Crayola crayons, colorful skulls, the Venus de Milo. They're all at the Capitol district's first event, "The Art of the Brick," artist Nathan Sawaya has been touring his lego sculptures for a decade, but this is the first time they are here in Omaha. How he got into piecing these together, is quite the story.
"I was actually practicing corporate law in New York City," Sawaya said. "And I would come home at night and need some sort of creative outlet."
Sawaya says there are more than one million different bricks in the works of art. In total, there are 80 pieces.
The sculptures are hollow, but stand on their own. It only took the group two days to set up the artwork, which is in Omaha through February. The Art of the Brick includes original lego pieces, like a face crawling through a space or a yellow person, with their insides falling out. Sawaya's also created pictures, that close up look pixelized, but far away, like a portrait.
Most of all Sawaya hopes others will see the works and get inspired.
"They find a little creativity in their own lives. And that doesn't mean that they're spending months building a giant lego sculpture, that could just be some finger painting with the kids or a little doodling. But even a little creativity, is an important thing. It just helps us," he said.
The Art of the Brick is at 12th and Capitol. Admission is 20 dollars for adults, 17.50 for kids.
