Interview with Nathan Sawaya

Hey there again guys! It's time for another interview: this time with the most famousest LEGO®-artist yet: Nathan Sawaya! Yes, after he won the 2009 Brickspace Award for Best Creator, I asked him for an interview, and here are his answers...


- Apparently you were a lawyer before you were a LEGO(R) artist. How did

you make the transition, and get your creations shown and appreciated?

I was a lawyer for five years, and I found being creative was a good way for me to relax after work.  Creating sculptures was a form of therapy after long hours at the law firm.  A few years ago I started putting photos of my works on my website, brickartist.com.  Soon I was getting commissions from all over the world.  I then realized that I could make a full time career as an artist.


- Where do you get your inspiration from?

Inspiration comes from many places and people.  I can never point to just one thing and say that has been my inspiration.  I have been inspired by people I have met, locations to where I have traveled, and something as simple as a tree.  It all depends on my current state of mind.  Sometimes I have been inspired by something but it will take years for the idea to develop and come to fruition before I actually start building it.  Also, I live in New York City, and when I get stuck on a specific, I will often just take a walk in the city and usually that leads to some sort of inspiration.

When I first started out, I was really inspired by an art book of Tom Friedman?s work.  I was blown away by his fabulous sculptures created from household items.  I would stare at this book for hours and let my mind wander.  Recently I authored my own book to inspire others.  I put together a collection of photos of my works over the past few years with the hopes that kids will read it and be inspired to become artists themselves.

- You concentrate mainly on LEGO(R) sculptures on large scales. Will you

ever succumb to the minifg, and create a minifigure-based project?

I might have something coming up.  You will have to keep checking back.

For my museum tour, I like to mostly use the rectangular bricks to create my sculptures.  There is a challenge to making curves out of a medium made up of right angles.


- There are lots of kids out there who want to be just like you. What

would you say to someone to advise them on how to get into the

professional LEGO(R) industry?

Practice, practice, practice.




Many thanks to Nathan for answering those. You can find his bio, and all his creations at his website brickartist.com . Until next time, goodbye!