There is a growing community of Lego enthusiasts around the world who create artwork from the colourful blocks and one of Canada’s top artists lives right here in Calgary.
Dave Ware is obsessed with Lego.
“For me, part of it is it just kind of reminds me of my childhood and playing and building things,” said Ware. “I probably have I would guess somewhere in the neighbourhood of half a million blocks.
Ware is a Lego artist and constructs portraits out of the popular building blocks.
He often creates them just for the fun of it but now that he has gone pro he takes a commission for his work.
Ware’s pieces hang in businesses, schools, and private collections.
”It’s always great, especially for a commission, when you unveil it to someone for the first time and they’re always kind of blown away and that's a good feeling,” said Ware.
Each of his Lego portraits uses thousands of the plastic pieces and can take days to build.
“The bigger mosaics have somewhere between 10 and 30 or 40,000 each in them," said Ware.
Ware admits that his art is unusual, but he says if nothing else it's a conversation starter.
“Usually the first thing people will tell me when I tell them I build stuff out of Lego is they will tell me how much Lego they have at home. They will say, oh I’ve got so much Lego at home and then I just kind of shake my head and inside my own head, say no you really, really don't,” said Ware.
He has over half a million blocks at home and his passion has taken over the house.
“If it’s something that really brings him great joy and allows him a creative outlet and you know just time to play as a grown up which is something we don't get a lot of, I’m all for it,” said Kate Ware, Dave’s wife.
Lego is owned by the Kristiansen family who founded the Danish company in 1932.
The company actually sponsors professional Lego builders and Ware hopes to break in to that elite ranking in the future.
For more information on local Lego artists, visit the Southern Alberta Lego User Group website.
