Deep Dive: Mountain Vistas by Kat Wright
Posted by Jasen Robillard on
Artist: Kat Wright
Puzzle Designers: Siri Olson, Jasen Robillard, Marcy Wiedrick
Dimensions: 12 cm by 12 cm (each)
About the Artist
Kat Wright is a Canadian painter and designer known for her vibrant, evocative landscapes that capture the atmospheric beauty of Western Canada. Raised in Vancouver, she studied graphic design and illustration at Capilano University before moving to the mountains in 2010.
Kat’s work is deeply influenced by the lush forests and towering peaks of the regions she has called home. For over a decade, she lived and worked in Banff and Canmore, Alberta, where she became a celebrated figure in the local art community. Her signature style uses light, color, and tone to convey the "recharging" power of the mountains—from the turquoise depths of glacial lakes to the soft, blue glow of a snowy winter evening.
Now dividing her time between Canmore and Nelson, BC, Kat continues to chase the "magic" of the landscape through her brushes and paints. Her art has been recognized with numerous awards and is a staple for those seeking to take a piece of the Rockies home with them.
Links
Kat Wright portfolio website and Instagram account
Canmore - Three Sisters History and Lore
Moraine Lake - History and Lore
Design Diaries
Designing a StumpCraft puzzle is an act of translation. It requires taking the raw beauty of the Canadian Rockies and distilling it into a tactile experience of wood, whimsy, and narrative. In this special "Deep Dive" series, we go behind the scenes to explore the distinct approaches that shaped each of our three latest releases.
A Trio of Puzzle Designers
This collaborative effort highlights the evolving creative spirit of our design team:
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Siri delves into the power of the mirror in Summer Storm on Ha Ling. Her work is a poignant meditation on the dualities of the mountains—balancing the heavy smoke of forest fires with the relief of a clear sky, and reclaiming the hidden history of a man whose legacy is finally reflected in the peak that bears his name.
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Marcy Wiedrick, the newest member of our design crew, brings a sense of joyful discovery to the iconic Moraine Lake. Her debut design, Rock Flour Blue, is a masterclass in sensory immersion, celebrating the glacial alchemy of the water and the quiet wildlife that dwells within it and near its shores.
- Jasen Robillard explores the sacred architecture of belonging through the Three Sisters. By weaving together Indigenous legends of the trickster Ĩ-ktomnĩ with the cardinal virtues associated with the peaks, he asks what it truly means to enter into a sincere relationship with the land.
Part I: Summer Storm on Ha Ling
by Siri Olson
Piece Count: 77
Difficulty: 3 out of 5
Whimsy List:
2x Coyotes
Heart
Broken Heart
Ladle
Miner's pickaxe
Pine Marten (and its reflection)
This puzzle is built on reflections, and not just the visual kind. Many of the pieces mirror one another, echoing the duality hidden within the image itself.
The photograph that inspired Kat's original painting was captured after weeks of suffocating forest fire smoke had erased the mountains from view. When the haze finally lifted, the relief was tangled with a heavy grief for everything the fire had consumed. Heart and heartbreak, side by side, reflected back at each other.
On the top side of the mountain, the well-known Miner's Peak stands clear, marked with a pickaxe whimsy. But look into the reflection and you will find a ladle tucked quietly below the surface. This is a tribute to Ha Ling, a cook for the Canadian Pacific Railway whose identity was likely long reduced to a number, or a racial slur. His story lived in the background for decades, even though this peak is one of the only, if not the only, mountains in Canada named after a Chinese climber. Bringing that detail forward felt important.
The forest areas in this design are teeming with life. Repeating shapes and textures hint at how much life is usually hidden around us. Pine martens bounce through the brush, and patterns repeat like tracks you almost miss. There are always more trees, more predators, and more prey than you realize.
While driving to Banff the weekend after this design began, I wondered which animal whimsy should find its home in this puzzle. Then a coyote darted across the road, paused, and looked back in the same way you see in this puzzle. Sometimes the mountains send secret notes when you are paying attention. Other times, they are brake-screechingly obvious.
This puzzle is an invitation to look closer at what history, wildlife, and reflections tend to hide in plain sight.
Part II: Rock Flour Blue
by Marcy Wiedrick
Piece Count: 57
Difficulty:1 out of 5
Whimsy List:
Paddle
Mule Deer
Goose and Gosling
Dog with waves
I just love that jaw-dropping shade of turquoise at Moraine Lake. That colour is a gift from the glaciers. They grind the surrounding limestone into a fine rock flour. Those tiny bits and speckles stay suspended in the water, bending the light. The more meltwater flowing in, the brighter it gets — which somehow makes standing there feel even more unreal.
Kat Wright’s artwork captures that glow beautifully, balancing bold blues with the calm, grounded presence of the mountains. As a puzzle, Rock Flour Blue is soothing but engaging, with flowing colour changes and organic cuts that keep you curious as the image comes together.
The whimsies in this puzzle are inspired by the wildlife and little moments you might notice if you linger at Moraine Lake long enough. Stare a bit longer at the puzzle locks and you'll find a bear, a bunny, three pikas, two big horn sheep, three fish, a duckling, a goose, two ravens, oars and trees. Some shapes stand out right away, while others tuck themselves neatly into the landscape, making those final discoveries especially satisfying.
This was my first puzzle design, and I honestly loved it. I love wildlife, I love landscapes, and getting to hide tiny details throughout such an iconic place felt incredibly special. Designing Rock Flour Blue was calming and exciting at the same time — watching everything slowly click together and knowing there’d be little moments of surprise for whoever builds it next. This puzzle is meant to feel like time well spent: relaxing, playful, and quietly rewarding from the first piece to the last.
Part III: Good Night Canmore
by Jasen Robillard
Piece Count: 65
Difficulty: 2 out of 5
Whimsy List:
3x Snow Angels
Kat Wright artist initials
In the Stoney Nakoda (Îyârhe Nakoda) tradition, the iconic peaks near Canmore are Čũgudn gičiyabi ča ya mnĩ. Their story involves Ĩ-ktomnĩ, who is a bit of a trickster: whenever Ĩ-ktomnĩ found himself in trouble, he would promise the "Three Sisters" in marriage to bargain his way out.
But the Sisters refused to descend. They remained as mountains—sacred, unchanging, and dignified.
Among the many lessons in this narrative, is that of belonging and being in relationship with the land, or a sense of place and home. Ĩ-ktomnĩ represents the part of us that tries to "trick" our way into belonging. He offers empty promises of connection to get what he wants.
But the land cannot be bargained with so easily. The Sisters staying as mountains shows us that you cannot make empty promises to a place and expect it to accommodate you. To truly "marry" the land—to belong to the Bow Valley—requires sincerity, patience, and respect. The mountains aren't withholding themselves; they are waiting for us to meet them on their terms.
The Western history of these peaks adds another layer of symbolism. In 1883, Albert Rogers saw the snow-draped peaks and called them the "Three Nuns." By 1886, George Dawson renamed them the "Three Sisters," imbuing them with the three cardinal virtues of philosophy:
- The Big Sister (Faith): Staying true to one’s beliefs through life's storms.
- The Middle Sister (Hope): Maintaining optimism when the future is uncertain.
- The Little Sister (Charity/Love): The spirit of giving and communal care.
Whether we view them as indigenous protectors or personified virtues, the peaks can stand as symbolic reminders: our "guardian snow angels" looking over the valley.
As you assemble these three puzzles, we hope you feel the hold and warm embrace of the mountains. Whether you are inspired by the virtuosity of the Sisters, the peace of the mountains as slumbering ancient giants, or the calm serenity offered by a lakeside waves and reflections, we hope you'll remember that belonging isn't something we claim. Belonging is something we practice through attention, respect and continual care.
