Jigsaw puzzles are one of the most favorite pastimes among kids and grown-ups alike. Assembling a jigsaw puzzle isn’t just entertaining but it also has many other benefits. This puzzle improves the abilities of both sides of the brain. It works the creative side to visualize the finished image and the logical side to put the pieces together. While some of us still find difficulty in completing a complex jigsaw puzzle set, one particular artist was able to take it up a notch. Vancouver-based artist Tim Klein deemed jigsaw puzzle not just an educational game but also a work of art. By merging pieces from two or more different jigsaw puzzle sets, he creates his own montage puzzle art.
Klein thought of the idea when he found out that all jigsaw puzzle manufacturers are using the same die-cut pattern for the pieces. This realization allowed him to interchange the pieces from different sets to create surreal mashups. And that’s how his montage puzzle art came to be. The talented artist frequents thrift stores and garage sales to find vintage puzzles that he can use. But why would he prefer the classic ones when he could conveniently use the new ones? Not to mention, modern jigsaw puzzles are easier to find than the vintage ones.
“The imagery in jigsaw puzzles published nowadays tends to be very busy, often consisting of densely-packed collages constructed with Photoshop,” says Klein. “But for my purposes, I favor puzzles from pre-digital years, when the picture was typically a photograph of a single subject.”
By combining two or more subjects, he creates bizarre images that are undeniably fascinating as well. The transition between two contrasting themes was so seamless that it’s hard to believe that the pieces came from different sets. He was able to merge a natural mountain with a man-made mansion flawlessly and was able to create mind-boggling hybrids of animals. Take a look at some of his dream-like montage puzzle art creations.
The “Mountain Plantation” was Klein’s first montage puzzle creation, using pieces from two puzzle sets that are made in the 1980s
The “Thaw” features pieces from two puzzles made by Milton Bradley in the late 1960s
Source: Puzzle Montage