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Puzzle T-Shirt

Posted by on November 26, 2017

Once again, I dealt myself a challenging costume card. Not only did I have just shy of a week to complete the latest outfit, but I first had to put together a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle.

Following tried and true puzzle logic, I first separated out the edges, even setting aside the few pieces that were already together.

I took a risk with this puzzle since I’d bought it from Goodwill and the box had already been opened, but at least the previous owner hadn’t completely broken up all the puzzle. I’d just hoped that no pieces were missing.

Over the next four days, I binge-watched “Stranger Things” while putting the puzzle together. Apparently I was overexerting myself because I felt a little feverish and met myself coming and going to refill my water glass. My work paid off toward the end of the week when I finally put the last piece in place. Then, I leisurely removed swatches, brushed puzzle glue on top of them and set them aside to dry.

Once I had all the swatches I wanted, I bagged up the rest of the puzzle.  After all, why should I put the remaining pieces back in the box since there were now gaping holes? At least I bagged pieces that all went together.

The next morning, the glue on the swatches had dried and then I used my crafting nemesis: spray glue. For this step, I went outside on my balcony and put on even shittier clothes than what I normally wear around the house. I’d turned a gray T-shirt inside out, sprayed one swatch at a time and placed it on the T-shirt.

Trump’s “Art of the Deal” swatch went on the back of the T-shirt.

I gingerly put the shirt on since the stiffness of the puzzle pieces made it seem as if I could pop them off with one inadvertent flick. Fortunately, there weren’t any casualties, even when I put on my seatbelt and the times I sat down. After I read my spoken word piece, “Interactive Life Puzzles,” I gifted every audience member, including the bookstore employees, two plastic bags of puzzle swatches. I hope to hear/see what those other creative souls did to repurpose their pieces of the ’80s.

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