Kevin Barrett 
Jigsaw puzzle pieces are apparently interchangeable, which sort of makes sense when you think about it. Companies use the same cut for multiple puzzles, probably to save money.
A guy named Tim Klein, who is from Vancouver, is arguably the world’s leading jigsaw puzzle artist. There may be another one, honestly; I have never heard of this art form before, however, so I doubt it.
Anyway, Tim uses pieces from more than one puzzle to create jigsaw puzzle art, and then he sells that art for hundreds of dollars. He once made over $600, which I think is a fair price. Puzzles are hard enough as they are. I can’t imagine combining pieces from more than one into anything coherent and beautiful. He manages, though.
I don’t do jigsaw puzzles and don’t really understand people who do; as probably thousands of people have pointed out over the years, the picture is right there on the box. I think that was brought up in an episode of “Frasier”, actually. However, I really respect what Tim is doing. Doing what he is doing requires actual talent.
Check out his work here:
https://puzzlemontage.crevado.com/about
https://www.facebook.com/TimothyMKlein
Here are eighteen great examples.
1. The One With the Car and the Bulldozer
This interesting piece of art is called “How the West Was Won”, and it is all sold out. You couldn’t buy it right now if you wanted to, and I sort of do. Then again, I really like cows. They remind me of simpler times.
The reason Tim can’t make more copies of this is because he can’t find the puzzles necessary to do so, which is a shame. If he can, I am sure he’ll make more, especially if he can make a few hundred dollars.
2. The One With the Church and the Carnival Ride
Tim decided to name this one “The Mercy-Go-Round (Sunshine And Shadow)”, which I think is a cool name. It is a bit wordy, I think, but he’s the artist! According to his website, some people find it insulting or even blasphemous, which I think is a bit much. It isn’t like he’s insulting religion or any particular religious figure. I have an aunt who is a nun, and even she would find this sort of adorable. People get really worked up over the most peculiar things.
Tim says that a lot of people find it humorous, which was probably the artist’s intent. Some people, he said, also find it joyful—and that is a beautiful thing.
3. The One With the Coins and the Eyes
Tim explains that this is—unlike his other pieces—a two layered work. There is one puzzle on top of the other. Regardless, it definitely looks pretty cool and would look great on a wall.
This, sadly, is one of those pieces that is not available for purchase at this time. The puzzles are from the 1980s, so the source material is sort of hard to come by.
In case you’re curious, the name of this piece is “The Other Side”.
4. The One With the Dinosaur and the Train
This one might be my favorite. It might be the most terrifying of the bunch. Sadly, “T’ Rainosaurus Rex” is not available for purchase. Tim just can’t track down the puzzles he needs to make it.
I must say that I am surprised how many jigsaw puzzles there are out there, and how large some of them can be. I never really studied the industry until now. There are apparently puzzles that are comprised of over 50,000 pieces. You can buy them! There are also super expensive jigsaw puzzles; for example, some of them sell for hundreds of dollars. One was sold at auction for about $27,000. That’s a lot of money for a puzzle.
5. The One With the Beer and the Bear
I don’t know what the artist was thinking with this one. It is an interesting combination of images, certainly, but I have never associated toy bears with generic, domestic beer.
What message is he trying to convey? What does this say about him as a person? Does he feel like beer kind of hugs him when he drinks it? I can relate to that.
Once more, this particular work of art can’t be purchased. Tim should probably start making art from puzzles that aren’t over 30 years old.
Tim will make more if he can get the puzzles he needs. This piece of work is named “Surrogate”, which is sort of a dark name if you ask me.
6. The Puppy and the Coca-Cola
This one is called “Soda Pup”, which is cute. I love puns. I also love puppies and Coca-Cola, so this piece of art speaks to me on a number of levels; I therefore wish to own it.
Unsurprisingly, I can’t. The puzzles he used to make this piece date back to 1979 and 1980, so they are pretty hard to find almost 40 years later. That’s not really the artist’s fault.
This is unrelated to puzzles, but I think it is kind of interesting that I own one of those original “Pong” machines. My parents gave it to my dad’s younger siblings, and it somehow ended up in my possession. I was never able to hook it up to a modern television. I just can’t figure it out. I didn’t try very hard, though, honestly. “Pong” was sort of boring. I realize it was basically the first video game that was commercially successful, so I owe it that respect as a lover of video games, but it is still a dull experience. I know because I played it on my iPhone once. I would probably rather do a jigsaw puzzle, frankly, and I don’t find those particularly amusing.
7. The One With the Disturbing Creature
This particular piece of artwork is called “Were-Rabbit”, and I think it is pretty easy to see why. I find this one sort of disturbing; I really like rabbits in general. That’s why I refuse to eat rabbit. They are just too cute. I have eaten veal, and I have eaten lamb, but I refuse to eat rabbit. I associate rabbits with pets. The meat is supposedly pretty good for you, but I just can’t do it.
I did eat very lamb recently. It was Thanksgiving, and they were serving it at this buffet-type meal I attended. It was not very good. As my dad pointed out, it can be easy to mess up lamb. The meal was delicious otherwise.
This one isn’t available for purchase either.
8. The One With the Animals
This one is called “World Citizen”—and I am sure you will be surprised to hear that the artist can’t get a hold of the puzzles needed and therefore can’t make another one.
This one kind of scares me, and I don’t know why. I have always been mildly afraid of animals, I suppose. Unless the animal is my pet, I generally don’t want to go near it.
There have been a few exceptions, though. I really like my neighbor’s dog. She’s so tiny that I can’t believe she is real—I am talking about the dog, not the neighbor.
9. The One With the Feline and the Flowers
This one is called “Daisy Bindi” for some reason, and I don’t know why. I like it, though. The eyes are sort of creepy, but the flowers are pretty and calming.
I could see this hanging on the wall of my home. Naturally, of course, I couldn’t purchase it if it were within my price range. The three puzzles from which it was made date back to 1987. That was an interesting year. The Soviet Union still existed; all of these years later, it is hard to believe that was once a thing. Also, in Japan, the first “Mega Man” game was released, which is neat. I haven’t played one of those in a while. I hear there is a new one out, though, and I might give it a shot! Also, the first “Final Fantasy” was released in Japan.
10. The One With the Waterfall
This one is called “Waterfall Grille”, and I don’t think I need to explain why. I also probably don’t need to point out that it isn’t available for purchase because the artist just can’t get the puzzles needed.
I do think that “Waterfall Grille” is an excellent name for a restaurant, though. The grille part is obvious, of course; however, I do find that waterfalls give a restaurant a sort of serene atmosphere, and you can pretty much fake one in any establishment if you have the interior design budget. I also like fish tanks in most cases, but I find them weird when I’m at a sushi joint.
Actually, there is a great seafood restaurant down the road from me that has a fish tank, and I love that place—I do. Still, I have to look at the fish in the tank when I am trying to eat my meal, and I always think “oh, goodness, I am eating your cousins” as they swim around their little home.
11. The One With the King and the Truck
This one, for obvious reasons, is called “King of the Road”, and it really is very nice. I always like reading about ancient Egypt.
You can’t buy it—I know you are surprised. The artist, Tim Klein, should really consider making more artwork out of recently published puzzles. It sounds like there could be a really decent career in it for him.
12. The One With the Fairies and the Restroom
Also known as “The Dance Of The Bathroom Cleaning Fairies”, this painting shows fairies cleaning a bathroom. If only such fairies existed in real life! Is there anything worse than having to clean a toilet? If a genie offered me ten wishes, one of those wishes would definitely be for fairies that clean my restroom.
I would appreciate it if the fairies dressed in such a fashion. The outfits really are quite elegant.
13. The One With the House and the Mountain
This one, called “Mountain Plantation”, was apparently the artist’s first montage; he therefore decided to keep it, and can’t make another one. Shockingly, the puzzles aren’t available.
It is quite lovely art, though. The house is a mansion in Wilmington, North Carolina. That city is well known for many reasons, including the production of television and films. For example, “Dawson’s Creek” was produced there.
14. The One Called Sphinx
I don’t even know how to describe this one, which is called “Sphinx”. There is a Coca-Cola advertisement in there, and there is a waterfall, and there is a puppy. It is pretty impressive that three puzzles could be combined to make such an image.
It is weird, but it is a lot nicer than anything I could ever hope to produce. The girl’s face is just sort of creepy. Then again, those old Coca-Cola ads from the late nineteenth century were all sort of creepy, so it sort of makes sense.
15. The One With the Tree and the Tower
I don’t know why I like this one so much, but I definitely find it completely beautiful. This is a true work of art. One puzzle is of the Big Ben; the other is a redwood. The work is called “Timekeeper”.
I find the Redwood tree to be very interesting. Most of them are in California, and they can manage to live for well over 1,000 years. There is a good chance that most of the ones alive today will still be hanging in there long after you are gone.
16. The One About Washington
In case you can’t tell, this piece of art is designed to look like George Washington. It is kind of hard to see at first, I guess, but the artist definitely made it work.
The work is, for obvious reasons, named “Washington”. The artist resides in Washington, and he clearly loves the state.
When I think of Washington—the person, not the place—I often think of my paternal grandmother. She was a big fan of American history—and she also really loved jigsaw puzzles. She could assemble them for hours and hours.
When I think of the state named Washington, I always think of the show “Frasier”, which was set in Seattle. I wish they’d bring that back! I’ll watch almost anything starring David Hyde Pierce.
17. The One About the Thaw
This one is actually called “Thaw”, and I love it primarily because I really want it to thaw. This winter has been brutal and hasn’t even technically started. It rains all of the time!
I also really like the building in the middle there. It is so cool how it all lined up like that. The people also look so very happy! They are enjoying their spring.
The full name of this piece is “Thaw (Warm Breath On A Winter Window)”.
18. The One With the Horse and the Train
This one is called “Iron Horse”, and I like it because it reminds me of the old west. There were a lot of horses back then, and there were also a lot of trains.
As “South Park” pointed out in a recent episode, people these days are playing a certain video game that features both trains and horses pretty prominently, and that game really is very good. I have my complaints about it, though. I find fishing to be particularly difficult; then again, I was never good at fishing in real life, so why would I be good at it in a video game?
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