NATURE GETS A LEGO LIFT

Jbjsaturday

IMAGINE a 25kg bumblebee, a 2mtall rose or a butterfly with a 1.5m wingspan.

These and 24 more incredible LEGO sculptures are on show in an called Nature Connects at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in the US.

Yes, artist Sean Kenney uses the same LEGO pieces you use in your much smaller creations – but he uses a lot more of them. For example, it took 31 565 bricks to create a hummingbird feeding from a trumpet flower.

Kenney, who is 39 and lives in New York, was a major fan of the popular building bricks as a child. On his website, he notes that through his teenage years and into adulthood, “my models became more elaborate and involved as I got older. Now it’s my full-time career”.

Imagine turning a childhood passion into a profession. How cool is that? He builds his sculptures around steel frames, glues each piece in place, then covers the finished figure with a protective coating. The huge butterfly took nine weeks to design and build. There is a lot of trial and error.

“I often have to step back and examine the model from all sides as it’s coming together... often taking sections apart and rebuilding them.”

Just as you connect Lego bricks to each other to make something special, Nature Connects illustrates how “everything in nature is inter- connected in a delicate balance. Insects and plants have important relationships; different animals have special relationships with each other; animals have connections with families, like we do”.

The garden has helpful signs explaining those connections as children explore about winding paved paths, past beautiful plants, ponds and fountains. They learn about the balance of nature as a LEGO fox seems to be sneaking up on a rabbit in the grass. They learn about the incredible flight manoeuvres made by dragonflies or how hummingbirds get nectar from deep inside flowers.

Kenney said being successful with LEGO creations is “more about using your brain and having creative ideas” than about learning a specific technique. “Like a pencil, clay or paint, LEGO pieces are simple enough for a 3-year-old.” – Washington Post

● Learn more about Sean Kenney and his work at seankenney.com. Always ask a parent before going online.

Look up to find a 25kg bumblebee hovering near the Children's Garden.

A small bird, perched on a bison’s back.