Good Things Come to Those Who Bait!

by guest blogger, Elmer Prather

This is the 52nd Cobble Hill Puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. I need to have a connection with a puzzle before I spend the time putting it together. When I saw this puzzle and the puzzle title, “Hooked on Fishing” I had to have it. This is a 1000-piece puzzle by Giordano Studios.

I love to fish and this puzzle has twelve beautifully illustrated types of fish. As I have fished over the years, I have caught at least one each of the fish shown in the puzzle except for the King Salmon. Most of these fish are edible except for the common carp.

"Hooked on Fish" assembled by Elmer Prather

The fish in the puzzle are posed in such a way that you feel as if you are viewing them in their natural environment. There are also several different fishing lures displayed in the puzzle. Different lures are used to catch different kinds of fish. One of my favorite fishing lures is the Yellow Sallie. I have used this lure for many years because it is so effective in catching fish, especially Large and Small Mouth Bass.

I live in Georgia, U S A and we have access to most of the fish displayed in the puzzle especially the Large and Small Mouth Bass, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, Rainbow Trout and Sunfish. 

As I mentioned before, I love to fish. I have fished as far North as The Pas, Manitoba, Canada as far South as Key West Florida, as far East as The Outer Banks, North Carolina and as far West as Ennis, Montana. Since I live in Georgia, most of my fishing expeditions have been in and around Georgia, and the other Southeastern states.

I enjoyed putting this puzzle together. As I was finishing it and it began to come to life, I had memories of the many fish I have been lucky enough to catch. Most of the fish I caught I released but there were a few of them that became dinner for me.

"Hooked on Fish" by artist Robert Giordano

"Fishing Cabin" - Nostalgia of Elkmont

by guest blogger, Elmer Prather

This is the 51st Cobble Hill Puzzle that I have had the pleasure of putting together. I need to have a connection with a puzzle before I spend the time putting it together. I love old cabins and this puzzle filled that bill. The title of this puzzle is Fishing Cabin by Mark Keathley. This is the fourth Mark Keathley puzzle I have put together. The other three were RockyMountain High, Mountain Cascade and Smoky Train.

Mark Keathley's "Fishing Cabin" 1000pc assembled by Elmer Prather

The cabin depicted in the puzzle reminded me of some of the cabins I have visited in Elkmont, a small community in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. There are many old cabins like the one pictured in the puzzle on the Little River that runs through Elkmont. These cabins were built during the time the Little River Lumber Company was harvesting timber from an area which would later become part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Little River Lumber Company built narrow gauge railroads deep into the virgin forest to carry the timber from the mountains to the sawmill in Townsend, Tennessee where the timber was stored in a pond beside the mill until it was cut into different sizes of lumber and moved to Knoxville, Tennessee by train. This lumber was then shipped all over the world.

The timber they cut was virgin timber and as such many of the trees were 5 or 6 feet in diameter at their base and were several hundred years old. What a loss for our future generations not to be able to see them still growing. Many of these trees were Chestnut trees. When the Chestnut blight hit the mountains, it destroyed most of the Chestnut trees. The locals used to harvest chestnuts from these trees and sell them. The money they received helped them survive while living in the mountains.

The community of Elkmont was established as a satellite facility for both railroad and lumbering operations and to serve as a base of operations for harvesting the upper watershed of the Little River.  There was a post office, church, hotel, commissary, houses and cabins for management and workers. With rail access now available into the heart of the mountains, the Little River Lumber Company made land available for summer home sites.  Many of these old houses and cabins still exist but had become badly deteriorated.

As a result of efforts by the National Park service to restore some of the community structures, visitors are now allowed to enter some of these restored cabins and houses.

In the late 1930s the Federal Government began purchasing land for what would become the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The landowners who refused to sell their land were taken to court and forced to sell. This included all the cabins and houses in Elkmont. In 1939, after they had harvested many thousands of trees from the property, the Little River Lumber Company sold 76,507 acres of deforested land to the Federal Government for the sum of $273,577. This was twice the price they paid for the land.

The railroad tracks were removed in 1939 when the last load of timber was removed from the mountains. The National Park Service took advantage of the railbeds by converting them into roads and hiking trails. The Smoky Mountains National Park was established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited of the 63 National Parks in America. In 2020 12.4 million visitors toured the park. Many of them had the pleasure of visiting the old cabins beside the Little River in Elkmont.

 

International Art Day

by guest blogger, Elmer Prather

When Mr. Prather told us he had finished two of our fine art puzzles, we knew that we had to save his post to help us celebrate International Art Day! Fine Art puzzles are new for Cobble Hill and we do them differently by creating collages with information as opposed to just a single famous image from a famous artist. We hope that you'll enjoy his experience with Carl Larsson and Van Gogh. 

This is the 48th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is a 1000 piece puzzle titled “Carl Larsson”. It is a puzzle displaying 40 of Carl Larsson's paintings. Carl Olof Larsson was a Swedish painter who is known for his paintings of images during the Victorian era.

In the photo of the puzzle below you will see a gentleman dressed in a black suit looking at a painting in what appears to be an art museum. It is the second picture from the bottom on the far right side. It is a self portrait of Carl Larsson painted in 1895.

Carl Larsson 1000pc assembled by Elmer Prather

Carl Larsson married fellow artist Karin Bergoo and they had eight children. Karin was also an interior decorator and she painted many of the interior rooms displayed in the puzzle. The intricate details drawn in each room appear realistic. Larsson's family became his favorite models.

When I started putting this puzzle together I thought that I would be an interesting project. As I added puzzle pieces and the puzzle started to come alive, I was in awe and amazement of how beautiful the paintings in the puzzle were.

Many of the paintings in the puzzle have people, Larsson's family members, doing many different activities. Some of the portraits are of his family in outdoor scenes while others have an inside setting. You will be able to look at each of the 40 portraits and imagine the different stories Larsson was trying to tell in his paintings. Paintings, like photos, tell a story.

The colors used in each of the paintings and the detail used to make the scenes look alive is amazing. If you let your imagination run free as you look closely at each painting, you would be able to write a book about the lives of the individuals he posed for his paintings.

This was an interesting and personally rewarding puzzle for me to put together.

Below is the 49th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is titled "Van Gogh". I chose this puzzle because of my love of art. The puzzle displays 26 of his paintings. Many of them were painted while he was in a mental institution and some were painted from his bedroom window. 

"Van Gogh" 1000pc assembled by Elmer Prather

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born March 30, 1853 in Zundert, Netherlands. He died July 29, 1890 in Auvers-sur-Oise, France at age 37.

Van Gogh had a troubled life. Once after an altercation with his friend and fellow painter, Paul Gauguin, he cut off his right ear. He depended on his younger brother for financial support. He only sold one of his paintings before he shot himself in his chest with a pistol.

Van Gogh was commercially unsuccessful during his lifetime and considered a madman and a failure. As he only became famous after his suicide, he came to be seen as a misunderstood genius in the public mind.

He created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of which were completed in the last two years of his life.

Van Gogh suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions. He often neglected his physical health, did not eat properly and drank heavily.

Van Gogh did many self portraits. When he painted these he always painted them with his face on the left side showing his good ear.

I have had the pleasure of seeing several prints of his paintings including “Sunflowers” at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and some at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Today, Van Gogh's works are among the world's most expensive paintings ever sold and his legacy is honored by a museum in his name, the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. This museum holds the world's largest collection of his drawings and paintings.

NEW Images Coming Soon!

We are very excited to be rolling out new images for our Cobble Hill fans, and hopefully new puzzlers too! 

In mid-November, our network of Preferred Retailers will start stocking our new images. We'll have 35 new images to share with the puzzling community. Some images will be from familiar, tried and true artists for Cobble Hill, as well as new artists that we hope to continue working with after this first release.

"Flower Truck" - Greg Giordano - 1000pc - tried and true artist!

Our Cobble Hill Creations team has also expanded our Fine Art theme. What we really enjoy about our presentation of fine art images is that we've added context to the artist's work. We call these infographic or informational puzzles. Rather than featuring one popular image from an artist, we've created a collage of the artist's work and labeled the art. Some fine art puzzles will also include a timeline that speaks to the artist's life and their work. 

"Redoute" - Fine Art Infographic (labels & timeline) - 1000pc

Another theme addition to our line are the European street scenes. We traditionally lean wildlife, nature, and nostalgic imagery. But even with the saturation of European street scenes in the puzzle market, we continue to get requests for these types of images. And in the past 18+ months, the demand for around-the-world scenic images has increased! Our team is scouring licensors portfolios for other scenic images of different countries from South America, Africa and Asia, so hopefully, we'll be adding those to our offerings soon! Feel free to make recommendations if you know a great artist!

 

"Rainy Day Stroll" - John O'Brien - 1000pc - new artist for us!

And lastly, we'd like to bring your attention to our fantastically fun, whimsical Whamond puzzles! Yep! Doodletown is back and more hilarious than ever! We're excited to bring you two new Doodletown puzzles with chaotic characters from the farm and the haunted house. And two more from Whamond that are not Doodletown branded (camping and Christmas theme). The "Catching Santa" Family Pieces 350 puzzle image below will be a fun family gift this Christmas, so be sure to add it to your wish list!

"Catching Santa" - Dave Whamond - Family Pieces 350

There are 35 brilliant images coming your way very soon. Of the 35 new images, the piece count break down is as follows: two 2000 piece, 19 1000 piece, seven 500 piece, three Family Pieces 350, and four Easy Handling 275 piece. We look forward to sharing them all with you soon! If you'd like to find out which retailers will have early access to our new images, check out our Find A Store link to find a local retailer near you. Any retailer listed on our website is a Preferred Retailer and will have access to ordering these new puzzles earlier than other retailers. So be sure to find the retailer who works best for you! 

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Elmer Prather Celebrates 50 Cobble Hill Puzzles!

 by Elmer Prather, guest blogger

Elmer Prather is from Canton, GA and he has been writing about his Cobble Hill puzzle experience for several years. Our relationship initially started when he contacted us about a missing piece from his Hot Hot Sauce puzzle. Over the years, our customer with a missing piece became a great friend. He only assembles puzzles that stir up feelings in him from his life experience and then he shares a memory or piece of history with us. It has been a distinct honour having him share his stories, we hope you have enjoyed them all. And he's so clever to have saved this "50 States Quilt Blocks" for his 50th Cobble Hill puzzle! We hope you enjoy seeing it assembled and hearing his thoughts.

This is the 50th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is a 1000-piece puzzle titled “50 States Quilt Blocks”. It displays a quilt square for each of the 50 states in the United States of America.

50 State Quilt Blocks 1000pc. Photo & assembly by Elmer Prather.

The reason I chose this puzzle is because I love quilts. This is the third Cobble Hill quilt puzzle that I have completed. (You can read about Crazy Quilt and Fruit Basket Quilt, here).

As I was putting it together, I wondered if these quilt blocks were official state quilt blocks and if there was such a thing. I found that each state has its own official quilt, much like a state bird or flower designation. The first state quilt blocks came from the Hearth and Home magazine. Their readers throughout the country were asked to contribute cloth quilt blocks to represent their individual states The readers responded to this request and pictures of the selected quilt blocks appeared in monthly issues of the Hearth and Home magazine until the series ended in 1912. In 1912 we did not have 50 states but each of the states in the union at that time had an official quilt thanks to the readers of the Hearth and Home magazine.

I have always loved quilting. When I was in my pre-teens, my mother, grandmother and aunts would get together at our house and make quilts. I guess that would have been a Quilting Bee. There was always plenty of room for all the quilters around the quilting frame, so my mother gave me a needle, thread and a thimble and let me help them sew the quilts. I learned a lot by listening to them tell stories. The stories they told were very interesting to a young boy. I learned a lot about life and people from those women. I would not take anything for the experience.   

I have toured the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky. It is an art museum that exhibits fiber art and quilting from around the world. The museum is recognized by USA Today as one of the world's top quilt displays. This textile museum supports local and expert quilters by providing workshops and other educational activities.

50 States Quilt Blocks by Cobble Hill Creations
Available at your local retailer

P.S. Mr. Prather does have a 48th and 49th puzzle write up that we'll be sharing later this month!

Welcome to the Lake House - A Summer Retreat!

 by Elmer Prather, guest blogger

This is the 47th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is a 1000 piece puzzle titled “Welcome To The Lake House” by Greg Giordano. This is the seventh puzzle I have put together by this artist. The other six are Summer Truck, Sheep Field, Blue Truck Farm, Deer Field, Summer Truck on the Farm and Spring Bird House.

Before I spend the time putting a puzzle together, I have to have a connection with it. In other words, I enjoy putting together puzzles that mean something to me, something that I can relate to. The cabin depicted in the puzzle reminded me of the cabin on the lake that one of my friends rented for our hunting and fishing club to use. Over the years I spent a lot of time there sitting on the porch overlooking the lake. Those quiet times were special to me.

Welcome to the Lake House Assembled by Elmer Prather

This puzzle reflects a welcoming scene of a modern cabin that sits on a lake highlighting the good life at the lake. The two dogs, a black Labrador and a yellow Labrador, seem to be waiting in eager anticipation for their master to come and play with them. The late afternoon sun is reflecting its rays across the lake presenting a beautiful sunset.

The owners have made the cabin a relaxing place to read, watch the wildlife and enjoy the lake. The floral arrangements add vibrant colors to the cabin porch. The accessories like snow shoes hanging on the cabin wall and an old kerosene lantern with two black-capped chickadees sitting on either side hanging from one of the support beams blend well with the other interesting objects depicted in the puzzle. The wooden Adirondack chairs on the dock invite you to sit and enjoy all of the beauty surrounding the cabin and the lake. I really enjoyed seeing the puzzle come to life as I was putting it together. Once you start looking at the finished puzzle you will find it difficult to take your eyes off of it. 

Welcome to the Lake House 1000 pc by Greg Giordano 

Thanks to Mr. Prather for another great write up! If you'd like to enjoy Welcome to the Lake House yourself, please visit the link on our website to support a local retailer or online store.

A Magical Puffin Encounter

by Elmer Prather, guest blogger

This is the 46th Cobble Hill puzzle I have had the pleasure of putting together. It is a 500 piece puzzle entitled “Fisherman's Wharf” by Carl Benders. Before I spend the time putting a puzzle together, I have to have a connection with it. In other words, I enjoy putting together puzzles that mean something to me, something to which I can relate.

Fisherman's Wharf 500pc by artist Carl Benders

This puzzle of three beautiful puffins just caught my eye. I have had the pleasure of seeing puffins in the wild. Once, on a cruise to Alaska, I saw a group of four puffins floating on a block of ice beside our ship in Glacier Bay. As they were floating along beside the ship, the Captain was repositioning it in order for the passengers to be able to watch the glaciers calve. As the Captain was moving the ship, the crew provided guests with coffee and hot tea. It was a wonderful experience, drinking coffee while sitting on the deck watching the puffins float away. They did not seem to have a care in the world.

In the puzzle picture below, you can see why the puffins are widely regarded as the cutest birds on earth. I have to agree with that description. With their black and white plumage and large orange beaks, I was not able to take my eyes off them. After they drifted off, I was finally able to watch the glaciers calve. Watching the puffins and seeing the glaciers calve was an amazing sight that I will never forget.

Fisherman's Wharf assembled by Elmer Prather

Since my puffin encounter, I have learned a lot about puffins. They mature in about five years and they mate for life. The female lays one egg each year and both the male and female sit on the egg until it hatches. Both parents feed the baby puffin, sometimes having to fly quite a distance to find small fish to bring back.

Unlike most other birds, puffins do not build nests. They burrow into the ground for about three feet with their beaks and feet. Puffins have a long life span. They usually live for over 20 years. Unlike their cousins, the penguins, puffins can fly. They have been clocked flying over 55 miles per hour.

I really enjoyed putting this puzzle together. As I was finishing putting it together, the puffins seemed to come alive and all three of them appeared to be looking for another passing cruise ship to watch.