The walls of The Palmer House are filling up with artwork, but take a closer look, and you’ll notice something — those paintings are actually puzzles.

It’s the work of a group of enthusiasts who have assembled more than 35 works during the past few months. The movement began with Dolores Matrician, who decided to clear up some clutter by bringing a puzzle board to the common room of The Palmer House.

“I have no room to keep them at my house. My table is always so cluttered with all of the junk that I do, the coloring and everything else I like,” she said.

Matrician, a retired day-care worker, loved putting puzzles together with the kids, and has continued to pursue those interests to the present day.

“I liked playing with the children, and playing children’s games. Everything that I did with the kids, that was my life,” she said.

It wasn’t long before the board became the epicenter of the common room, with plenty of people pitching in to incrementally assemble the final products. Karen Kuntzman and Helen Smith are the core of the puzzle lovers group.

“Helen and I are the main ones, ‘The Puzzlers’ they call us,” Kuntzman said. “All of the sudden, people started donating puzzles, so we’ve got lots of puzzles. We build them, we glue them, and then we put them in frames.”

So far, the group has assembled at least 35 works of art. Completed assembly can take anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. When finished, Smith and another resident, Faye Heffelfinger, glue the works together. Jerry Starr fixes up the frames, and the maintenance staff helps to mount the art on the walls.

The Puzzlers have decorated the first floor of The Palmer House, from the halls to the common room to the kitchen and the vending machine room, over the course of the past few months. They even fulfill special requests.

“We’ve done some for the people who live here, and they put them in their apartments. So, we started this one here for Barbara,” Kuntzman said, pointing to the current work that features the Pyramids of Giza.

Kuntzman said the group is looking forward to decking out each and every floor of the building, and it looks like they could do it, as puzzle donations have resulted in a backlog of work. They are in need of some fresh frames, though, 18-by-27-inch or larger. Donations are gladly accepted at The Palmer House.

While assembling the puzzles is a relaxing and satisfying way to occupy time, Smith said that the best part of the activity is getting together with her pals.

“It’s just about being with friends, really. Coming down here from our apartments and spending time together, we all enjoy that.”