Project History

I have to go back to the 1979 Spoleto Festival USA held in Charleston, SC. That's some time ago. At the world's largest art's venue I introduced my kinetic resin sculptures. Kinetic pieces can do one of two things, they can move for the audience or they can move the audience. These sculptures were designed, on the large scale, to move the audience around them in a clockwise motion. They did that very successfully.

So what does that have to do with puzzles? Actually, that's how I started. I produced smaller limited editions of my larger resin sculptures. For years I attempted to find a methodology to mass produce the cubes that contained my linear graphics. That could not be done at any reasonable price. So I decided to take these linear graphics from under resin to the wall. Unlike the large sculptures or the smaller editions, one had to take the graphic off the wall to read it's message. If the print was small, this could be accomplished, but if the original was large, it was not practical. I had a dilemma.

I stopped using the linear graphics and started making small, square images designed to represent letters and numbers. That was my first exploration of ciphers and how they were used during WWII. As the years passed I designed a cryptic puzzle called The Manx. The puzzle used a grid sheet, a symbol sheet, and a polyalphabetic table. I designed a Millennium Cipher, but it came along a little late for a successful promotion. A few years later I designed a Manx based on a jigsaw puzzle. I had that form tested by independent puzzle enthusiasts. It was successfully completed by each solver. Unfortunately, I had to put The Manx on hold while I pursued my work with tigers and now the memorial.

The Master The Challenge™ venture was developed to host competitive fund-raising events benefiting the National Afghanistan & Iraq Freedom Reigns Memorial. The electronic format is perfect for The Manx. I truly hope you and/or your friends enjoy the challenge.

The Manx

I wanted to include a little about the Manx cat.  Zoe was my inspiration for the Zoe Foundation (www.ZoeTigers.org), of which I am the founder and executive director, and the Manx puzzle.  The meow of our site host is the real thing.   I recorded Zoe's vocalization for an animated introduction I used on the foundation site for many years.  This photo of Zoe was taken in 1988.  The Manx is a tailless breed with a conformation similar to the British Shorthair, except its hind legs are longer than its forelegs.  It is good natured and friendly.  The tail is nonexistent.  It should be possible to detect a hollow at the end of the backbone.

Totally tailless Manx are sometimes called Full Rumpies.  Other varieties include the Rumpy Riser (they have a small hump where the tail should be), the Stumpy (they have a small bob-tail), and the Longie (they have a full tail).  Legend has it that the cat lost its tail when Noah closed the door of the Ark.  Other schools of thought suggest the tailless cats swam ashore to the Isle of Man in 1588 from ships of the Spanish Armada, or they arrived on merchant ships from the Far East.  However they arrived, the isolation of the island helped perpetuate the breed.

The Manx has a coat similar to a rabbit.  It is a double type composed of a short, thick undercoat and a slightly longer topcoat.  Manx come in many varieties of colors and coat patterns.  Zoe was a very good 'watch cat'.  She often ran to the door and growled like a dog upon a visitor’s approach.

Zoe was a bi-color, full rumpy Manx.  Zoe was born in a ninety year old farm house behind a bed in Georgia on July 28, 1987.  Her illustrated form (left) is the Zoe Foundation’s registered logo.  Her companionship and breed inspired the naming of the Manx puzzles and the foundation.  Zoe was quite a cat!  She passed away on May 2, 2002 following complications from anesthesia when her veterinarian was checking a broken tooth.  If you would like to read a little more about Zoe and her friends, you can do so on the Zoe Foundation Web site.  I am presently writing a photo illustrated book about Zoe and me.