I found this “Magic Forest” (art by Frank Champine) puzzle by “Corgi” at PuzzleHouse.com, and as it was lovely tree art, I went for it. 500 pieces, 13″x19″.
A colorful water color painting of a forest with trees reflecting in the river. The original art for these Corgi puzzles is printed on acid free 80# stock then mounted to 1/4″ birch board which is then laser cut into exact pieces with several whimsies. Made in USA.
I enjoyed the whimsies, although I’m not sure why, for instance, there was a fish in this tree. And then I noticed a cross, and I thought, huh, and then the apple had a bite taken out of it, which would be cute, if not for the tree, the cross, the snake, and the male/female holding hands … I got a sort of Garden of Eden vibe, which is uncomfortable in these days of insurgent Christo-fascist politics. I hope that I am being overly sensitive and that it’s nothing of the sort!
Otherwise, I enjoyed the puzzle – it took some attention, both with the art and the puzzle cut. The artist is credited on the box as Frank Champine, and I haven’t been able to find out much about him — there’s an article from a local Levittown, Pennsylvania, paper, about a Frank Champine using painting in his recovery from cancer, and that seems plausible, but I haven’t seen enough of his art to definitively link the two. However, I note that article discusses Mr. Champine’s religious practices, so that might create a connection with the (potentially) religious iconography in the puzzle whimsies.
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