches an itch.
posted by Mitheral at 11:28 PM on April 1, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thank you for posting these! I just completed this one from Te Papa and all these little people appeared and clapped for me when I finished. Very pleasant!
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 2:28 AM on April 2, 2020 [2 favorites]

The Pendon Museum might be worth a post by itself - I remember visiting it in the mid-1970s, when I found the time scales they were thinking of (they freely admitted it would be decades before it could even be considered done, and talk of the 1990s was dazzlingly futuristic for a collection of model steam trains). Basically a colossal train set, or several colossal train sets, including one that was created by one man over several decades beginning in the 1930s. Those bucolic scenes are hand-made models.

Jigsaws are good, too. The perfect accompaniment to being kept indoors.
posted by Grangousier at 3:39 AM on April 2, 2020

I was at my partner's house and said I wished we had a jigsaw puzzle to do. He rummaged around in a closet and came up with a brand-new, unopened, epically difficult jigsaw puzzle. Every night we manage to get about 20 more pieces done. It's such a cozy thing to do, and you can learn a lot about a person by the way they work a jigsaw puzzle. I like the quiet, amiable way he settles in.

Now my FB feed has started filling up with people's completed jigsaw puzzles. Some people are taking two of them and mixing all the pieces together to make them harder. It's like Second Christmas Break.
posted by HotToddy at 3:47 AM on April 2, 2020 [5 favorites]

There is MeFi's own mpark's Fractal Jigsaw Puzzle, especially if you think you're going to need a more long-term challenge.
posted by Thorzdad at 4:11 AM on April 2, 2020 [3 favorites]

Doing digital jigsaw puzzles on my iPad is the way I treat myself while I'm riding my exercise bike. I only allow myself this treat while on the bike, so it works as an incentive. I use this free Magic Puzzles app, which has enough free options to keep me entertained. The free pictures can be a little too wholesome, but the paid version apparently has more variety, and lets you use your own pictures.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 4:51 AM on April 2, 2020

man oh man oh man, jigsaws are my jam! I always joke that the only thing keeping me in st. louis is the closeness to the local puzzle warehouse (and the associated silent judgement from the high school cashier when they recognize that oh, it's you again, that probably thinks your 30s are super lame). Pro-tip: go for the pomegranate brand. They have good quality, nicely sized pieces, and a good selection of art prints which feels slightly more adult than piecing together rainbow cats in baskets (unless that's your thing, no judgement here). Puzzling is one of the best self-care exercises I can think of.

Enjoy the fruits of your labor and persistence! Every piece has it's place!
posted by zsh2v1 at 5:56 AM on April 2, 2020 [1 favorite]

That's super cool, thank you! I love puzzles, but they are challenging to do around my cats.
posted by wicked_sassy at 6:02 AM on April 2, 2020 [1 favorite]

Funny, just yesterday I saw a photo of a puzzle that a friend had completed during isolation and had a yen for similar, and I visited the puzzle site JigZone.com, which I used often ten or so years ago but hadn't seen for years. I did a few (with my old favorite "lizard cut") and found it comforting. I will follow up with the sites in this post, so thank you for that.
posted by dlugoczaj at 6:48 AM on April 2, 2020 [2 favorites]

A printer and a pair of scissors can extend the fun by hours.
posted by Text TK at 7:48 AM on April 2, 2020