mixed media and found objects on altered postcard

something occurred to me as i joined chuck's 4 year old nephew, andrew, as he assembled a puzzle during our holiday get-together..

this child is quite extraordinary. he's completing 500 piece puzzles all by himself, with the greatest of ease. i've worked alongside him many times, and although i'm not 'helping' him, he enjoys the companionship.

when i told him it frustrates me when i think a piece will fit, and it doesn't, he calmly said, 'oh, that's alright, not everyone can do this...if you have a problem making something fit, just turn it around and sometimes that works.'

and then he plucked a stray piece from the sea of imagery before him, placed it beside another and said, 'here, just try this one and see what happens..'

it fit.


mixed media and found objects on altered postcard

andrew's process isn't unlike my own. this method of moving parts around and assembling them in seemingly logical and pleasing ways can be quite satisfying. andrew's still young, largely untainted by societal constraints..and a large part of my time is spent shut away in my studio, with no pressures from the outside world. the only real difference between my world and his, is that he's joining pieces that are manufactured to fit-there is a right and shall i say, 'not so right' way to assemble them. my puzzles, although slightly askew, still somehow on a subconscious level seem to fit.