I have heard about it before, but I have never seen it before. I am a huge fan on the works of Escher, ever since I first saw the movie Labyrinth, back in 86. This would have been an extremely challenging puzzle, especially with the repetitively, yet constantly developing nature of the image. There are two other works of his that could be equally challenging as Jigsaw puzzles. One is called Verbum, and the other Fish & Birds.
Yes! Not so much for the repetitive pattern of stripes as a jigsaw, but because it is big master creator Escher's Metamorphose. I 💛 his plane-filling patterns.
Fun fact: the reason why the puzzle's sections don't interlock together is because the actual painting is in 4 pieces. Coupled with the fact that it's actual size, means it's surprisingly accurate to the source.
Hello Karen, my Parents had this exact same Puzzle when I was a little girl. When I saw the thumbnail to your video, I just couldn't believe it! I remember seeing this huuuuge piece of art as it was proudly displayed over the hallyway's mirror right next to the entryway. My little eyes used to study every little detail of it, I still remember how every fish looked a little different. I can't believe this Puzzle has actually found you, you found it and completed it! My family has since fallen apart, I no longer speak with any of them, but what remains is the memory of this puzzle along with other things that went missing over the years. What a beautiful peace of nostalgia you have found. Thank you for sharing it with the world. I'm grateful to be able to admire it again. Thank you!
I’m sorry to hear that you and your family are no longer in contact but I’m glad little memories like the memory of you study the puzzle stay with you xx sending love 💕 thanks for sharing
In Brazil we have a saying: "Se arrependimento matasse...", Which translates to something like "If regret could kill (me)...", and it is just perfect for the moment you realized that mixing the four bags wasn't really a great idea 😂
Italian here. Unfortunately I have no knowledge about selegiochi background, from a quick Google search I've found that today they still import and sell toys, but sadly no more puzzle. In the '90s their puzzle were pretty easy to find and I've made every Escher puzzle they were selling, including this long one and I loved every minute of it. In my parents home two of these puzzles are still framed and hanging in my old room and I'm pretty sure my mother haven't thrown away the other ones, i have to ask because watching you made me kinda nostalgic of that time of my life... Greetings from the isle of Capri Ps: your italian pronunciation was completely wrong but so so cute ❤️
We've got a very romantic song here in Germany (ofc in German, here the translation): When near Capri the red sun sinks into the sea ... Greetings to Italy. Never made it to Capri, just Isola d'Elba, which I liked a lot.
It's funny to think that the coffee stain is the thing that brought the value of the puzzle down but in a few years it will probably make it more valuable because it's easily recognisable as being in a Karen Puzzles video hehe
Hi, I’m Italian and found an Italian website about puzzles and a girl talked about Selegiochi puzzles, saying she couldn’t find anything online except the founding of the company (1977) and decided to send an email directly; they answered telling her they did puzzles briefly in the early 80’s and then just dropped doing them completely (which is why there are only Escher puzzles in their lineup). Now they just do kid toys, which is why you didn’t find anything about their puzzles! Love and stripes from Italy ✌🏻
I have gotten so many good tips and enjoy puzzles so much more since finding Karen. My childhood was filled with landscapes that were so drab and boring. I would have never known about the puzzle that exist today.
I have a collection of 1000 pc MC Escher puzzles. The hardest one I did is called "House of Stairs". Not to be confused with the well known picture of the stairs going every which way (titled "Relativity"), this is a picture of these robotic looking 6 legged lizards climbing staircases. I started it one time and didn't get very far and gave up on it. Later I decided I have to defeat this puzzle, and completed it. These MC Escher puzzles are more difficult than they look, because the are just grayscale images. Not all of them have STRIPES in them. wink wink.
I put that same House of Stairs puzzle together too, in 2014. It was EASILY the most difficult puzzle I've ever done. Each lizard was composed of a string of nearly identical scales, and there were a couple dozen nearly identical lizards. And they were climbing on a dozen nearly identical flights of stairs. All in grayscale. It was a BEE-YOTCH.
I have a House of Stairs puzzle I bought almost a decade ago. I haven't actually done any puzzles in the past few years so hopefully it won't be too much of a jump.
So, the puzzle arrives in 4 bags. Karen proceeds to mix them together and then spends 1 hour 20 minutes sorting the pieces into 4 piles. 😁 Also I can't believe you have not seen "Beetlejuice". You need to watch it immediately. It's much better than "Stripes".
I think the edges are straight so you can put the four parts together in different configurations. The image is continuous: you could put the parts together iso that the two "metamorphose" parts are together in the centre of the puzzle. The straight edges are a unique feature, not a bug.
I didn't like this puzzle when I first saw it, but after seeing it all put together, I think it's very pretty. The STRIPES definitely look like the hardest part. Thank you, Karen, for another enjoyable puzzle video.
I’ve been to the M.C. Escher museum in The Hague several times, but only now I’m realizing the craftsmanship that has gone in these gradients. Seeing how the color dithering is made by hand one stripe at a time gives a better realization on the effort it took to create this artwork.
To be fair, you did kinda sign up for all those stripes with your decision to combine sections :P I'm one of those weird viewers that rarely does puzzles herself but greatly enjoys watching you work your way through them. :)
I greatly appreciate the pure joyful enthusiasm you bring with each puzzle! I’d be seeing red & green STRIPES after just a hour or two with this puzzle.
Something I'm curious about: if you were to tape the sections together, could you actually curve the puzzle into a ring (circle) with the two ends matching up to form one unending image?
There is a set up like that in the Escher museum (in The Hague) for one of his infinite transformations. I can't remember exactly which one (might even be this one), but you can stand in the middle and the transformations go round and round.
Yes, though the single word "Metamorphose" appears at both the beginning and at the end of the Escher mural puzzle, which is the only place where the image repeats itself, so it wasn't really intended to be displayed as an unending loop. If you had a lifesized copy of the mural on a single 13-long piece of paper, perhaps you could even give it a half twist and make an endless Mobius strip of the image.
The stripes! Ive wanted this puzzle for a long time but have never been able to justify that price. I once spent 70 dollars on a puzzle and my husband still laughs at me for it. Love it!
Unlike many art puzzles, this one is life size. The real Metamorphosis II is 19cm by 390cm. The challenge now is that someone needs to make a puzzle of Escher's Metamorphosis III. It is the same width, but twice as long.
You increased the entropy of the Universe by mixing the pieces from those four bags. So many edge pieces!! Have you done any puzzles from The Magic Puzzle Company? They are very funny and fun and surprising. Unfortunately, There is a secret at the end of the puzzle, so you wouldn't really want to reveal that in a video. Anyway, love your videos and your enthusiasm. I do a lot of puzzles, too. I recently gave away 35 to charity, but still have no room under the bed.
Hey Karen, in my younger times I puzzled this puzzle. I did it three times after I permanently hang it to the wall. For me it still one of the best puzzles ever. I like panorama style puzzles and it was fun seeing the matamorphosys appearing slowly. However, I do have a different version of that jigsaw. My box does not show the entire puzzle on the face. It does only show a the section of the stripes with "Metamorphose". The sides of the lid do show the entire puzzle around the box. My version is a contineous version, no edges in the middle and my tiles are different (all corner style). Mabe this helpful for or at least intersting to know.
I love watching you take on these challenging puzzles. Making them into an interesting story, showing them of in a beautiful way in your videos and giving insight into how it’s like being the puzzler of them. I am really happy you do it, so I can watch from behind my cup of tea. I mean only the stripes would make me dizzy taking on that puzzle
I was talking with my mother about the possibility of having this kind of puzzle a while ago, since I'd gotten her a different Escher puzzle (the drawing of the waterfall that feeds into itself), and mentioned how fun it would be to see a full-length Metamorphosis in puzzle form, and now here it is! I don't think I'd ever want to do this myself, I'm extremely intimidated by those stripes and the checkerboards and I think it would take me for-freaking-ever to get even one section done, but that's why I love watching these videos.
I love this puzzle. It has a beautiful flow to it and I can't stop looking at it. It is so mesmerizing. You really have a talent in picking extremely interesting puzzles to do. I love your channel. Thank you Karen.
It was so funny because when you were talking about how easy you thought it was going to be, I was thinking "Wow, that looks SO hard to me!" I used to have these prints framed on my wall. I've always seen it in these four pieces - I wonder how Escher saw it being presented.
Hello guys, i'm Italian. Trying to give some info about stuff! Ask if you got any question and i can search around... "selegiochi" is a "pun" on "Sale giochi", meaning game rooms. Karen said that SO wrong but it's understandable hahaha "Giochi" = jo + ki 4:34 the puzzle is NOT made in 1983, that was the LAW made in 1983 and the puzzle is "compliant" to that one law. Translation: "compliant to that one law made in 18th Feb. 1983 number 46, not suited to children under 36 months" Selegiochi (italian) only made "M.S.Escher" puzzles back in the days, commission was given to a Holland company for production (not italian). They stopped making jigsaw puzzles long ago, and there is not much info around anywhere. p.s. Codeword translation "stripes" = "strisce" ... s + tri (like trinket) + she (like, her, she)
I am big M.C. Esher fan I didn’t know there were puzzles of his drawings I would have bought them back in the 1980s I had small children then and as a stress reliever I did jigsaw puzzles in the evening when they went to sleep. I still love jigsaw puzzles they got me through the pandemic. Great channel can’t wait to see what you do next
I love artwork puzzles, I have the MCEscher self-portrait puzzle that's framed and hanging on my wall, it was a pain to put together, but is so amazing to look at everyday.
You certainly earned your STRIPES doing this amazing puzzle! I love MC Escher's art, and I really love the long puzzle in this video. I have the 1,000 "House of Stairs" MC Escher puzzle, and it is by far the hardest puzzle I have ever done. I still do the puzzle every couple of years, just for the challenge of it. I enjoy difficult puzzles. The "House of Stairs" puzzle is especially hard because there is only black and white. Karen, you wouldn't enjoy doing this puzzle because of the weird insect-like creatures that climb the stairs mindlessly. Thanks for you fun videos! Nice to see others enjoying the art of puzzling! 🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩💖💖
His art is amazing! Was looking closely how the things morphed into each other. The whole thing tells a story almost like moving picture! It's so cool! Something about his art makes me FEEL something! The way the bee/hornet exits the hive and how the rook connects as a castle to that town.
Selegiochi (se-le-joe-key) is a company founded in the 70s near Milan. Initially they produced jigsaw puzzles with this kinda obsession over Escher (no idea what it's all about); apparently they switched to puzzle toys for kids after the 80s. They're still around today, but they still make no jigsaws, and they have no stock of their old production. Ebay or second hand purchases is the only way to get one, I reckon.
The Escher estate is very active about licensing the art to derivative works - these would have been officially licensed works, and presumably they got a wide license at the time, so they needed to make All The Eschers to recover the costs.
It sort of surprised me that it took you so long, but I'm glad you stuck with it. That pile of stripes was daunting to look at, but I knew you would work it out. I enjoy watching all your puzzling Karen. Your video editing, stats, and enjoyment of puzzling are a joy to watch.
Loved this puzzle. Was surprised about the time it took for a puzzle expert like yourself, Karen... and a puzzle I'd refer to the picture, as I usually like to puzzle blind for longevity. Wish I could buy second-hand, but cannot because severe coeliac from birth, and many puzzlers snack! Cross contamination and such. Would love to see this puzzle reprinted, because it's definitely worth the money. Kudos on completing and sharing and thanks for making me smile with your brain ache (good brain ache, of course) x x
Stripes! I am in awe of your dedication. This one looks like a nightmare in puzzle form and definitely well beyond my skills and patience level. Congrats!
Hi Karen! I want to tell you that today in uni a professor showed us an older video from you where you were talking about typography. I love your puzzle videos and I was pleasantly surprised to see you!!
Oho! I've been going around your videos for a while, and just came across this! I had this puzzle as a kid, and it took me several months of putting in a few hours after work every day. Seeing it nearly triple your estimate time makes me feel better about taking so long, ha ha. I've been trying to figure out how to present the puzzle, and had too much anxiety about glue that it's still in the box in sections. That back-tape method looks interesting though, I'll have to go research that! I'll have to also find a unique solution to framing it, but if I can figure it out, there's a great place in my house to hang it up! I also mixed the bags :-). Definitely made the stripes at the two ends way harder that way, ha ha.
Karen , What took you 25 hours , would take me 25 weeks ! Another great puzzle. It’s interesting to see all these different puzzles you’re putting together. Good work ! STRIPES
When I saw that pile of 'stripes' I was in awe. This could never be me. I thought it was interesting that they made distinct sections, if you wanted to frame it more easily you could stack them into a fatter rectangle. I also thought it was a fun detail that the two ends match as well for a full round robin. Very Escher-esque.
This puzzle is beautiful and reminds of the patterns on a kimono. You are very brave for working this puzzle! Well done. I started to panic for you when you dumped all the pieces together and I saw ALL THOSE STRIPES!! Seriously!
Thanks to Karen this year I have increased my puzzle piece count from 1000 through 1500 and 2000 and now I am waiting for my first 3000 to arrive .I love fitting 300 and 500 in between.
Escher was one of my favorites growing up. I think this piece was either in my Sunday school classroom (we met in a high school) or my algebra class in middle school. I love tessalations so much!
I personally love stripes on a puzzle, especially when I know which direction the pieces go, like this puzzle! But I'm red/green colorblind so I'm not sure I would have the patience to finish this puzzle. Thanks for the videos Karen ♥️
Karen, I just love your channel. I have watched hours of your videos. Your enthusiasm and love of puzzles simply gives me joy in my heart. I am happy to be one of your Patreon supporters and hope others who enjoy your videos will also give a small amount back. As for this video, I enjoyed it very much, partly because, like so many people, I love Escher drawings. But I definitely I would have given up when faced with all those 'stripes' pieces! Good job!
What a beautiful puzzle! I looked on Ebay and they had it in a different box for $500! I don't do puzzles, but I'd love this one as a work of art mounted on the wall.
I love when you MIX it all up, LOL. I just watched the video where you did the 3 Gradient puzzles. I made up a drinking game - every time you put your fingers to your temple I have to take a sip. Luckily I only drink water and tea. 😂
Hi! I saw your tweet regarding the Metamorphose puzzle prior to this. I'm a HUGE M.C. Escher fan, & I have 5 of his images as tattoos. I had no clue that this puzzle existed, so I hit up eBay & bought it! Once it gets delivered I'll start assembling, but I won't be mixing the bags!!! Keep up the good work. Your videos are quite entertaining 😆 ...Stripes!
Hey Karen I just wanted to thank you for two new relaxing obsessions, being both return to puzzling and your channel itself! I haven't finished anything over 500 pieces yet, but I'm using your advice on sorting the pieces to do a 1040 pieces spiral puzzle, and even though the sorting wasn't perfect, it still feels like the longest chunk of time, as I spent on it 3+ evenings - but today was the first evening I actually spent on doing the puzzle itself, and I'm already so far into it!
I really like these videos, reminds me of rainy day or camping activities as a kid. They always make me think about my favorite puzzle, Jigazo. It used digitized and shaded pieces and needed a computer program, Using it you could make mapping directions to create any picture you wanted on the puzzle... ANYTHING! Keep up the great work, you've done a good job sharing your passion with puzzles so they seem exciting. Get and review a Jigazo puzzle, maybe another viewer of your reads this and has a working copy to donate... Interwebs seems to work out cool like that!
You looked so stressed out doing this puzzle that I’m sure I don’t need this in my life! Lovely puzzle, but I need less angst in my puzzling time! Sorry about the upsetting bugs section and my lol for that reaction! 😊 I’m betting this company didn’t get a lot of repeat business! The 4 pieces may be designed to look good hanging side by side, which would be a good reason to have finished edges, rather than connecting to each other. Thanks for another great video! ❤️ Stripes PS- Watch Betelgeuse!
@@KarenPuzzles Laying it out on the floor, comparing it with the huge puzzle and striking some poses with it looked like the best time! And I love your stats and graphs, too!
Even if you’re going to hang it as one long strip, as the original artwork is, it’s kind of physically challenging to have a single construction that’s that big in one direction, and that small in the other.
I do not remember which vid it was but you mentioned putting puzzle pieces picture side up as we are putting them up after looking for edge pieces. I am on my first 1000 piece puzzle & wanted to say thank you as your tip has been highly productive & helpful. Thanks a ton. May your puzzles always have all their pieces.
It's one of my favourite Escher pieces, so in that sense, yes I would love it, but seeing how much you struggled, I don't think I have the required amount of patience! Also, initially I was quite upset about the four separate stripes, but then I realized it looks much nicer this way when the four pieces are separated, in case you want to hang them on your wall like they are displayed on the box. So it sort of makes sense this way. Not everyone has a wall long enough!
I would have kept the bags separate but that’s just me. I love watching you do your puzzles!! Once I can get myself situated in my job (old new job), as a nurse, I plan on starting to puzzle more!!
FWIW - I gave my stepson a Curiosity Box a couple of months ago based on your recommendation and he LOVED it! Well worth it from both a product and a cool-ness factor. Lots of ooohs and aaahs when he opened it and he was really thrilled.
how to pronounce the Italian word "giochi": the english "joke" comes from the word "gioco" (singular) - "giochi" (plural) wich means "game" or "play", so you have to pronounce "giochi" similar to "joke": JEE - O - KEY ! you're welcome! 😃😃😃
Escher is an artist that makes "impossible" figures on his work. He almost makes a not on your brain when you look at his artwork because you know that it's impossible yet he made it possible. The thing I like on his work is to try and figure out the "mistake" he made in order for the figure to be impossible, it's not always that easy, you can see an example of what I mean in 4:46 on the structure. This company does puzzles of his artwork I believe, and as always I love watching your videos! I hope I was able to let you know more about this artist
Have you ever seen a puzzle like this before? Is it one that you would want to attempt?
I would love to do a puzzle like that!
I rarely do puzzles, but because I love transitions like the ones shown on this, it almost tempts me :)
I have heard about it before, but I have never seen it before. I am a huge fan on the works of Escher, ever since I first saw the movie Labyrinth, back in 86. This would have been an extremely challenging puzzle, especially with the repetitively, yet constantly developing nature of the image. There are two other works of his that could be equally challenging as Jigsaw puzzles. One is called Verbum, and the other Fish & Birds.
That is the first time I've seen such a long puzzle that is also so narrow at the same time.
Yes! Not so much for the repetitive pattern of stripes as a jigsaw, but because it is big master creator Escher's Metamorphose. I 💛 his plane-filling patterns.
Fun fact: the reason why the puzzle's sections don't interlock together is because the actual painting is in 4 pieces. Coupled with the fact that it's actual size, means it's surprisingly accurate to the source.
Hello Karen,
my Parents had this exact same Puzzle when I was a little girl. When I saw the thumbnail to your video, I just couldn't believe it!
I remember seeing this huuuuge piece of art as it was proudly displayed over the hallyway's mirror right next to the entryway. My little eyes used to study every little detail of it, I still remember how every fish looked a little different. I can't believe this Puzzle has actually found you, you found it and completed it!
My family has since fallen apart, I no longer speak with any of them, but what remains is the memory of this puzzle along with other things that went missing over the years.
What a beautiful peace of nostalgia you have found.
Thank you for sharing it with the world. I'm grateful to be able to admire it again. Thank you!
I’m sorry to hear that you and your family are no longer in contact but I’m glad little memories like the memory of you study the puzzle stay with you xx sending love 💕 thanks for sharing
In Brazil we have a saying: "Se arrependimento matasse...", Which translates to something like "If regret could kill (me)...", and it is just perfect for the moment you realized that mixing the four bags wasn't really a great idea 😂
No Brasil falamos: "comi o c* de quem tá lendo" and I think is beatiful...
Hasushauasuahas
@@stellavraduy droga fui tapeado kkkkkkkkkkk
Pensei que fosse a unica br que assitia o video
Surpresa de ter tantos brs por aq
Great saying!!!
Italian here. Unfortunately I have no knowledge about selegiochi background, from a quick Google search I've found that today they still import and sell toys, but sadly no more puzzle.
In the '90s their puzzle were pretty easy to find and I've made every Escher puzzle they were selling, including this long one and I loved every minute of it. In my parents home two of these puzzles are still framed and hanging in my old room and I'm pretty sure my mother haven't thrown away the other ones, i have to ask because watching you made me kinda nostalgic of that time of my life...
Greetings from the isle of Capri
Ps: your italian pronunciation was completely wrong but so so cute ❤️
Any update yet? I am on edge here, that sounds so great.
Capri like Capri Sun?
@@leeuwevdh yup, the drink was named after the island
We've got a very romantic song here in Germany (ofc in German, here the translation): When near Capri the red sun sinks into the sea ... Greetings to Italy. Never made it to Capri, just Isola d'Elba, which I liked a lot.
@@peterschulze4975 wow, i need the title of that song please
The Elba is lovely, but I wish you to make it to Capri too next time ❤
It's funny to think that the coffee stain is the thing that brought the value of the puzzle down but in a few years it will probably make it more valuable because it's easily recognisable as being in a Karen Puzzles video hehe
Hi, I’m Italian and found an Italian website about puzzles and a girl talked about Selegiochi puzzles, saying she couldn’t find anything online except the founding of the company (1977) and decided to send an email directly; they answered telling her they did puzzles briefly in the early 80’s and then just dropped doing them completely (which is why there are only Escher puzzles in their lineup). Now they just do kid toys, which is why you didn’t find anything about their puzzles!
Love and stripes from Italy ✌🏻
Great info!
I recently saw the original of this artwork in an exposition about Escher and it was amazing to see it in puzzle form!!!
I also just wanted to confirm that the original is displayed as one continuous 13 feet long strip, and not 4 pieces 😉
Quote of the Day: “My brain hurts. Everything hurts. Literally everything hurts.”
Me every time I film a puzzle video.
you know its bad when she says that before half the video is over.. and on the first day!
This quote made me picture Karen when she's old in a retirement home still doing puzzles and making videos
I was struggling with a solid colored part of a jigsaw puzzle but after watching your videos I finished it , 🙏😊
I love to hear that!
I have gotten so many good tips and enjoy puzzles so much more since finding Karen. My childhood was filled with landscapes that were so drab and boring. I would have never known about the puzzle that exist today.
I have a collection of 1000 pc MC Escher puzzles. The hardest one I did is called "House of Stairs". Not to be confused with the well known picture of the stairs going every which way (titled "Relativity"), this is a picture of these robotic looking 6 legged lizards climbing staircases. I started it one time and didn't get very far and gave up on it. Later I decided I have to defeat this puzzle, and completed it. These MC Escher puzzles are more difficult than they look, because the are just grayscale images. Not all of them have STRIPES in them. wink wink.
I put that same House of Stairs puzzle together too, in 2014. It was EASILY the most difficult puzzle I've ever done. Each lizard was composed of a string of nearly identical scales, and there were a couple dozen nearly identical lizards. And they were climbing on a dozen nearly identical flights of stairs. All in grayscale. It was a BEE-YOTCH.
I love "House of Stairs", "Relativity", and "High and Low". I have them all as prints, though they're in my parents' house, not mine.
I have a House of Stairs puzzle I bought almost a decade ago. I haven't actually done any puzzles in the past few years so hopefully it won't be too much of a jump.
This would make such a great hallway decor. What a great conversation starter. I ❤MC Escher
Just what I was thinking. I would definitely hang these stripes along my hall!
So, the puzzle arrives in 4 bags. Karen proceeds to mix them together and then spends 1 hour 20 minutes sorting the pieces into 4 piles. 😁 Also I can't believe you have not seen "Beetlejuice". You need to watch it immediately. It's much better than "Stripes".
I think the edges are straight so you can put the four parts together in different configurations. The image is continuous: you could put the parts together iso that the two "metamorphose" parts are together in the centre of the puzzle. The straight edges are a unique feature, not a bug.
In that case, it would have been cool to have no edge pieces on the short sides at all 🤔
@@KarenPuzzles but this would look just ugly 😅
Since you have to cut all of the puzzle at once it would be very hard to make the edges fit together exactly. No two puzzles are exactly the same.
I didn't like this puzzle when I first saw it, but after seeing it all put together, I think it's very pretty. The STRIPES definitely look like the hardest part. Thank you, Karen, for another enjoyable puzzle video.
I’ve been to the M.C. Escher museum in The Hague several times, but only now I’m realizing the craftsmanship that has gone in these gradients. Seeing how the color dithering is made by hand one stripe at a time gives a better realization on the effort it took to create this artwork.
To be fair, you did kinda sign up for all those stripes with your decision to combine sections :P I'm one of those weird viewers that rarely does puzzles herself but greatly enjoys watching you work your way through them. :)
Woo! Puzzle voyeur rep!
Karen: I’m gonna mix all the bags together
Karen: resorts all the pieces immediately 😛
I greatly appreciate the pure joyful enthusiasm you bring with each puzzle! I’d be seeing red & green STRIPES after just a hour or two with this puzzle.
So glad I was already watching RUclips, left in the middle of a video to come straight to watch yours!!
Something I'm curious about: if you were to tape the sections together, could you actually curve the puzzle into a ring (circle) with the two ends matching up to form one unending image?
There is a set up like that in the Escher museum (in The Hague) for one of his infinite transformations. I can't remember exactly which one (might even be this one), but you can stand in the middle and the transformations go round and round.
@@mikkieam I loved that museum!
@@mikkieam THERE'S AN ESCHER MUSEUM?! BUCKET LIST!
Yes, though the single word "Metamorphose" appears at both the beginning and at the end of the Escher mural puzzle, which is the only place where the image repeats itself, so it wasn't really intended to be displayed as an unending loop. If you had a lifesized copy of the mural on a single 13-long piece of paper, perhaps you could even give it a half twist and make an endless Mobius strip of the image.
The stripes! Ive wanted this puzzle for a long time but have never been able to justify that price. I once spent 70 dollars on a puzzle and my husband still laughs at me for it. Love it!
Unlike many art puzzles, this one is life size. The real Metamorphosis II is 19cm by 390cm.
The challenge now is that someone needs to make a puzzle of Escher's Metamorphosis III. It is the same width, but twice as long.
You increased the entropy of the Universe by mixing the pieces from those four bags.
So many edge pieces!!
Have you done any puzzles from The Magic Puzzle Company? They are very funny and fun and surprising. Unfortunately, There is a secret at the end of the puzzle, so you wouldn't really want to reveal that in a video.
Anyway, love your videos and your enthusiasm. I do a lot of puzzles, too. I recently gave away 35 to charity, but still have no room under the bed.
I love the Magic Puzzle Company! It would be so cool to see her do one of those (with spoilers tagged of course!)
Hey Karen, in my younger times I puzzled this puzzle. I did it three times after I permanently hang it to the wall. For me it still one of the best puzzles ever. I like panorama style puzzles and it was fun seeing the matamorphosys appearing slowly.
However, I do have a different version of that jigsaw. My box does not show the entire puzzle on the face. It does only show a the section of the stripes with "Metamorphose". The sides of the lid do show the entire puzzle around the box. My version is a contineous version, no edges in the middle and my tiles are different (all corner style).
Mabe this helpful for or at least intersting to know.
This is the version I have as well. I wonder why there are two different versions 🤔
This is like finishing revising a whole year’s syllabus in two days lmao
I love watching you take on these challenging puzzles. Making them into an interesting story, showing them of in a beautiful way in your videos and giving insight into how it’s like being the puzzler of them. I am really happy you do it, so I can watch from behind my cup of tea. I mean only the stripes would make me dizzy taking on that puzzle
I was talking with my mother about the possibility of having this kind of puzzle a while ago, since I'd gotten her a different Escher puzzle (the drawing of the waterfall that feeds into itself), and mentioned how fun it would be to see a full-length Metamorphosis in puzzle form, and now here it is! I don't think I'd ever want to do this myself, I'm extremely intimidated by those stripes and the checkerboards and I think it would take me for-freaking-ever to get even one section done, but that's why I love watching these videos.
I love this puzzle. It has a beautiful flow to it and I can't stop looking at it. It is so mesmerizing. You really have a talent in picking extremely interesting puzzles to do. I love your channel. Thank you Karen.
It was so funny because when you were talking about how easy you thought it was going to be, I was thinking "Wow, that looks SO hard to me!" I used to have these prints framed on my wall. I've always seen it in these four pieces - I wonder how Escher saw it being presented.
This is a pretty cool puzzle! The stripes sure made making it interesting !
Hello guys, i'm Italian. Trying to give some info about stuff! Ask if you got any question and i can search around...
"selegiochi" is a "pun" on "Sale giochi", meaning game rooms.
Karen said that SO wrong but it's understandable hahaha
"Giochi" = jo + ki
4:34 the puzzle is NOT made in 1983, that was the LAW made in 1983 and the puzzle is "compliant" to that one law.
Translation: "compliant to that one law made in 18th Feb. 1983 number 46, not suited to children under 36 months"
Selegiochi (italian) only made "M.S.Escher" puzzles back in the days, commission was given to a Holland company for production (not italian). They stopped making jigsaw puzzles long ago, and there is not much info around anywhere.
p.s. Codeword translation "stripes" = "strisce" ... s + tri (like trinket) + she (like, her, she)
Good to know! I hope someone out there knows when the actual puzzle was made!
I think of all the puzzles I've watch you do, I like the imagery on this one the best. Its gorgeous!
I am doing puzzles with 3000 pieces and you keep motivating me to keep doing them. In general, I am from Poland
this was probably my favorite so far and it looks like it would be a really cool display piece
I am big M.C. Esher fan I didn’t know there were puzzles of his drawings I would have bought them back in the 1980s I had small children then and as a stress reliever I did jigsaw puzzles in the evening when they went to sleep. I still love jigsaw puzzles they got me through the pandemic. Great channel can’t wait to see what you do next
Escher, puzzles, Karen ... So much joy!! 😍 And all those stripes!
A very interesting and unique puzzle with the challenging stripes section. Good to see the return of the 24000-piece Educa puzzle, yay!
I love artwork puzzles, I have the MCEscher self-portrait puzzle that's framed and hanging on my wall, it was a pain to put together, but is so amazing to look at everyday.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed this one Karen, as it looked very challenging to me! The finished puzzle definitely made for some cool photos 🔳🔲🔳
You certainly earned your STRIPES doing this amazing puzzle! I love MC Escher's art, and I really love the long puzzle in this video. I have the 1,000 "House of Stairs" MC Escher puzzle, and it is by far the hardest puzzle I have ever done. I still do the puzzle every couple of years, just for the challenge of it. I enjoy difficult puzzles. The "House of Stairs" puzzle is especially hard because there is only black and white. Karen, you wouldn't enjoy doing this puzzle because of the weird insect-like creatures that climb the stairs mindlessly. Thanks for you fun videos! Nice to see others enjoying the art of puzzling! 🧩🧩🧩🧩🧩💖💖
I enjoyed this video about that long puzzle with those intimidating-looking stripes. Nice work Karen!
His art is amazing! Was looking closely how the things morphed into each other. The whole thing tells a story almost like moving picture! It's so cool! Something about his art makes me FEEL something! The way the bee/hornet exits the hive and how the rook connects as a castle to that town.
Selegiochi (se-le-joe-key) is a company founded in the 70s near Milan. Initially they produced jigsaw puzzles with this kinda obsession over Escher (no idea what it's all about); apparently they switched to puzzle toys for kids after the 80s. They're still around today, but they still make no jigsaws, and they have no stock of their old production. Ebay or second hand purchases is the only way to get one, I reckon.
The Escher estate is very active about licensing the art to derivative works - these would have been officially licensed works, and presumably they got a wide license at the time, so they needed to make All The Eschers to recover the costs.
So many "stripes", Karen:) You were so brave to mix all the pieces together but you did it! Thanks for sharing:)
It sort of surprised me that it took you so long, but I'm glad you stuck with it. That pile of stripes was daunting to look at, but I knew you would work it out. I enjoy watching all your puzzling Karen. Your video editing, stats, and enjoyment of puzzling are a joy to watch.
So many stripes, so much patience needed, well done Karen!
Loved this puzzle. Was surprised about the time it took for a puzzle expert like yourself, Karen... and a puzzle I'd refer to the picture, as I usually like to puzzle blind for longevity. Wish I could buy second-hand, but cannot because severe coeliac from birth, and many puzzlers snack! Cross contamination and such. Would love to see this puzzle reprinted, because it's definitely worth the money.
Kudos on completing and sharing and thanks for making me smile with your brain ache (good brain ache, of course) x x
Stripes! I am in awe of your dedication. This one looks like a nightmare in puzzle form and definitely well beyond my skills and patience level. Congrats!
Hi Karen! I want to tell you that today in uni a professor showed us an older video from you where you were talking about typography. I love your puzzle videos and I was pleasantly surprised to see you!!
Oho! I've been going around your videos for a while, and just came across this! I had this puzzle as a kid, and it took me several months of putting in a few hours after work every day. Seeing it nearly triple your estimate time makes me feel better about taking so long, ha ha.
I've been trying to figure out how to present the puzzle, and had too much anxiety about glue that it's still in the box in sections. That back-tape method looks interesting though, I'll have to go research that! I'll have to also find a unique solution to framing it, but if I can figure it out, there's a great place in my house to hang it up!
I also mixed the bags :-). Definitely made the stripes at the two ends way harder that way, ha ha.
I love the patterns on the puzzle!
Stripes. Great job!! This is by far my favorite puzzle I’ve watched you do! It’s beautiful and makes you think just looking at it! 🙌🏼
This was surprisingly difficult! Props to you for completing it.
Karen ,
What took you 25 hours , would take me 25 weeks ! Another great puzzle. It’s interesting to see all these different puzzles you’re putting together. Good work !
STRIPES
Karen: "This shouldn't be so difficult"
*Instant Vietnam flashbacks....
Karen mixes up the pieces and then resorts them before starting! I love that dedication.
When I saw that pile of 'stripes' I was in awe. This could never be me.
I thought it was interesting that they made distinct sections, if you wanted to frame it more easily you could stack them into a fatter rectangle.
I also thought it was a fun detail that the two ends match as well for a full round robin. Very Escher-esque.
This puzzle is beautiful and reminds of the patterns on a kimono. You are very brave for working this puzzle! Well done. I started to panic for you when you dumped all the pieces together and I saw ALL THOSE STRIPES!! Seriously!
Thanks to Karen this year I have increased my puzzle piece count from 1000 through 1500 and 2000 and now I am waiting for my first 3000 to arrive .I love fitting 300 and 500 in between.
I am so super impressed with that puzzle ,you are so super talented Karen
I'd love a video comoaring vintage puzzles with new puzzles, especially vintage puzzles holding together a lot better than newer ones!
I truly love all the original puzzles you do on your channel!
It's fascinating to watch you solve all the puzzles. NGL, I never understood the thrill of puzzles, but it's nice to watch :)
Escher was one of my favorites growing up. I think this piece was either in my Sunday school classroom (we met in a high school) or my algebra class in middle school. I love tessalations so much!
I personally love stripes on a puzzle, especially when I know which direction the pieces go, like this puzzle! But I'm red/green colorblind so I'm not sure I would have the patience to finish this puzzle. Thanks for the videos Karen ♥️
Karen, I just love your channel. I have watched hours of your videos. Your enthusiasm and love of puzzles simply gives me joy in my heart. I am happy to be one of your Patreon supporters and hope others who enjoy your videos will also give a small amount back. As for this video, I enjoyed it very much, partly because, like so many people, I love Escher drawings. But I definitely I would have given up when faced with all those 'stripes' pieces! Good job!
What a beautiful puzzle! I looked on Ebay and they had it in a different box for $500! I don't do puzzles, but I'd love this one as a work of art mounted on the wall.
That looked excruciating, but the end result was stunning. The stripes section looked especially difficult.
I love when you MIX it all up, LOL. I just watched the video where you did the 3 Gradient puzzles. I made up a drinking game - every time you put your fingers to your temple I have to take a sip. Luckily I only drink water and tea. 😂
Hi! I saw your tweet regarding the Metamorphose puzzle prior to this. I'm a HUGE M.C. Escher fan, & I have 5 of his images as tattoos. I had no clue that this puzzle existed, so I hit up eBay & bought it! Once it gets delivered I'll start assembling, but I won't be mixing the bags!!! Keep up the good work. Your videos are quite entertaining 😆 ...Stripes!
Just received my puzzle from Great Britain & was curious to know, are all four puzzles the same cut?
Yeah I would have given up. Great job on finishing that puzzle or puzzles. Keep up the amazing videos Karen.
Hey Karen I just wanted to thank you for two new relaxing obsessions, being both return to puzzling and your channel itself! I haven't finished anything over 500 pieces yet, but I'm using your advice on sorting the pieces to do a 1040 pieces spiral puzzle, and even though the sorting wasn't perfect, it still feels like the longest chunk of time, as I spent on it 3+ evenings - but today was the first evening I actually spent on doing the puzzle itself, and I'm already so far into it!
The stripes reminded me of that nightmare water part on the 24k one, I was surprised you didn't metion it lol
Brilliant puzzle concept. Perhaps the best I've ever seen.
I really like these videos, reminds me of rainy day or camping activities as a kid. They always make me think about my favorite puzzle, Jigazo. It used digitized and shaded pieces and needed a computer program, Using it you could make mapping directions to create any picture you wanted on the puzzle... ANYTHING!
Keep up the great work, you've done a good job sharing your passion with puzzles so they seem exciting.
Get and review a Jigazo puzzle, maybe another viewer of your reads this and has a working copy to donate... Interwebs seems to work out cool like that!
You looked so stressed out doing this puzzle that I’m sure I don’t need this in my life! Lovely puzzle, but I need less angst in my puzzling time! Sorry about the upsetting bugs section and my lol for that reaction! 😊 I’m betting this company didn’t get a lot of repeat business! The 4 pieces may be designed to look good hanging side by side, which would be a good reason to have finished edges, rather than connecting to each other. Thanks for another great video! ❤️ Stripes PS- Watch Betelgeuse!
I was really only stressed during the edge, and also the stripes! Besides that it was really fun 😄
@@KarenPuzzles Laying it out on the floor, comparing it with the huge puzzle and striking some poses with it looked like the best time! And I love your stats and graphs, too!
Even if you’re going to hang it as one long strip, as the original artwork is, it’s kind of physically challenging to have a single construction that’s that big in one direction, and that small in the other.
I do not remember which vid it was but you mentioned putting puzzle pieces picture side up as we are putting them up after looking for edge pieces. I am on my first 1000 piece puzzle & wanted to say thank you as your tip has been highly productive & helpful. Thanks a ton. May your puzzles always have all their pieces.
One of the most unique puzzles I’ve seen!
Stripes! Such a cool video- I'd love to see this one get a custom frame!
You are so precious. I love watching your puzzle videos. I just ordered a puzzle you did in another video, lol. Couldn’t stop myself. 😂❤️
Also, what a cool puzzle!!
That was a very cool puzzle. The stripes looked very tricky. Great video.
OMG! The stripes! Awesome puzzle and awesome puzzler!
Blast from the past! My math teacher had Metamorphose painted on the wall of her classroom. And she also had a Soma cube! (This was...20+ years ago)
Really admire your patience on the sorting process
I was just *hoping* that you'd post soon! Thanks for another video
These types of puzzles are ones I really enjoy. Easy puzzles that take a few hours to finish are not my cup of tea.
Stripes! Whew that would definitely have given me a headache to work on, but once again you tackled an amazing puzzle with the greatest of ease.
It's one of my favourite Escher pieces, so in that sense, yes I would love it, but seeing how much you struggled, I don't think I have the required amount of patience! Also, initially I was quite upset about the four separate stripes, but then I realized it looks much nicer this way when the four pieces are separated, in case you want to hang them on your wall like they are displayed on the box. So it sort of makes sense this way. Not everyone has a wall long enough!
It’s a puzzle for which you can set three deadlines: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
I would have kept the bags separate but that’s just me. I love watching you do your puzzles!! Once I can get myself situated in my job (old new job), as a nurse, I plan on starting to puzzle more!!
This is one of a fav puzzles you've done, design wise. Old but Classic!
like four classic Stripes... 😁
FWIW - I gave my stepson a Curiosity Box a couple of months ago based on your recommendation and he LOVED it! Well worth it from both a product and a cool-ness factor. Lots of ooohs and aaahs when he opened it and he was really thrilled.
I've never seen such a gorgeous puzzle! I don't do puzzles, but I'd love to hang that on my wall with all of its beautiful woodcut stripes.
how to pronounce the Italian word "giochi":
the english "joke" comes from the word "gioco" (singular) - "giochi" (plural) wich means "game" or "play", so you have to pronounce "giochi" similar to "joke":
JEE - O - KEY ! you're welcome! 😃😃😃
Your account is verified. Because of you, I have found undiscovered puzzles. Thank you for that.
I liked the puzzle, I am thrilled you mixed everything together. One of my favorite episodes in a while. Stripes
Escher is an artist that makes "impossible" figures on his work. He almost makes a not on your brain when you look at his artwork because you know that it's impossible yet he made it possible. The thing I like on his work is to try and figure out the "mistake" he made in order for the figure to be impossible, it's not always that easy, you can see an example of what I mean in 4:46 on the structure. This company does puzzles of his artwork I believe, and as always I love watching your videos! I hope I was able to let you know more about this artist
I graduated HS in 1990, and these were very popular puzzles when I was in high school. Also on t-shirts and on posters
I love Escher's art. This was a cool and stripe filled experience!