I've mentioned my dad once or twice around here; although I love him dearly, he has the ability to infuriate the hell out of me. But then again, whose dad doesn't? I've also mentioned his nom de plume: my father, Gordon Medd, is Jigsaw Man; as Superheroes go his ability to do a thousand piece jigsaw may be a pretty rubbish super power, but, hey, he's my dad and I won't hear a word said against him (after all, that's my job).
In the past he's done circular jigsaws, double-sided jigsaws, single colour jigsaws; you name it, he's done 'em. Many of them have come by way of Christmas and birthday presents from me; yes, I've long since stopped fretting over what to get dad as December 25th approaches.
But his latest project has turned out to be his toughest assignment yet: Hokusai's The Wave had my dad teetering on the verge of madness. I was getting progress reports, photos, even selfies, of just how tricky this latest puzzle really was. It would appear that every piece, excluding the border, was exactly the same shape.
Each and every piece had to be painstakingly offered into position tens of times, scores often, before finding its rightful place. Dad's texts to me made for harrowing reading.
He told me that he would wake up in the middle of the night troubled by the most recent tricky section; dad would come downstairs in the wee small hours and to try and find a home for a few more pieces. It was only when the final piece was slotted into position that he could could finally breathe a sigh of relief and get his life back.
Tasked with carefully transferring this labour of love from dad's beloved 'jig-roll' into a beautiful dry mount and frame, the finished artwork - which looks amazing - is now on display at Medd Towers (with all the above photos on its flip side). As Rod said, every picture tells a story.
Andy Bell - Love Comes in Waves (2020)
What a lovely post. Huge congrats to your dad for completing it - as I was reading through I was on the edge of my seat and so hoping that you weren't going to tell us he finished it only to find there was one piece missing or that the cat jumped on it or something...Phew.
ReplyDeleteGreat choice of tune too, been really enjoying Andy Bell's solo work and how he's still got that dreamy psychy sound going on (reminded of how good Ride were too on recently seeing in those re-runs of ToTP)
Glad you enjoyed it, C. Dad was like a dog with a bone on this one; he wasn't gonna drop it.
DeleteThis one caught me unawares and moved me greatly - a really lovely post John.
ReplyDeleteThanks, TS. This is how family heirlooms are created...
DeleteWhat a great story with a lovely ending. Three cheers for Jigsaw Man and his thoughtful son.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alyson. He's already got stuck into another one - a map of the world. I'll get him to send me a photo when it's done. He drops them onto our MiL WhatsApp group - 'Medds in Lockdown' - the group I set up in March 2020 for me, James, my dad and my brother to keep in touch during Covid.
DeleteExcellent post. I often think about my relationship with my dad, it was very difficult (I think he was probably like me), times were different then as well but we spent one winter in the 1970s doing jigsaws together. Being a bit of a hoarder I still had them , my son had a go at them a few years ago and I knew pieces were missing but during lockdown I did them. They were gold box Victory jigsaws with no image to copy. It was so lovely doing them again and made me feel conected again to my dad in a way I don't think I have before. Whilst I was writing this I remembered that a jigsaw is the logo / symbol of autism. I think it's time for my first tattoo ��
ReplyDeleteYes, a connection - definitely. That's why I had this one framed; every piece has been touched by him (and many times over!)
DeleteThe jigsaw tattoo sounds like a no brainer - I look forward to seeing it when you come to your first Thursday Vinyl!