A little over a year ago, I asked my sister what she thought would make a good puzzle and she suggested castles. I started searching for nice paintings of castles and mostly came up with photographs, or the Disney castle. However, a few months ago, I got lucky and stumbled upon The Past by Thomas Cole. This image not only has a lovely, detailed castle, but the excitement of a joust in the foreground. There are small details throughout the painting which keep the eye moving and the mind wondering what else is happening in the painting. The whimsy pieces I made for this puzzle tell the stories of the castles of old, princes and princesses, knights and dragons, and other fairy tales as well. - Maria