The jigsaw puzzle was one of those rare, fun, fast projects. I loved the physicality of it, sprawling across it with miniscule brushes, climbing up ladders just to be able to see it -like a cross between a toddler’s building blocks and a drawing.

Process: To begin, I drew the puzzle sections out with a sharpie on some pine slabs left-over from a contract job I’d just finished.  Then, I bought a bunch of new blades for my jigsaw and started cutting.

It looked minimal and perfect after I’d sanded it all down.  I almost left it. But, smooth wood is my favourite drawing surface and I couldn’t resist! Cheap blue legal-pads are my second-favourite drawing surface and polished gesso my third (fake, I’ve never boiled a rabbit, though I would love to one day).

Materials: I tried using real silver-leaf for the first time and it drove me a little crazy, so light! The stuff just blew off my gloves! The working time was short, I had to set timers so I didn’t lose track of time.
I was re-building the brain at the same time and it was chaos having greasy aluminum shavings next to clean silver and graphite. Especially in my tiny, filthy studio.

From the first sketch to the final polish it only took a couple of weeks of  long, long, summer days.

It comes apart, stacks neatly and takes absolutely no space in my studio, (more than I can say for the rest of what I build).