Artist: Janet K. MacKay
Dimensions: 27.5 cm x 27.5 cm
Piece Count: 258
Puzzle Designer: Jasen Robillard
Janet K. MacKay is a sculptor and painter working out of Worldview Studio and Gallery of Fine Art, located in Ottawa, Ontario. Her oil-on-canvas paintings are vibrant and distinctly Canadian, currently focussing on the dazzling reflections of boats on water — from canoes and kayaks to fishing vessels. Janet has participated in numerous solo and group shows and enjoys these opportunities to see, first hand, that spark of connection her art can make with its audience.
'25-Year Journey' was commissioned as a wedding anniversary gift, inspired by a favourite photo of the husband kayaking. The plan was initially to have Janet display the painting in her booth at the 2019 Ottawa Home & Garden Show, where the couple had discovered Janet's art a few years earlier. With a bit of clever husband herding, he would discover the painting in the booth, which would be labelled “Our 25 Year Journey” and the cost would be “Priceless”.
That plan (along with previous plans for a spa day, and a special vacation) got cancelled as many of our plans did that year. Instead, the commemorative gift was given without fuss or fanfare, no party or evening out on the town to mark the occasion. Instead, the painting was discretely hung on the wall while husband dearest was out walking Juno the dog. The painting, a reflection of their beautiful journey together, awaited him upon his return. He loved it, of course.
Sometimes, a simple unexpected gesture is all that love requires...
Links
Lightly watermarked reference image
Note, reference images are watermarked to prevent unauthorized printing of our artist's work, as well as copycat puzzles which have become common since 2020.
Worldview Studio and Gallery of Fine Art
Jasen's Puzzle Designer Notes
25-Year Journey was designed on the heels of a much-needed Holiday Season break, which also happens to include a wedding anniversary for Heather & I. While we have not quite reached the 25th-anniversary mark, I was nevertheless compelled to reflect upon my own meaningful relationships. This reflective mood was likely spurred on and inspired by recent sappy movie sessions with the family: Big Fish (Tim Burton's best), UP, The Holiday and A River Runs Through It.
Heather and I are rapidly approaching the horizon of having lived together longer than we have apart. That horizon coincides with the timeline referred to in 25-Year Journey and reminds me of other meaningful 25-year human life cycles: the years of growing up under our parents’ tutelage, the years of raising our own children, the upcoming years of watching our kids fly the coop and spread their wings, and then whatever “golden” years of life remain thereafter.
I’m also mindful and grateful of the friends we’ve made over the years, some of which are also approaching that 25-year milestone. I’m not (yet) an angler, but I suppose each moment with close friends and family members feels a bit like a “catch-and-release”: cherished in the moment and remembered fondly in a good story.
I hope this love-themed puzzle and its “alluring” whimsies will serve as a catalyst for pleasant reminiscing as well as memory-making with loved ones, at or away from the puzzle table.
Whimsy List
- Multi-piece whimsies
- fly fisher
- couple paddling through rapids
- dog & walker
- a scenic landscape
- hot-air balloon
- helium-based house moving
- Life preserver
- Single piece
- 4x fish Hooks
- 3x fish
- 2x fish bones
- 3x swimmers
- cliff diver
- interlocked wedding rings
- life jacket
- 3-leaf clover
- 4-leaf clover
