Feeling Puzzled…
Thoughts on this piece
I took four months to solve my first ever 1000 pieces puzzle.
It also took about six months to take the notes of this post into a finished post.
Aaaand about four months for the artwork that accompanies it.
With the puzzle, one moment of true play sparked the inspiration for all these parts of creation.
This piece has been challenging and a good reminder that most growth happens during the figuring-out phases, not at the end result.
It has been a major goal of mine to start animating my illustrations. While I’m familiar with animating a scene, bringing a drawing that is naturally a still image, into life takes a bit more thought.
I wanted to do it on Procreate, so I can carry my iPad around and animate anywhere I want, but the animation options there are still a bit rudimental so it took some mental gymnastics to figure out a process.
The whole artwork + animation took me 50 hours! During a time where we live too much on social media and feel we should produce fast to accompany the posts’ and algorithms’ rhythm and all that, that felt extra good.
It felt good to take my time around a piece, produce slowly, get lost in it, and learn what I need to learn…
I leave here also some stills of the main stages of this artwork.
Enjoy the reading.
I got puzzled, and I liked it
Sometimes I wonder how much time it will take me to figure out all the parts of myself, as a human and an artist.
I recently realized that is just the process of a whole life lived with creativity. Which is sort of freeing, to know you’re getting there anyway, with each piece you do.
It allows you to focus more on the process than the result.
Doing that 1000 pieces puzzle, and working on this puzzled self-portrait was a direct reflection of that.
As usual, I couldn’t stop myself from making metaphorical connections between those moments and life. If you’re a reader of my newsletter, you’re probably familiar with this way of me thinking.
Gentle reminders the puzzle whispered
So, in this blog post, I bring you some things I was reminded of in this process, that might be useful for you too:
(not necessarily in order)
If you force pieces to fit that are not at their right place (could I even say right time), they will jump out. Eventually they will show you they were wrong over there.
Don’t try to figure things out too early or with the pressure of figuring all out.
Sometimes a piece just doesn’t feel right, but it does tell you the sort of shape of the right one, so you know better where to search for.This said, the right pieces fall normally into the right places, at the right time. And most of the times, unexpectedly. Learn to surrender.
If you try to solve the whole puzzle in one sitting, you will end up not enjoying it anymore, as you’re too focused on the end goal instead of appreciating each small new victory.
Be patient and gentle with yourself (and with others). We all have areas we find easier and others we find frustrating. Everyone is completing the puzzle their own way, and they should take the time they need.
If you obsess too much with other people’s puzzles you might be distracted for a long time, and you will not make any progress, or any significant one at least.
If someone else has a piece you find beautiful and would love to have it, remember you’re doing different puzzles, that piece might just not be for you at all. This can hurt and you’re allowed to sit with that for a while. A good solution is to find the beauty in your own pieces.
It is possible to find that the biggest joy is in the smallest pieces, the smallest corners of detail.
If you’re too close it’s harder to figure it out. Stand, maybe have a nice stretch, look at the whole picture, from a greater distance. Who knows, maybe that the chance to do that nice daily walk outside. You will be able to enjoy a clearer picture afterwards.
If you’re feeling a bit too lost or overwhelmed, it’s ok to focus on one area for a while. When that recharges you with a bit more confidence you can decide to explore the wild parts. You can always go back to your comfort, best well know area(s) later.
You might want to jump from area to area in the puzzle, but sometimes if you keep searching within the same area, with two clues you might have of that piece, you might go faster than jumping from area to area. Focus is important.
On the other hand, on other occasions, especially when starting, jumping from area to area is what makes sense, so you can try out different things and then see the ones where you can develop faster at, or that enjoy the most.
You might realize over time, that just as with a puzzle, you already had all the pieces of yourself you were searching for. Very often, or dare I say always, we already have all we need within ourselves, it might just take a while and lots of exploration and adventure, until we come back home, with that realization.
Most important of all, remember that the solution is in simply moving, gently, one piece (day) at a time.
Did you finish your puzzle? That’s great!
Wait, don’t go yet…
Take this opportunity to remain still and breathe, enjoying this moment and how far you’ve come, because once you figure it out you’ll immediately want to go for the next thing, for the next level. Always.
That’s human nature after all.
Cherish this moment and be grateful. And be sure to remember all the great things you’ve achieved so far, no matter how little they seem.
Go on, and good luck with your next adventure.
Lastly…
Thank you for your time and read, feel free to share any constructive feedback or send any questions on topics you would like me to write/draw about :)
Stay safe and inspired,
Rita