#feministfriday episode 505 | Puzzling
Good morning everyone,
I am approximately the seven billionth person in the world to discover that jigsaws are a relaxing and delightful thing to do, so here is a Fem Fri about jigsaws.
We're starting with D'Arne Healy, who purposely made them less relaxing for herself by entering a SPEED PUZZLING COMPETITION. I love how this came from just wondering if she was actually the best of the best:
“The comments coming from onlookers [i.e., her friends and family] were getting repetitive, like ‘how did you do that so quickly?’,” she says. “They would say things like, ‘I take weeks, and you’ve just done it in a couple of hours.’ ‘That is so amazing, how you do that?’ I started to wonder if I really was fast at doing puzzles, and the only way to find out was to race against another puzzler.”
'Enjoying monotony helps': how to take on the world in competitive jigsaw puzzling | Puzzle games | The Guardian
Australian D’Arne Healy, on the joy of puzzling and the tension of the global tournament, where rivals help pick each others’ pieces off the floor
I wonder what things I think I'm brilliant at, that I'm actually only moderately good at? Then I could enter an international tournament to discover how intermediate I really am:
McKay can knock a 1000-piece puzzle off in a few hours at home, but after watching lots of jigsaw racing videos online, she knows speed puzzling demands a more purposeful, efficient approach. “I really thought when I entered, ‘I’m an ace puzzler, I’m going to have a gold medal’,” she jokes. “Then when I actually found out that this is a whole thing, I’m like, ‘oh noooo’.”
Getting jiggy with it: Inside the wild world of competitive speed puzzling | The Spinoff
If you thought jigsaw puzzles were meant to be relaxing, think again.
If you're actually looking for a jigsaw to do (as fast or as slowly as you like! do let me know if you enter a competition tho) I love Starry Night in Stockholm by Jessica Leslie. The sky look a bit irritating to do but cityscapes in general delight me. This store features mostly women artists so if buildings aren't for you you can find something else lovely here:
Starry Night in Stockholm, Jessica Leslie – JIGGY Puzzles
Artist: Jessica Leslie Jess is a digital illustrator based in Suffolk. She creates artwork based on picturesque locations aiming to capture the unique architecture and scenery from each place. Like many of you, she loves to travel, It’s a huge passion and it provides her with plenty of inspiration for her work. After f
Love,
Alex.