The LEGO Life: World Report Edition

April 2006

Just take one look around Nathan Sawaya's studio. Is there anything that this guy can't build with Lego building blocks? Lying on the floor is a replica of Vincent Van Gogh's painting Starry Night. Leaning against the wall is a giant Monopoly game board. There's even a sculpture of Curious George. All are made with Legos.

Sawaya's parents bought him his first Legos when he was three years old. Even then, he showed signs of overachievement. He popped the plastic pieces together to create a 36-square-foot city! "I'd sit there for hours," Sawaya told TFK. "I had all these little Lego figures that I would send on adventures."

As Sawaya, now 32, got older, he began to think outside the Lego box. He constructed his first portrait--a three-foot-tall image of himself--while in college. It took him two days just to build the eyes. He uses the same process to build Lego art that he used to create the portrait six years ago. First, he sketches the image onto grid paper with Lego bricks printed on it. Then, using the grid paper as a guide, he assembles the work of art with Legos.

Two years ago, he quit his job as a lawyer after he won Lego's nationwide search for a Master Builder.

Time for Kids: World Report Edition
April 2006

For seven months, he worked at Legoland, in Carlsbad, California, where he built a life-size T. rex. Now, he's back in New York City creating works of his own. The cost of his art ranges from $100 to tens of thousands of dollars.

Brick by brick, Sawaya has built his dreams in Legos. "I plan on never stopping," he says. "Just think how many I'll have when I grow up."

You can help Sawaya with his latest project, a Lego model of a rebuilt New Orleans. The finished piece will be donated to the city as a public work of art. Find out how you can participate in the project at timeforkids.com/lego.

Time For Kids, April 2006