Deep Dive: Monsterpiece Mashup by Jason Panda

Artist: Jason Panda

Puzzle Design: Jasen Robillard

Dimensions: 42.4 cm x 31.6 cm

Piece Count: ~575

Difficulty: 5 out of 5

About the Artist

Jason & Jasen first crossed paths at the University of Waterloo, living in residence at St. Paul's College, where a friendship quietly took root over shared meals, playful pranks, philosophical campfire chats, and mostly harmless adventures together. Their relationship reflects a particular kind of camaraderie that only university life and regular check-ins produce.

Professionally, Jason is a multi-disciplinary artist, photographer, and educator based in the Waterloo Region of Ontario. He holds a Joint Honours in Fine Arts and Mathematics — a pairing that perfectly explains his signature style: organic tessellations, interlocking patterns of animals and fluid forms built on geometric precision, inspired by M.C. Escher. 

As President of the Kitchener-Waterloo Society of Artists and a long-time educator, Jason treats art as a tool for civic belonging. His Belong Together initiative grew from a local pandemic response into a public art movement, distributing over 19,000 tiles across the region. He also develops escape rooms through Complex Rooms and creates experiential learning environments designed to foster connection and collaboration. 

Links

Jason Panda's website and Belong Together Tiles

Complex Rooms

All the Little Monsters: How I Learned to Live with Anxiety by David A. Robertson

Jasen's Substack Series on Avoiding the Tragedy of Monsters

Piecing Together Frankenstein’s Monster

A Vampire's Redemption

Harnessing our Passionate Hot Heads

The Alchemy of Shadow Integration

Jasen's Puzzle Design Notes

The Seed of an Idea

A few close friends of mine regularly meet at the movie theatres to "scare ourselves straight". Following the thrills and chills of the horror film, we often spend the rest of the night over pints picking apart the themes and the underlying meaning. 

After watching Yorgos Lanthimos's Poor Things and Robert Eggers' Nosferatu in close succession, I kept returning to the same observation: horror, at its most profound, is not really about terror. It's about the paradoxical hope and peril of transformation. The monster is nearly always a moral, cautionary endpoint. In such cases, the monster is a symbol of moral decay without redemption, a local minimum in a landscape of suffering.

And from there, these questions emerged.

What if these weren't only cautionary tales? 
What if these movies were maps to untold redemption stories?

These questions echoed in an old Cherokee teaching I came across shortly thereafter — the tale of two wolves fighting inside every person. One wolf is fed by anger, envy, resentment, ego. The other by joy, compassion, generosity, truth. The wolf that thrives is the one you feed. That parable became the emotional centre of the entire puzzle: a hound of love and a wolf, coiled together in a yin-yang embrace.

David Whyte's poem "Sweet Darkness" also crossed my radar at exactly the right moment. Its central invitation — to enter the dark willingly, to trust that "the world was made to be free in" — shaped the entire emotional register of the project. The puzzle design become an invitation to face darkness, as a guided walkthrough toward an unseen, desirable horizon.

The Design Process: From Four Portraits to One Vision

Our initial concept was closer to the format of our Birds & Bees puzzle: four distinct character portraits, each standing independently. Jason developed those four portraits with characteristic precision and care, and they were strong on their own terms.

   

But something wasn't landing for us, and I realized the fault was mine — I hadn't yet fully conceived or conveyed the underlying psychological architecture of the project. When I finally shared that framing with Jason, something clicked. He made the bold decision to abandon the four-panel format and blend the characters into a single unified image. It became a Monsterpiece Mashup in the truest sense. Four monsters, one canvas, one coherent psychological terrain.

That shift changed everything about how the puzzle works experientially.

Balancing Polarities

A key design goal from the outset was to balance two distinct emotional registers into the puzzle's piece groupings. One grouping depicts the monster's canonical story — the darkness, the wound, the monstrous acting-out. The other grouping hints at the redemptive arc: what might become possible if the shadow parts were recognized, integrated, and transformed rather than exiled or indulged.

This structure mirrors the Cherokee wolf story. Both wolves are present in the image. The question the puzzle quietly poses — as you handle each piece, as you slowly find where it belongs — is simply: which one are you feeding?

Frankenstein's Monster and the Quest for Belonging

The story of Frankenstein's monster is a tragic one: a patchwork creature, brought to life by a brilliant but arrogant scientist, who is immediately rejected by his creator and a horrified society. Though his heart longs for companionship and a family, he is met only with fear and violence. It is this profound rejection, corresponding shame, and devastating loneliness that drives the creature's monstrous actions, leading to a path of destruction and sorrow.

Monsterpiece Mashup is a puzzle that asks what I think is a profound question: What if the monsters we fear were actually on a long, twisted path to redemption?

The ultimate tragic figure: Frankenstein's Monster. The creature’s "poisonous affliction" wasn't its stitched-together body; it was the profound and devastating rejection it faced from his creator and the world around it. It is the quintessential ugly duckling, an orphan who struggles to find his home, his family, his tribe. The heartbreaking quest for belonging and connection is the true engine of his story. His monstrous acts were born not of inherent evil, but from a desperate, unfulfilled longing for acceptance.

This is where the "helpful inclination" emerges. The monster’s tale serves as a powerful metaphor for our own journey to find our place. Just as in the voyage through teenagedom, we must often "cleave" from what is known to find a deeper connection with the outside world. This feeling of not belonging is a painful but ultimately impermanent state, one that can drive our own search for meaning and belonging.

This very journey is woven into the art and whimsies of the puzzle. You will find shapes that tell this story, from the bolts and sutures of his creation to the powerful symbol of a whimsy depicting a redeemed "Frank" with his "Best Dad" coffee mug. This design is a reflection of StumpCraft's commitment to Curiosity, as we believe in telling a story that encourages you to pause and question assumptions. As you piece together this section, you are not just connecting shapes; you are engaging in the very human act of “becoming” by bringing order and connection to a fragmented world.

The Vampire and the Art of Radical Hospitality

The vampire is a creature of legend, defined by its eternal, parasitic existence. It sustains itself by taking the life force of others, offering nothing in return. It cannot see its own reflection, a powerful metaphor for its profound lack of self-awareness. The vampire myth warns against the dangers of inviting a toxic, one-sided presence into our lives—one that will take everything and give nothing back.

Now, we turn to the vampire, a classic figure whose insatiable thirst for life offers a powerful lesson on meaningful intimacy.

The vampire narrative is famously depicted in classics like Nosferatu and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Both are terrifying stories about parasitic narcissism. The vampire's "poisonous affliction" is an insatiable, devouring lust for eternal life without any reciprocity. Like a reflection that cannot be seen in a mirror, the vampire's massive blind spot to its own destructive behaviour goes unchecked, leading to a bitter, corrupted existence. The powerful metaphor of the vampire needing an invitation to enter your home warns us of the danger of inviting one-sided, non-reciprocal relationships into our lives.

But in the poison, we can find the cure. Our reimagined vampire finds that true self-nourishment comes not from a bitter act of consumption, but from generosity and radical hospitality. This reformed archetype discovers that he can generate beauty in relationships rather than sucking the life out of them. This is a story about the profound truth that meaningful intimacy is not taken—it is given.

This transformation is built into the very fabric of the puzzle. You will find whimsies of fangs and claws, but also symbols of transformation: a mirror to represent self-reflection, a red rose with its beautiful petals and yet painful thorns, and crypts and crosses that suggest a spiritual awakening. The puzzle itself becomes a collaborative act, a process that gives back to you and those you share it with. It’s an embodiment of our core value of Generosity, a testament to the idea that by giving more than you take, you build something that is whole and beautiful.

The Headless Horseman and the Wholeness of Life

The legend of the Headless Horseman tells of a Hessian soldier who lost his head in battle and now rides through the night in a frantic, terrifying search for it. He is a figure of perpetual loss, embodying a restless spirit consumed by a violent, unfulfilled quest. His story is a powerful metaphor for what happens when we lose our minds to hot passions of revenge or a misguided sense of justice.

We now turn to the frantic terror of the Headless Horseman. His legend is a cautionary tale of a soldier who "lost his head" to hot passions of revenge and a misguided sense of justice. This is his "poisonous affliction"—using personal trauma as fuel for brutally destructive behaviours, leading to further separation from life.

But what if this hot passion could be channeled into something constructive? This is the "helpful inclination" we explore in our puzzle. The Headless Horseman, a quintessential guide of souls, shows us that a loss of a part doesn’t have to mean a loss of place. In our narrative, a redeemed Brom Bones finds wholeness through harnessing his passions for life. He has taken his "sword" of brutal terror and beaten it into a "plowshare" for growth.

The puzzle art visually narrates this transformation. You will find whimsies of his former life—a horse, a sword, and a scythe—alongside the symbols of his redemption: vegetables, an apple, and tools of a good harvest. The centrepiece is a smiling, self-satisfied Brom, now a pumpkin farmer tending to his garden in Sleepy Hollow. He has become a steward of his own wild nature, and his former obsession with loss and separation is replaced with a peaceful belonging in a field of life and death.

This powerful narrative of integration embodies our core value of Integrity. It’s an honest look at the darker parts of our nature and a testament to the belief that trauma can be transcended. The puzzle itself becomes a powerful metaphor for the journey to wholeness—taking a chaotic collection of separate pieces and bringing them together to create a cohesive, peaceful, and beautiful image. This is a practice in Creativity, as you find your own way to bring order to the apparent chaos, finding meaning in the process.

Dr. Jekyll and the Journey to Self-Authorship

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a chilling tale of duality, in which a respected doctor separates his "good" and "evil" natures using a scientific potion. He believes he can indulge his darkest desires as Mr. Hyde, while maintaining his reputation as Dr. Jekyll. But his plan backfires, and the split personality takes over, leading to a tragic loss of control and the ultimate destruction of both selves.

We now confront the most intimate monster of all: the one that lives within. 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story about a man who, in his chase for recognition, attempts to split his good and bad natures, ultimately losing control to his inner demons. This is his "poisonous affliction"—the tragic delusion that one can escape the shadow by hiding from it.

But what if the poison holds the cure?

Our reimagined narrative for the puzzle finds the "helpful inclination" in a profound act of self-discovery and creative authenticity. This is the closest narrative to an alchemical transformation—the transmutation of the dark shadow (lead) into a life of beautiful, integrated self-authorship (gold). In our version, Dr. Jekyll trades in his old symbols of ego-driven pursuit for the tools of a more balanced life. The murderous cane becomes a paintbrush; the "Mad Hatter" top hat is exchanged for the artist's beret.

The puzzle art visually narrates this journey. You will find whimsies of lab beakers and scales, representing the old ways, but also art supplies like paintbrushes and easels. In this re-envisioned scene, we see Dr. Jekyll integrating his shadow not through a dangerous potion, but through the mindful exploration of art. He finds redemption and a better life by embracing his full self, trading psychological instability for acceptance, balance, and a life he can authentically author himself.

This is a powerful reflection of our core value of Integrity. It's an honest look at the complexity of the human psyche and an invitation to find your own path to wholeness. As you piece together the disparate elements, you are symbolically integrating the different parts of Dr. Jekyll’s life into a cohesive, beautiful whole.

Thank you for joining us on this journey of Curiosity, Generosity, Creativity, and Integrity in Monsterpiece Mashup. But the journey doesn’t have to be over. We would like to invite you to consider the following questions, from each of our four monsters:

Frank’s Quest for Belonging: Where do we turn our desperate hunger for intimacy and recognition when we fear being seen?

Dracula’s Path of Generosity: How do we transform a parasitic thirst for connection into an abundant & generously shared life?

Brom’s Harnessing of Passion: How can we escape our drama triangles to find wholeness and peace by becoming stewards of our own wild, untamed forces?

Dr. Jekyll’s Alchemy of Self: What transformative act allows us to trade a life of dualistic conflict for one of authentic, generative balance?

We hope you'll find hints of your own redemption arcs, as you bring this powerful narrative to life.

Whimsy List

Hidden Secrets

Ouroboros and Apple

Peter Pumpkinhead with swappable moods

Clue 1: Secret Image

Clue 2: Puzzle Map