Dissectologists

This week on Dissectologists, I’m joined by illustrator Dean MacAdam, whose wonderfully expressive and slightly mischievous artwork has become a favorite among puzzlers.

Dean’s artistic style is described as “creepy cute,” a delightful balance of humor, whimsy, and enough darkness to make you look twice. With Halloween around the corner, the timing for this conversation couldn’t be better.

But there’s much more to Dean’s artwork than its unmistakable style. Behind the exaggerated expressions and unexpected characters are stories waiting to be discovered. And as Dean explains, jigsaw puzzles offer a uniquely rewarding way for people to experience those stories.

In this episode, Dean and I talk about:

* How he developed his recognizable illustration style over decades of professional work

* Why he gravitates toward the contrast between humor and darkness

* The influence of childhood favorites like The Goonies, The Far Side, and MAD Magazine

* How an Alice in Wonderland illustration became one of his most successful jigsaw puzzles

* The unexpected characters and hidden stories he creates within familiar fairy tales

* Why his Hansel and Gretel illustration includes a one-eyed rabbit and a bird with exposed ribs

* How puzzlers experience artwork differently because of the time they spend examining every detail

* Why stepping outside his Classic Tales collection with The Dog Walker was an important creative risk

* The personal stories behind the dogs he includes in his artwork, including his own Pomeranian, Wally

* And why he feels so fortunate to have found a creative home in the puzzle community

If you’ve ever found yourself studying the tiny details of a Dean MacAdam puzzle and inventing personalities for his characters, this conversation is for you.

“People who love puzzles, they spend hours with this. So they notice the details.”

— Dean MacAdam

Going into this interview, I was especially excited to talk with Dean about the movies, cartoons, and pop culture that influenced his artwork. As someone who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s, I’ve always been drawn to that wonderful combination of whimsy and darkness. And I loved discovering some of the influences that helped shape his imagination.

But what stayed with me was the way Dean talked about his relationship with puzzlers.

As an illustrator, Dean spends a lot of time creating the little details that give his artwork so much personality. There are exaggerated expressions, strange creatures, and entire side stories happening within a single image.

Puzzlers spend hours, sometimes days, looking at these illustrations as we assemble them. And we notice the details. We notice the expressions. We wonder what a character is thinking. We invent conversations and backstories. Sometimes we even discover things the artist didn’t consciously intend.

One of my favorite moments in the interview was when Dean explained the characters he added to his Hansel and Gretel illustration. There’s a rabbit missing an eyeball and a bird with its ribs exposed. They’re unsettling little creatures, and Dean acknowledged that they received some mixed reactions. But they weren’t included simply to make the image creepy.

In Dean’s imagination, perhaps these characters had wandered too close to the witch’s gingerbread house. Maybe she’d cast a spell on them. But they were part of the warning hidden within the larger fairy tale. And I think that’s what makes Dean’s puzzles so rewarding. His characters invite us to be curious. To look closer. To imagine what happened before the scene we’re assembling and what might happen next.

I love that Dean gets something out of that exchange, too. He talked about hearing interpretations of his artwork that hadn’t occurred to him. The audience sometimes finds meaning beyond what he originally intended.

And maybe that’s one of the things that makes jigsaw puzzles such a special way to experience art. We’re not simply looking at an illustration for a few seconds before moving on. We’re spending time with it and noticing the little things.

And sometimes we discover that even the smallest characters have something to say.

Find Dean MacAdam

Website: www.deanmacadam.com

Instagram: @illustratordean

This week on Dissectologists, I’m joined by Karen Puzzles, whose YouTube videos have introduced countless people to the world of jigsaw puzzles, competitive puzzling, and a welcoming community.

Karen has spent years documenting her own puzzling experiences and the people who make this hobby so interesting. But I wanted to learn more about the person behind the camera. What happens when something you love becomes what you’re known for? And how do you hold on to the enjoyment of a hobby when it also becomes your work?

In this episode, Karen and I talk about:

* How her relationship with puzzles has changed since becoming a content creator

* Why she still edits her own videos and how much of her storytelling happens in the editing process

* The distinction between puzzling for an audience and puzzling just for herself

* How her videos have introduced people to competitive puzzling and helped them find community

* Her creative philosophy and why getting content to 80% is better than perfect

* The nerves that can surface at speed puzzling events, regardless of competition experience

* Her interests outside the puzzle world, including secondhand clothes shopping and crossword puzzles

* How she thinks about representing the puzzle community to people encountering it for the first time

* And why a missing puzzle piece doesn’t bother her nearly as much as you might expect

If you’ve ever wondered what life looks like behind Karen’s YouTube videos, or what happens when a personal passion becomes a public identity, this conversation is for you.

“I consider making puzzle videos and doing puzzles for fun as two completely separate hobbies.” - Karen Puzzles

One thing that stuck with me from this conversation was how Karen separates making puzzle videos from doing puzzles for fun.

It’s made me think about my own relationship with puzzles since starting Dissectologists.

When you love doing something, it’s easy to imagine how great it would be to spend more time doing it. But the relationship changes once you start creating something for an audience. Now you’re marketing. You’re thinking about thumbnail graphics and reviewing analytics. There are other actions attached to this once simple hobby.

And this is why I love Karen’s thoughts on perfectionism. How getting content 80% of the way there is sometimes good enough. At some point, you have to put your work into the world and move on. As a solo content creator myself, I needed to hear that. When you put your heart into something, it’s easy to want to make it the best it can possibly be. It’s a blockade I run into with my own creative projects.

I was also surprised to learn that Karen still does all her own video editing. But I get it. The editing process is where so many creative decisions happen. Handing that work to someone else means handing over some of the decisions that make her videos authentic.

Karen’s videos make a world that might seem small or unfamiliar feel accessible. She’s also aware of her content’s reach, and she’s thoughtful about what she chooses to share.

She wants people to see a community that’s welcoming, kind, and supportive.

And despite the enormous audience she’s built, there’s just something wonderfully ordinary about knowing that Karen still keeps a stack of puzzles just for herself and just for fun.

Find Karen Puzzles

YouTube: Karen Puzzles

Instagram: @karenpuzzles

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Becca Taylor and Faith Lindell-Taylor from the USA Jigsaw Puzzle Association.

We talked about the organization’s origin story, its role in competitive puzzling, and the many ways USA JPA is helping puzzlers find each other, whether they are racing against the clock or simply looking for people who also want to talk about puzzles all day.

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Kelly Striemer, the founder of Villager Puzzles, a women-owned puzzle company known for its artist-centered approach and commitment to human-made art.

We talked about puzzles as a way to unwind after long days, what it means to build a business around art, who gets paid when creative work succeeds, and why ownership matters.

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Liza Fireman, puzzle collector, creator of Puzzles by Liza, and the Guinness World Record holder for the largest collection of puzzles.

We talked about Ravensburger's history, quality, what it's like to tour the factory where millions of puzzles are made, and the enormous effort required to document more than four thousand puzzles for a world record.

But what surprised me most was where the conversation ended up.

Because after four thousand puzzles, the thing Liza remembers most isn't a puzzle at all.

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Adam Gray, a speed puzzler, content creator, and host of Puzzled and Chatty.

We talk about the first-ever Jigsaw Puzzle World Series in Germany and what happens when a hobby becomes organized, competitive, documented, and (whether the rest of the world realizes it yet or not) a sport.

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Aimee Stewart, a self-taught, multi-media artist whose work has become some of the most beloved imagery in the puzzle world.

Her puzzles are known for their richness and detail, but more than that, they’re immersive. They’re the kind of images people don’t just complete, they come back to them.

And in this conversation, we explored why.

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Mirek Stolee, a curator at the Strong National Museum of Play, to talk about the history of jigsaw puzzles. We uncovered how puzzles evolved not just as objects, but as reflections of culture that are shaped by technology, labor, and even moments of global conflict.

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Dr. Donalee Markus, founder of Designs for Strong Minds, to talk about something I’ve been quietly wondering about for a long time.

What is actually happening in our brains when we puzzle?

We talk a lot about puzzling as calming. As meditative. As something that helps us slow down. But in this conversation, we started to uncover why that might be and what’s really going on beneath the surface when we sit down at the table.

This week on Dissectologists, I sat down with Gamel “Meezy” James, the founder of Unified Pieces, a puzzle company bringing street art and culturally vibrant imagery into a space that hasn’t always highlighted it.

We started by talking about a Dilla poster on his wall and the simple realization that he couldn’t find puzzles that reflected what he wanted to see. But as the conversation unfolded, it became about something bigger: representation, access, and the quiet power of the images we choose to bring to the table.