Ice Crystals on Grass

This print was one of those special moments that just happens. In early January, we set out to photograph a lovely old stone church in West Boyleston, Massachusetts in the early morning light. As it turned out, the long shadows and freshly fallen snow created some lovely ice crystals on the grass.

Since snowflakes were so much a part of this picture, we decide to make the puzzle look like falling snowflakes. Of course, we had to put in a few tricks...

Title: Ice Crystals on Grass
By: Melinda Shebell
Edge Style: Irregular, top and corners are snowflake
Size: about 10" wide by 6.5" high with approximately 100 pieces

As you might guess, there are extra snowflakes that come with this puzzle. The picture above has both more and less snowflakes than what are in the puzzle proper. We have purposely not shown the completed puzzle. Each snowflake piece is symmetrical, and although there are only five different patterns, each snowflake is unique and will only correctly fit in one spot in one orientation. After an hour, you might be tempted to force-fit, but don't, and watch out, if a piece fits too easily, it probably doesn't go there. We also used one of the snowflakes as our signature piece rather than our usual stylized iris. It is signed, numbered and dated for authenticity.

The puzzle is made from 5 ply mahogany plywood with an alder core. As with all our puzzles, the back is finished the old-fashioned way with multiple coats of hand-rubbed oil and shellac. The back of the puzzle is as nice to look at as the front.