Monday, January 17, 2011

Another Collection • Puzzles

I love puzzles. I love solving them, collecting them, sharing them and displaying them.  I especially like the combination of wood, three-dimensional design and geometry to create interlocking puzzles and I have my collection scattered through out our home.


The above design was acquired during an Artists' Open Studio weekend in West Medford, MA. John and Jane Kostick combine mathematics with construction and create beautiful puzzles, stars, furniture and architectural structures. This puzzle is a favorite because it is beautifully crafted.  Putting it together has a special tactile feeling because the wood is so finely finished and the pieces hug together so snuggly.



This is another classic geometric puzzle nestled in among other collectibles.  By understanding the roll  puzzles play in my life already you'll understand why I was taken by these tables recently shared on Design Milk.  All are by Architect Petar Zaharinov of Sophia, Bulgaria.













Both of the above designs are based on the Burr Puzzle concept.  Burr puzzles are composed of interlocking pieces. Stewart Coffin has designed over 140 interlocking puzzle designs and is highly regarded in the puzzling world. He has also written The Puzzling World of Polyhedral Dissection. The book is out of print but available here on the Internet.

A quick search on the Internet will direct you to many sites selling Burr Puzzles. This one below and many others are available from BartArt if you are interested in starting a collection of your own.





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