Time For Kids
April 2006
by Brenda Iasevoli
Nathan Sawaya, 32, never grew out of his love for Legos. His parents bought his first set of plastic bricks when he was three years old. He’s been building with Legos ever since. He even took his Legos to college with him! Instead of books and a computer, his desk held a model of Greenwich Village, the neighborhood in Manhattan where his school is located. Today, he makes his living as a Lego artist, building portraits and sculptures of anything from the Statue of Liberty to Lindsay Lohan!
You can help with his latest project. He's working with Lego Systems to construct a Lego model of a rebuilt New Orleans. Lego Systems is calling on kids nationwide to share their ideas for the model and to donate bricks to New Orleans schools. Lego Systems will make a brick-for-brick matching donation. To find out how to participate in the project, go to LEGO Builders of Tomorrow.
TFK: Can you describe a typical day in your life as a Lego artist?
Sawaya: Part of my day is spent planning. I spend a lot of time sketching out my ideas on special graph paper that has the brick shapes printed on it. Then the rest of the day is spent building.
TFK: How did you get interested in Legos?
Sawaya: When I was three years old, I got my first Lego set for Christmas. It was just one of those random sets with a bunch of pieces—you could build a car, a house, whatever you want. The imagination just took over and from then on, I've been building with Legos.
TFK: How did you get the idea to create art with Legos?
Sawaya: Five or six years ago, I thought, 'Instead of building models or cities, I wonder if I could build something big?' I wanted to do something gigantic, and I came up with a three-foot-tall self-portrait. Now I don’t think anything is traditional as a Lego piece—you really can build anything. People started asking me to build them things. One of my friends who works for Major League Baseball asked me to do the Major League Baseball logo, and now it hangs in his office. And I started to think, 'Wow, people actually like this stuff.'
TFK: When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Sawaya: I really did have a dream growing up of doing Lego design work in Denmark. I wanted to design the sets that you buy in the store. That was a dream for years.
Just recently, Lego held a worldwide design contest online. The winner would have his or her design made into an actual product that would be sold in stores and online. And I won in the senior category. I did a small Statue of Liberty set that is now available in stores. It was nice to reach the dream of actually being a Lego designer.
TFK: What is your favorite piece? Why?
Sawaya: Obviously, it's the self-portrait. It's just so easy to look at! But it does have a special place in my heart because it was the first portrait I had ever created. It took me two whole days just to build the two eyes. Constructing that piece showed me that I had the ability to do this.
TFK: What piece was the most difficult to create? Why?
Sawaya: They all have their own challenges. Even something as small as a model car can be difficult because when you're working with something smaller, you have to think about how you’re going to capture something tiny in these blocky bricks. For instance, I had to figure out a way to make square wheels look round. And I had to make the bricks look like seats. A three-dimensional face is one of the hardest things to create. You really have to build it over and over again to really capture someone's look.
TFK: What do you like best about your job?
Sawaya: This is a dream come true job. I can make whatever I want. There is always a new challenge. People are always bringing me new ideas of something to build. And I love to be able to say, 'I don’t think I can do that. Let's do that! Let's take the challenge and see what we can do.' That's what makes it fun and keeps me wanting to do this.
TFK: What is the most difficult part of your job?
Sawaya: Finding the time to stop is a big part of it. I know that sounds weird but I guess when you find your passion, you don't want to give it up. You don't want to spend a second not doing it.
TFK: What do you do when you're not creating Lego art?
Time For Kids
Sawaya: I like to read and watch scary movies. I'm always looking forward to reading new Harry Potter books. As you can tell, I'm still a kid at heart.
TFK: What advice do you have for kids who would like to become artists?
Sawaya: It's important to practice. Just do it. Just go out and do it. No one can tell you what art is. Only you can decide that. So just go and make whatever you want to make.
TFK: What are you most proud of?
Sawaya: I'm most proud of the fact that I took a dream that I had as a kid, to become a Lego designer, and actually have made a job out of it. To do what you love in life is the most important thing.
