This puzzle was commissioned by a customer as a gift for his wife, Peg, who had recent started a job as a docent as the Memorial Art Gallery. The figurals in the puzzle celebrate the symbols of several galleries; the Purple Cow is a mascot of Williams College, Alma Mater.

As for the Creative pieces sprinkled in the puzzle, I made an effort to cut them nicely, but not as delicately as in some of my other recent work, as I'm now attempted to make the pieces a little more robust.

As it happened (from my Journal archives)

June 2, 2004

7:12 pm - After a lot of administrivia today, I began work on #546, Congratulations Docent!, based on Vermeer's Young Woman with a Water Pitcher. I designed the figurals and a word piece, designed the border (alternating large curves and small knobs), and did some initial cutting including the border.

June 3, 2004

8:11 pm - I did quite a bit of cutting today, cutting almost 200 pieces in #546, Congratulations Docent!, bringing the total to about 200 as I cut just a couple pieces yesterday. I will continue the puzzle tomorrow and expect to complete it on Saturday. The puzzle is mostly Long Round, but has a few Creative style pieces scattered about, and will have 10 figurals. The customer requested that "The Observer" be the signature piece and "he" agreed :-).

Now. My shoulder. The MRI results are in and my suspicions have been validated. I have what is referred to as "full thickness rotator cuff tear". Google it. Not pretty at all! And I also have a partial rotator cuff tear in a different muscle. Anyway, surgery is now going to happen, and I'm going to schedule it as soon as I can. [I ended up having surgery on June 17].

June 4, 2004

11:48 pm - I continued work on #546, cutting another 170 pieces or so. Cutting is going well and I cut some excellent figurals. I'll finish the puzzle tomorrow and will post pictures of the figurals (also the puzzle, if the customer says OK).

June 5, 2004

7:44 pm - I completed #546, Vermeer's Young Woman with a Water Pitcher. The puzzle was cut in Long Round style with a scattering of Creative Whirlies and a few Creative / Swirl Curl movements added. The puzzle has some cool figurals, one of a woman diving into the Pitcher, per customer request. The customer also requested The Observer instead of my regular signature piece.

The Puzzle has a newly design border.