As it happened (from my Journal archives)

July 27, 2003

8:45 pm - Other than mounting Synthesized Serendipity, I decided to take the day off. Late this afternoon and early evening I went swimming / body surfing in the Pacific, very refreshing.

July 28, 2003

9:26 pm - Pretty much spent all day cutting #462 Synthesized Serendipity. Completed around 335 pieces and have about 65 to go, will finish it tomorrow morning. Cutting going very well. I did mess up some setup work prior to initiating the cutting which meant that I was not able to cut a trick I had planned, will try with a different puzzle sometime in the future..... no adverse effect on this puzzle. After I finish cutting, I plan to apply two coats of oil to the back of the puzzle (the wood is mahogany), so the puzzle won't be ready for photography until Wednesday, July 30th. The auction will start on the 30th, not the 29th.

Like my three prior Pattern Puzzles, Synthesized Serendipity, is going to be difficult to assemble. While not as large as the incredibly difficult Squares and Triangles with Gray, my impression based the time it has taken me to periodically assemble small portions at a time while cutting, is this puzzle will be among the most difficult puzzles I've made.

My Pattern puzzles each contain a Fractagon, a special figural reserved for these puzzles.

July 29, 2003

8:37 pm - Completed #462, Synthesized Serendipity, around 400 pieces, Long Round, oval shaped, and #463 "x" Bank, with 150 Swirl Curl pieces. I need to put a second coating of tung oil on #462.

10:53 pm - Here is a picture of #462, Synthesized Serendipity. The main impression is that the puzzle is stunning. I am a bit perturbed that there is variance in the visibility of the cutting within the dark blue border, perhaps a function of the paper, but will auction the puzzle anyway. I ascribe this to blade wear although I changed blades very frequently; something that needs to be studied in great detail. I created the image with software I wrote. I stretched and "spherized" the image using Photoshop.