Canada Archives – Fingering Zen

Posts tagged "Canada"

Peggy’s Cove

Size: 1000 pieces, 1 missing
Dimensions: 68 cm x 49 cm
Manufacturer: Dowdle Folk Art, IRM./ART. 981261
Original: painting
Box: photo
Artist: Eric Dowdle – Renowned folk artist Eric Dowdle captivates people of all ages with the wit, charm, and detail which is portrayed in his artwork. His quirky and infectious personality is represented in his collection of hundreds of scenes from the United States, and around the world. These paintings are highly valued by collectors and are distributed as high-quality prints, puzzles, and gifts.

Eric began painting in his early twenties and after just one year of college decided to part ways to “make something happen!” Making things happen is exactly what Eric has done and continues to do. Painting, exploring, and working day and night to expand his collection of distinctive folk art paintings is his passion.

As he has traveled the world to do research for his paintings, Eric has been exposed to numerous peoples and cultures. Since 2012, he has shared these experiences on the radio program “Traveling with Eric Dowdle” which is found weekly on Sirius XM 143. Eric and his team are currently in production for the television series “Painting the Town with Eric Dowdle” which premiered on public television in 2015. [Eric Dowdle site]

Puzzle: Lovely puzzle, brought to me by a friend. Wonderful to do in the early hours of the morning when the less-than-two-week-old baby decides to welcome the sunrise instead of sleeping. Beautiful rendition of Peggy’s Cove.

Lots of possible places to start – the sky with the clouds, the ater, the green, yellow, and blue panels on houses, the orange roofs, the rocks, the lighthouse. Irregularly-shaped pieces add a bit of a challenge to otherwise quite an easy puzzle.

“See the world through the eyes of Eric Dowdle. His unique ability to capture the essence of the cities and places he paints has delighted people of all ages. His quirky, funny and infectious personality is represented in his art and he’s known worldwide for his unique style. When you travel along with Eric, the artist and personality extraordinaire, you feel like you were transported to that location as he shares all that he experienced in that destination through his art. By the time you complete the puzzle, you are left with a warm and friendly view of the city that he portrays in each painting.” [Puzzle box]

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Puzzle: Parliament Buildings [Canada] in 3D

Size: 87 pieces
Dimensions: 28.4 cm x 28.4 cm x 18 cm
Producer: CubicFun, 3D Puzzle series MC, #MC081h, complexity 4/5
Original packaging: unable to find on the CubicFun site

Puzzle: Following the St. Basil’s Cathedral and the Taj Mahal 3D puzzles, I am now perpetually on the lookout for other higher-complexity puzzles made by CubicFun, and found a Canadian one in a nearby toy store (Mrs. Tiggy Winkles), sold as a special before Christmas.

Here is the box, the booklet (see below for the historical information contained therein) and sheets with puzzle pieces.

I have done this in three stages:

1. Separating all the pieces from the sheets in which they were embedded.

2. Punching out the holes in the pieces (I used a tip of a mechanical pencil).

3. And putting together the puzzle itself. Below are the progress photos (this time I had enough willpower to stop briefly to snap a few photos):

3D Parliament Puzzle - core separated, md

3D Parliament Puzzle - core, md

3D Parliament Puzzle - core and towers, md

3D Parliament Puzzle - front full, md

The sides of the back buildings were tricky – there were several small pieces that had to fit together just so, and ended up not fitting very well, snapping off easily (tape to the rescue), and causing the edge towers and roofs to tilt. While rotating the puzzle, I had to keep straightening them.

3D Parliament Puzzle - side 1, md

3D Parliament Puzzle - side 2, md

3D Parliament Puzzle - back, md

A fun puzzle to do. However, compared to the previous two, punching the holes was not as easy: the pieces often did not fully separate, and attempting to remove the unnecessary parts peeled off the top layer of paper, so I had to be very careful to try minimizing the damage. This seems like a manufacturing issue with this particular puzzle, as the previous two puzzles did not have it.

I also had my 3 year-old catch me at separating the pieces from the sheets and insist on participating. He was mostly successful with some supervision (which speaks to how well the puzzle sheets are designed), with minimal damage to a couple of pieces, most of which I was able to fix with glue.

Notes from the puzzle booklet:

“The world’s famous architecture we build it. Parliament Buildings [Canada]

Tourists can visit the House of Commons and Senate chambers in the Centre Block. Inside the rotunda are the statues of Queen Victoria and former Prime Ministers of Canada. The office of the first Prime Minister, John A. MacDonald, in the East Block is open to public.

The parliament buildings were designed in Gothic Revival style and were made of sandstone and granite with magnificent carvings.

The parliament buildings are three edifices arranged around three sides of Parliament Hill’s central lawn. The Centre Block which contains the House of Commons and Senate chambers, features the Peace Tower on the south facade with the Library of Parliament at the building’s rear. The East and West Blocks each contains ministers’ and senators’ offices, as well as meeting rooms and other administrative spaces. The ground was broken in December 1859, followed by a number of other extensions to the parliament and departmental buildings. A fire destroyed the Centre Block in 1916. The Parliament Hill took on its present form with the completion of the Peace Tower in 1927.

The parliament buildings are fronted by the Peace Tower standing at 92.2 meters tall on the south facade of the Centre Block. CUrrently, the Peace Tower with 4.8 m clock face and 53 bells in its carillon is known as the world’s most delicate architecture in the Gothic Revival style.

From late June to the third week of August, the Changing of the Guard Ceremony takes place on the Parliament Hill. It starts a little before 10:00 in the morning when the Old Guard arrives. Once the Old Guard has been inspected, the New Guard arrives to relieve them.

The Mosaika Sound and Light Show takes place every evening on the Parliament Hill from early July to early September. A powerful narrative set against the spectacular backdrop of Parliament Hill, Mosaika takes the audience on an unforgettable journey of sound and light, as we explore Canada’s physical, historical and cultural landscapes. This bilingual show is 45 minutes in length and free of charge.

When visiting the Parliament Hill, visitors will fall in love with the solemn and magnificent buildings, pleasant charms from Peace Tower, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Ceremony, and the Sound and Light show.” [Puzzle booklet]

Puzzle: Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.5 cm x 35.5 cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, The Canadian Group

Puzzle: A beautiful puzzle, a close-up view of the Basilica, with a larger view available in a 1000-piece puzzle I have assembled. The support beams at the top, and the spiky frame in the bottom are good places to start. The golden figures, the red/orange and purple columns, and the blue background areas can follow. The rest should fall into place easily – the puzzle is small and pieces fit well together.

Notes:

Puzzle: Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 51.12 cm x 66.52 cm
Producer: Big Ben, MB Puzzles, Hasbro, 2007, 04962-N03

Puzzle: Beautiful serene puzzle to make. Despite its size, the assembly flows smoothly due to distinct separate regions of colour separated by clear borders. The lavender of the sky, the yellow, purple, and black mountains, their clearly separated reflections and the horizontal divide of the water edge are a breeze to put together. The blue of the water, the rock regions, the green grass patches, and the guide made by the log, let the rest of the pieces fall into place.

Notes: Banff National Park is located in the province of Alberta in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. In the fall of 1883, three Canadian Pacific Railway construction workers stumbled across a cave containing hot springs on the eastern slopes of Alberta’s Rocky Mountains. From that humble beginning was born Banff National Park, Canada’s first national park and the world’s third. Spanning 6,641 square kilometres of valleys, mountains, glaciers, forests, meadows and rivers, Banff National Park is one of the world’s premier destination spots. [Banff National Park site]

Puzzle: St. John’s, Newfoundland

Size: 1000 pieces
Dimensions: 48 cm x 73 cm
Producer: Canada Games, 1993, #40605-10

Notes: This puzzle takes a bit of time, since there are almost no large solid regions, the boats, and the mountain-sky area being the exceptions. From that point on, the large beige-red building is probably the next logical step. Dark red and blue areas stand out the most, as well as orange diamonds, the cathedral, and dark tree areas. Good lighting is a bonus with this one.

St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador: St. John’s is the capital and largest city in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America. Its name has been attributed to the feast day of John the Baptist, when John Cabot was believed to have sailed into the harbour in 1497, and also to a Basque fishing town with the same name. The architecture of St. John’s has a distinct style from that of the rest of Canada, and its major buildings are remnants of its history as one of the first British colonial capitals. Buildings took a variety of styles according to the means available to build the structures.

St. John’s was the starting point for the first non-stop transatlantic aircraft flight, by Alcock and Brown in a modified Vickers Vimy IV bomber, in June 1919, departing from Lester’s Field in St. John’s and ending in a bog near Clifden, Connemara, Ireland. [Wiki]

Puzzle: House of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 43.5cm x 27cm

Notes: I do not have a record of the producer of this puzzle as I do not have the box anymore. A clarification is welcome – if you have any clue as to the details regarding this puzzle, I would much appreciate that information.

Canadian Parliament: The Parliament of Canada (French: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and organization. The governor general summons and appoints each of the 105 members of the upper house on the advice of the Prime Minister of Canada, while the 308 members of the lower house are directly elected by eligible voters in the Canadian populace, with each Member of Parliament representing a single electoral district, commonly referred to as a riding.

By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is the dominant branch of parliament, the Senate and Crown rarely opposing its will. The Senate thus reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint, and the monarch and viceroy provide the necessary Royal Assent to make bills into law and summon, prorogue, and dissolve parliament in order to call an election, as well as reading the Throne Speech. [Wiki]

Photo: Ottawa River Sunset, August 28, 2012

Puzzle: Metis International Garden Festival, Quebec, Canada

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 40.64cm x 40.64cm
Producer: Hasbro, MB Puzzle, Big Ben series
Notes: The International Garden Festival is recognized as one of the most important events of its kind in North America and one of the leading annual garden festivals in the world. Since 2000, more than 900,000 visitors have explored 110 gardens created by over 220 designers from 15 countries.

The Festival is a unique forum for innovation and experimentation and an exceptional showcase and launching pad for participating designers from a host of disciplines. It provides an annual rendez-vous for admirers of contemporary gardens and design as well as offering a unique space for those involved in the renewal of this art form.

The site is bordered to the north by the St. Lawrence River, to the west by a woodland of deciduous trees, to the east by a large field and conifer forest. On occasion, gardens are installed on other parts of the Festival site and in the historic gardens. [Festival site]

Puzzle: View from the CN Tower

Size: 500 pieces
Dimensions: 48.26cm x 35.56cm
Producer: Sure-Lox, City Scapes series
Notes: The CN Tower is a communications and observation tower in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Standing 553.33 metres tall, it was completed in 1976, becoming the world’s tallest free-standing structure and world’s tallest tower at the time. It held both records for 34 years until the completion of the Burj Khalifa and Canton Tower. It remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere, a signature icon of Toronto’s skyline, and a symbol of Canada.

Its name “CN” originally referred to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower. Following the railway’s decision to divest non-core freight railway assets, prior to the company’s privatization in 1995, it transferred the tower to the Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation responsible for real estate development. Since the name CN Tower became common in daily usage, the abbreviation was eventually expanded to Canadian National Tower or Canada’s National Tower. However, neither of these names is commonly used. [Wiki]