General News
17 May, 2023
Putting the pieces together
A SOUTH west Victorian artist has created a unique representation of Terang; with some assembly required.
A SOUTH west Victorian artist has created a unique representation of Terang; with some assembly required.
A new jigsaw puzzle was launched at Greavesys Fruit n Veg last week, featuring a range of the town’s most prominent landscapes and storefronts.
The puzzle was the latest instalment from Mailors Flat artist Karen McKenzie.
Ms McKenzie has created a range of puzzles depicting towns and iconic locations including the 12 Apostles, Tower Hill, Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Sovereign Hill, Koroit, Portland, Timboon, Peterborough, Camperdown and Hopkins Falls.
With a little nudging from Greavesys owner Cassie Greaves, Terang earned its place among the locations to be featured.
“Cassie has been getting puzzles for a while now and has been waiting patiently for a Terang edition,” Ms McKenzie said.
“Part of my motivation is wanting to give the smaller towns something unique to their own, it’s great for tourism and people coming from the city have the opportunity to see something they haven’t before.
“But I like to paint the places I know; I’ll go around the town and take a lot of photos for reference, and speak with people about what they want to see in the puzzle.
“The English Oaks lining the avenue are what most people think of when they think of Terang, so I started with that and grew it out because there are so many beautiful buildings.”
Ms McKenzie has been painting for more than 10 years now, but the concept of creating the puzzles was an idea borne out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I started with colouring-in for kids to colour in at home, and this was a progression of that,” she said.
“I wanted to find a way people could interact with art; so often you buy a picture, put it on the wall and that’s it, so this was something everyone could do together.
“Over COVID-19 people were spending a lot more time at home, so it became a great way for people to relax.”
Mrs Greaves said she had been eagerly anticipating the launch of the Terang puzzle, with the wide range already stocked at Greavesys already proving popular with shoppers.
“Having Karen’s puzzles in our store was a given; everything else is local, so we wanted to support something which was being locally made, by someone who lives in the south west, showcasing local places” she said.
“We’ve had so many people gifting the puzzles; over Christmas we had some people buy each other the same Port Campbell puzzle because they holiday there each year.
“It’s something special to connect with our region; especially as gifts for people who lives interstate or overseas who may have grown up locally.
“Karen has done such a great job capturing so many iconic features which make each of the towns what they are.”
To learn more about the puzzles visit karenmckenzieart.com.au.