This is the second Compulsory Art Object I've offered within the 100 Puzzles Project. The previous one being Six Piece Compulsory #11. Compulsories are not assigned regular puzzle numbers. I made Six Piece Compulsory #11 after completing puzzle #545 and before making #546. See Compulsories for information about the origin of the name and pictures of other Compulsories.

As it happened (from my Journal archives)

April 6, 2008

Sunday 6:50 pm - I went back to Mixed Media today to work on the "big weed project" and work on the 6x6 Compulsory. I made good progress digging the trench, then disaster. There is a second pipe! 20 foot shooting geyser, water sprayed all over me, mud and water on two cars, and a small river. The main water feed, impossible to stop. I had to call the city emergency people to turn off the water at the street, which meant not only no water for Mixed Media but two other businesses elsewhere in the vicinity, all under one landlord. I had no choice but to focus on getting a plumber to fix the pipe today at "Sunday double overtime pay rates" before things opened Monday. A few hours later, done, day pretty much shot. Despite all this I did cut and paint the 6x6 compulsory but I don't like it, also a bug got in the paint, so I'll try again....

April 8, 2008

Tuesday 5:20 pm - As for the 6x6 Compulsory #1, I've decided that the one I cut on Sunday is good enough. Today I painted the back and put a second coat on the front masking the "insect marks" and some fingerprints. I think the 9x3 Compulsories with six pieces lend themselves to better aesthetics. None-the-less the 6x6 will be auctioned. I had said that the 6x6 was going to have 8 pieces which would make the average piece size the same as in the 9x3 works. However when I cut it last Sunday, it ended up with 9 pieces, so art has a way of defining itself! I ever get an order for another 6x6 it will have 9 pieces not 8. Although I still need to make the stand I'm considering today as the completion date. I will make the stand tomorrow and launch the auction on Friday.

When I write up the auction description on Friday I'm going to discuss the 6x6 Compulsory in considerable detail, perhaps in more detail than any work I've done to date.... its pluses and minuses and general observations about "game theory" regarding the auction and the rules of the 100 Puzzles Project.

April 9, 2008

Wednesday 4:58 pm - I spent some time at the shop this afternoon, cutting the pieces for the stand for this month's eBay puzzle. I had lots of problems with the Burnt Oak wood splintering, so I went through all of the Burnt Oak that I had and kept the best parts that I made. Not perfect, but will have to do. Tomorrow I'll sand, oil and glue the components together. The auction will be launched Friday.

April 10, 2008

Thursday 5:29 pm - Today I completed the stand for 6x6 Compulsory #1. I'll have a write-up about the Compulsory and stand tomorrow when I launch the auction. Some of the inspiration for the design of the stand, which is very similar in style to the ones I designed for the 9x3 Compulsories, came from those slanted Tyrell Corporation buildings shown in the movie Blade Runner.

The purple Whirly Gear is one of my standard fancy pieces, the far right side of the yellow into the purple compliments the cut, this is a relatively new development.	This is an area of design I've been exploring within a general class of flip-flops, and "harmonic extensions"	Another Whirly Gear variant. The black extension on the top is extremely delicate and must be handled with great care. Insert the black piece into the yellow, not the yellow into the black.
A "wavy" Whirly Gear	A "Cog Wheel" Whirly Gear (Bob Armstrong's name)	Sometimes I just play and see what comes up
I like to do things in threes and fives	Three prongs	Three Bubbles, decreasing size
Protruding knobs and spikes	Harmonic Extension - orange and black spikes	Designed by John S. Stokes III Custom Puzzle Craft

From the auction description:
(slightly edited)

This work measures 6" by 6", and consists of nine puzzle pieces. Each of the pieces were painted on both sites with acrylic spray paint. The work was cut fairly quickly, a much longer time was spent painting it and making the stand. Overall the Compulsory came out OK, there are several areas I'd like to do over, but I've decided that it is what it is and is "good enough" to be included within the 100 Puzzle Project.

A note about pricing. Puzzles within the 100 Puzzle Project are for the most part are either "limited editions of one", for example my Michael Seewald puzzles of the past several years, or unlimited editions, for example almost all of my K. Chin puzzles. The unlimited edition "Gallery puzzles", when included in the project are always "first time" puzzles for a particular image, and I have a rule that the price I then set for additional puzzles with the same image and size must be greater than the winning bid. This "6x6 Compulsory" is an "Art Object" which is being treated like an "unlimited edition" work that will be offered again on my website at price higher than the winning bid. So..... if you want one at a reasonable price, don't bid this one way up, OK? However, if you do bid this way up, you may have a unique item! Note: As these works are cut freeform, each subsequent one will have very different cutting.

My cutting requirements for nine piece 6" x 6" Compulsories are not as strict as for my six piece 3" x 9" Compulsories. The basic requirement is that the puzzle be cut in one session, with no patterns allowed, must be freeform. Some "classic" whirly gears have to be included in the work, mixed with "open" cutting. An emphasis on "flow cutting" or "puzzle feng shui" is highly recommended.

The wooden display stand was made from 3/4" thick Scorched Oak. Some of the edges of the stand chipped a bit when I cut it, it is being included "as is". The wooden stand is made from three pieces of Scorched Oak, glued together with wood glue, there are no nails. Some of the inspiration for the design of the stand, which is very similar in style to the ones I designed for the Six Piece 9x3 Compulsories, came from those slanted Tyrell Corporation buildings in the movie Blade Runner.