“Sunday in Palm Beach” is a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle by Michael Storrings for Galison. The puzzle depicts the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
[Episcopal News Service] The holiday season is a time for loved ones do fun activities together, like completing a jigsaw puzzle.
For dissectologists, or jigsaw puzzle lovers, who happen to be Episcopalian, an ideal puzzle to complete may be Galison’s new 500-piece “Sunday in Palm Beach” puzzle. The image depicts the Gothic Revival exterior of the historic Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Diocese of Southeast Florida, on a sunny day.
“I think Michael Storrings created a wonderful, whimsical depiction of Bethesda-by-the-Sea that really captures the beauty of the architecture and the whole vibe of Palm Beach,” the Rev. Tim Schenck, the church’s rector, told Episcopal News Service. “The other thing I love about this puzzle is that it’s not just a puzzle of the building, as beautiful as that is, but that the puzzle is full of people. To me, that’s a reflection of this vibrant, welcoming, diverse community here in Palm Beach. It’s an amazing community.”
In Galison’s 500-piece “Sunday in Palm Beach” jigsaw puzzle depicting the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, the Rev. Tim Schenck, rector, can be found among the people gathered in front of the church. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
The puzzle’s art is an original Caran d’Ache watercolor crayon and ink painting made for Galison by Storrings, a New York-based artist whose work is featured on home accessories, housewares, gifts, book covers and more and sold in stores worldwide.
Galison President Bill Miller is a Bethesda-by-the-Sea parishioner in the winter. The rest of the year he’s a member of St. James’ Church on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. The New York-based company has been selling gifts since its founding in 1979. Today, the company is best known for its jigsaw puzzles and for its commitment to employing real artists in a market that’s becoming increasingly saturated by artificial intelligence-produced images.
Miller told ENS that plans to design a puzzle depicting the church began in the spring. He commissioned Storrings, Galison’s bestselling artist, to paint it because he’s previously painted images of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, Notre-Dame de Paris and Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre in Paris, France.
“Bethesda not only has the gorgeous Gothic exterior, but it also has the grounds around it and the gardens that are just so beautiful,” Miller said. “We wanted to build a whole community gathering and show that the church is active and alive. …I thought Michael would connect better with the image we had in mind, and he did a great job.”
Storrings, who’s also executive art director at St. Martin’s Press, a subsidiary of Macmillan Publishers, is known for painting colorful scenes, in different seasons, of cities and everyday life.
“Sunday in Palm Beach” is no different. In the image, which is mostly made with blue and green hues, intentionally faceless people are gathered on the church’s front lawn and engaged in various activities. Some people are listening to a chamber ensemble perform while others are running with dogs. Some people are having a picnic while others are walking into the church. A child is playing hopscotch. Schenck, in his clerical collar, stands center-bottom on the sidewalk. Palm trees stand tall from the lawn and surround Bethesda-by-the-Sea’s building. Behind the white building, boats are out in the ocean and birds are flying.
Michael Storrings’ artist statement on “Sunday in Palm Beach,” a jigsaw puzzle depicting the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, that he designed for Galison. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
While researching the church and designing the puzzle’s image, Storrings “was drawn to the sense of community and friendship that has brought people together in this historic building over the years.”
“I just loved the fact that [Bethesda-by-the-Sea] was near the ocean, under a vast big open blue sky and surrounded by palm trees,” Storrings told ENS in an email. “Through drawing this visual and sensory location, I felt a genuine connection to the sacred. The creative act itself became a form of spiritual expression, deepening my sense of faith and presence.”
The box Galison’s 500-piece “Sunday in Palm Beach” jigsaw puzzle depicting the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida, comes in. Photo: Shireen Korkzan/ENS
“Sunday in Palm Beach” went through a few revisions between Storrings, Schenck and Miller before it was finalized. A copy of the painting was then sent to Package Right, a jigsaw puzzle and board game manufacturing company in Tipton, Indiana, to make and distribute the puzzle.
Storrings, Schenck and Miller all described the collaboration as “wonderful.”
“By virtue of this puzzle, it feels as if people are able to take a little piece of Bethesda home with them, and that’s pretty special,” Schenck said.
“Sunday in Palm Beach” is now available for purchase on Galison’s website, in Bethesda’s giftshop and in retailers like Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Puzzle Warehouse and Puzzledly. A small portion of sales will support Bethesda’s outreach ministries, most of which address food insecurity in Palm Beach County.
Galison puzzles are manufactured and sold for about three years before they are discontinued, Miller said.
Professional bias aside, Miller said jigsaw puzzles are ideal Christmas gifts because they “bring families and friends around the table to work on something special together.”
“There’s nothing better during the holidays than pulling your loved ones together and having them around the table,” he said. “Completing a puzzle together is a great opportunity for bonding and creating new, happy memories.”
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.