This week's artist is a very grown-up looking Max.
He looks so very serious in this picture and far older than his 10, almost 11 years. But then again, I have been saying for quite some time he is an old soul.
Mind you he is not to old to be creating with Legos and requesting to be photographed with his creations. The penguin pajamas also add a touch of whimsy and keep him from looking too much like an "important artist." He is important, just in a kinder and hug filled way.
Either way I think this picture gives a bit of a glimpse of who he is to become.
For now he is my boy who creates all sorts of vehicles that are cobbled together from various Lego kits. The curved pieces in the back are from a couple of Star Wars' spaceships and I know the shield with the rampant lion is from a Harry Potter themed kit. The rest of the pieces are much more generic and I don't recall their original configuration.
Over the years the completed kits have been pulled apart and the pieces mixed in with all the other loose Legos and I am fine with that. They are meant to be played with and inspire creativity.
Just what my boy is doing.
Showing posts with label Legos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Legos. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Artist of the Week: Tank
This week's artist is my happy guy, Nate.
I took this picture of him for our congregation's bulletin. His Bar Mitzvah is fast approaching and our Rabbi likes to feature the up coming Bar and Bat Mitzvahs the month before hand. I have a feeling he is not entirely thrilled with Nate's long hair and is hoping he'll get shorn before the big day.
Unless Nate wants that, it's not going to happen. I want Nate to be himself and if that means long curly locks, so be it. All I require is that it stays out of his eyes and he keeps it clean and brushed (which he does grudgingly).
Long hair aside, Nate has an enduring fascination of all things military. Probably not enough to inspire a buzz cut and signing up, but enough to endlessly play war games and watch war movies. An off shoot of this interest is reflected in his Lego builds.
Nate's latest creation is this rather well designed tank. The turret freely rotates around and the gun can be raised and lowered. He also made a ramp that opens up beneath the turret. We don't have any viable tank treads, so it left it at with plain wheels. The whole thing is very well thought out and executed. Well done Mr. Nate.
I took this picture of him for our congregation's bulletin. His Bar Mitzvah is fast approaching and our Rabbi likes to feature the up coming Bar and Bat Mitzvahs the month before hand. I have a feeling he is not entirely thrilled with Nate's long hair and is hoping he'll get shorn before the big day.
Unless Nate wants that, it's not going to happen. I want Nate to be himself and if that means long curly locks, so be it. All I require is that it stays out of his eyes and he keeps it clean and brushed (which he does grudgingly).
Long hair aside, Nate has an enduring fascination of all things military. Probably not enough to inspire a buzz cut and signing up, but enough to endlessly play war games and watch war movies. An off shoot of this interest is reflected in his Lego builds.
Nate's latest creation is this rather well designed tank. The turret freely rotates around and the gun can be raised and lowered. He also made a ramp that opens up beneath the turret. We don't have any viable tank treads, so it left it at with plain wheels. The whole thing is very well thought out and executed. Well done Mr. Nate.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Artist of the week: Swingin'
This week's artist is Nate.
The picture I have of him here is cropped from a larger picture that I took during vacation. It is part of the Bear Creek Lake State Park set and is one of my favorites. It was our first morning and the kids were eager to go fishing. Nate had brought his best friend along for our trip and the two of them were down by the lake's edge with their poles. I had tagged along with my camera in case anything caught my fancy and I was so glad that I did.
The morning light and the reflection of the blue sky on the lake's waters produced a stunning photograph. For me at least, the key to good photography is to have your camera in hand and to keep your eyes open.
Anyhoodle, enough about the picture.
Last week Nate was messing around with the Legos and designed a single rider swing. It worked fairly well, but it was not particularly elegant. After a bit of reworking he decided to make something more along the lines of a porch or bench swing.
This proved to be a far superior design.
As you can see in the picture it comfortably holds to Lego men. The bench swings freely ( that's Nate's hand in the picture) and is far less inclined to break down as opposed to the single seat model.
Once again my children have created something on their own from our large supply of Legos. I remember them as a good creative toy and it's nice to see they still are today.
The picture I have of him here is cropped from a larger picture that I took during vacation. It is part of the Bear Creek Lake State Park set and is one of my favorites. It was our first morning and the kids were eager to go fishing. Nate had brought his best friend along for our trip and the two of them were down by the lake's edge with their poles. I had tagged along with my camera in case anything caught my fancy and I was so glad that I did.
The morning light and the reflection of the blue sky on the lake's waters produced a stunning photograph. For me at least, the key to good photography is to have your camera in hand and to keep your eyes open.
Anyhoodle, enough about the picture.
Last week Nate was messing around with the Legos and designed a single rider swing. It worked fairly well, but it was not particularly elegant. After a bit of reworking he decided to make something more along the lines of a porch or bench swing.
This proved to be a far superior design.
As you can see in the picture it comfortably holds to Lego men. The bench swings freely ( that's Nate's hand in the picture) and is far less inclined to break down as opposed to the single seat model.
Once again my children have created something on their own from our large supply of Legos. I remember them as a good creative toy and it's nice to see they still are today.
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
Artist of the week: LEGO Fighter
Max, the melonater, is this week's featured artist.
He looks so very serious while eating his watermelon slice. Which is understandable since it was a seriously good watermelon. It was also the same melon that resulted in some far less serious pictures of Max. And yes that means this was taken half a month ago, so sue me. It's been quiet around here and I'm getting my mileage out of the times I do shoot pictures.
Anyhoodle I like the picture and the all its bright colors. There is just something appealing about the green grass, blue tiedyed shirt with the bright pinkish red slice of the watermelon. It all looks cool and inviting even though the actual temperature was about 90.
But enough about the watermelon, this is supposed to be about our old friend LEGO.
Max and his siblings have been building all sorts of fantastical machines. Most of the instructions detailing how to build the various kits have been mangled beyond repair or just plain missing. Fortunately after the initial build (while the instructions were still legible and on hand) the kids have been more than happy to create their own vehicles.
If I remember correctly this was some kind of boat. Max was very proud of what he made and requested I take pictures. He has learned that no LEGO vehicle in our active household lasts for any length of time. If you like it, you need to take pictures.
I think he did a great job. It is a solid little vehicle with plenty of firepower to take on whatever Max's imagination throws at it.
He looks so very serious while eating his watermelon slice. Which is understandable since it was a seriously good watermelon. It was also the same melon that resulted in some far less serious pictures of Max. And yes that means this was taken half a month ago, so sue me. It's been quiet around here and I'm getting my mileage out of the times I do shoot pictures.
Anyhoodle I like the picture and the all its bright colors. There is just something appealing about the green grass, blue tiedyed shirt with the bright pinkish red slice of the watermelon. It all looks cool and inviting even though the actual temperature was about 90.
But enough about the watermelon, this is supposed to be about our old friend LEGO.
Max and his siblings have been building all sorts of fantastical machines. Most of the instructions detailing how to build the various kits have been mangled beyond repair or just plain missing. Fortunately after the initial build (while the instructions were still legible and on hand) the kids have been more than happy to create their own vehicles.
If I remember correctly this was some kind of boat. Max was very proud of what he made and requested I take pictures. He has learned that no LEGO vehicle in our active household lasts for any length of time. If you like it, you need to take pictures.
I think he did a great job. It is a solid little vehicle with plenty of firepower to take on whatever Max's imagination throws at it.
Monday, August 01, 2011
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Artist of the Week: Pop-up LEGO
I originally espied this brilliant piece of Lego engineering over at Epic Win FTW a few weeks ago. I've been vacillating when to post this and decided in the end it was truly worthy of artist of the week. So please watch the video, you will be amazed.
For the full story check out The Brothers Brick. There you will find links to the Buddhist temple of Kinkaku-ji and some details about the build.
I'm just in awe over all the incredible details. The fact that the whole thing neatly folds into a box is a wonder onto itself, but the the box was constructed to look like a Lego set puts this over the top. Details like the recommended age (16+), the logo, a detailed picture of the final build, and I could just go on and on.
Well done faceless builder, well done.
For the full story check out The Brothers Brick. There you will find links to the Buddhist temple of Kinkaku-ji and some details about the build.
I'm just in awe over all the incredible details. The fact that the whole thing neatly folds into a box is a wonder onto itself, but the the box was constructed to look like a Lego set puts this over the top. Details like the recommended age (16+), the logo, a detailed picture of the final build, and I could just go on and on.
Well done faceless builder, well done.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Artist of the Week: Lego Ahoy!
This week's artist is Nate, pictured here with Dell.
I had him pose with his siblings last year for the annual photo, but this particular session didn't pan out. It was a race against falling light levels and waning (or in some cases non) enthusiasm for the project. Nate was pretty game, but as always it was a challenge to get him to straighten up and be still. Dell wrangling helped hold him place, but to the detriment of sitting nicely.
Aside from all that, it is a very cute picture of Nate.
As for his art this week, it is his favored medium, the Lego. Some days it feels like it is all Legos, all the time. I'm just thankful for the fact that they have been banned downstairs. A few do make their way downstairs, but we are not awash with them. Just the odd Lego here and there that has dropped off from when a particularly interesting item is brought downstairs to show off.
And this is a prime example of what gets brought downstairs for exhibition.
It is a battle ship of sorts with numerous guns on its topside. I like how one even has a sight for the person manning the gun. Nate even added neat details like a movable rudder. He was justifiably proud of his creation and requested I photograph it for posterity. The life span of such a complex structure is not very long in our household. They get dropped, or kicked, or broken apart for other projects.
Some days I get a bit exasperated by the Legos, but then I remember what creative toy they are and how much pleasure my children get from them.
I had him pose with his siblings last year for the annual photo, but this particular session didn't pan out. It was a race against falling light levels and waning (or in some cases non) enthusiasm for the project. Nate was pretty game, but as always it was a challenge to get him to straighten up and be still. Dell wrangling helped hold him place, but to the detriment of sitting nicely.
Aside from all that, it is a very cute picture of Nate.
As for his art this week, it is his favored medium, the Lego. Some days it feels like it is all Legos, all the time. I'm just thankful for the fact that they have been banned downstairs. A few do make their way downstairs, but we are not awash with them. Just the odd Lego here and there that has dropped off from when a particularly interesting item is brought downstairs to show off.
And this is a prime example of what gets brought downstairs for exhibition.
It is a battle ship of sorts with numerous guns on its topside. I like how one even has a sight for the person manning the gun. Nate even added neat details like a movable rudder. He was justifiably proud of his creation and requested I photograph it for posterity. The life span of such a complex structure is not very long in our household. They get dropped, or kicked, or broken apart for other projects.
Some days I get a bit exasperated by the Legos, but then I remember what creative toy they are and how much pleasure my children get from them.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Artist of the Week: Out of the Blue
Rebecca is this week's artist with something a bit out of the ordinary for her.
Her Halloween costume, however, was completely in character. She opted to be a fairy princess this year. For over a month she had been planning out what she was going to wear. She has a pretty little tutu from Grandma and she decided to pair it with a set of wings and a wand. For the past few weeks we had combed the internet for wings, but the shipping costs were often more than the cost of the wings. In the end we went to Target and got a gorgeous set of gossamer pink wings. They looked lovely with her tutu and were a bargain and a half and had a nice matching wand to boot.
Originally we had planned on her wearing a long sleeved white turtle neck beneath and white tights, but that proved unnecessary on All Hallows Eve. It was a balmy mid-seventies outside with a nearly full moon. A far cry from previous years that were cold and nasty.
Anyhoodle, this is about what Rebecca did earlier this week.
Her brothers have a long established tradition of fashioning all sorts of vehicles from LEGOs. Rebecca normally looks on and admires her brothers' creations. But not any more, she has stepped up and knocked one out of the park.
I think we were in Max and Nate's room corralling up the mess therein. She came in to show off her fighter jet. I can safely saw we were all impressed. She really did do a bang up job. I particularly like the little puppy pilot under the cockpit's canopy. She got all the details right from the nose, to the wings, and on back to the tail assembly.
Pretty amazing for somebody that never really expressed interest in jets before.
Her Halloween costume, however, was completely in character. She opted to be a fairy princess this year. For over a month she had been planning out what she was going to wear. She has a pretty little tutu from Grandma and she decided to pair it with a set of wings and a wand. For the past few weeks we had combed the internet for wings, but the shipping costs were often more than the cost of the wings. In the end we went to Target and got a gorgeous set of gossamer pink wings. They looked lovely with her tutu and were a bargain and a half and had a nice matching wand to boot.
Originally we had planned on her wearing a long sleeved white turtle neck beneath and white tights, but that proved unnecessary on All Hallows Eve. It was a balmy mid-seventies outside with a nearly full moon. A far cry from previous years that were cold and nasty.
Anyhoodle, this is about what Rebecca did earlier this week.
Her brothers have a long established tradition of fashioning all sorts of vehicles from LEGOs. Rebecca normally looks on and admires her brothers' creations. But not any more, she has stepped up and knocked one out of the park.
I think we were in Max and Nate's room corralling up the mess therein. She came in to show off her fighter jet. I can safely saw we were all impressed. She really did do a bang up job. I particularly like the little puppy pilot under the cockpit's canopy. She got all the details right from the nose, to the wings, and on back to the tail assembly.
Pretty amazing for somebody that never really expressed interest in jets before.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Death Star Canteen
This is one of my very favorite Eddie Izzard/ Lego bits. He is a brilliant comedian, but I do have to warn you on the language. He drops an f-bomb at the beginning , but it's worth it.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Artist of the Week: Aircraft Carrier
This week's artist is Jake, pictured here with his Great Grandma.
If I remember correctly this was taken in 2003 during Passover. It was a big deal for us to struggle down to Florida, but it was well worth the effort. Unfortunately she passed away not long after, but she got to meet all four of her American great grandchildren (the rest all live in Europe).
Jake has clear memories of visiting his Grandmother, Nate has some dim ones, and Max and Rebecca have essentially none (however they love the pictures we took of them with her and do recognize her).
I love this picture, Jake is oh so cute and you can see the affection between the two of them.
Anyhoo, this post is about an aircraft carrier, specifically one built by Jake with Legos. He made it quite awhile ago and it has been parked in his room (much to the annoyance of his siblings). Without any help he was able to envision what he wanted and build it from scratch.
Nate had been bugging his brother to disassemble it and free up a large number of Legos. So we decided that I would take some pictures and then the ship would be taken apart.
It really was a very impressive creation. From the offset integrated island to the twin drive screws in the stern. Even Nate grudgingly admitted he like it once he got over his resentment over the number of Legos that had been used by Jake.
It's always interesting to see what they'll come up wiuth next.
If I remember correctly this was taken in 2003 during Passover. It was a big deal for us to struggle down to Florida, but it was well worth the effort. Unfortunately she passed away not long after, but she got to meet all four of her American great grandchildren (the rest all live in Europe).
Jake has clear memories of visiting his Grandmother, Nate has some dim ones, and Max and Rebecca have essentially none (however they love the pictures we took of them with her and do recognize her).
I love this picture, Jake is oh so cute and you can see the affection between the two of them.
Anyhoo, this post is about an aircraft carrier, specifically one built by Jake with Legos. He made it quite awhile ago and it has been parked in his room (much to the annoyance of his siblings). Without any help he was able to envision what he wanted and build it from scratch.
Nate had been bugging his brother to disassemble it and free up a large number of Legos. So we decided that I would take some pictures and then the ship would be taken apart.
It really was a very impressive creation. From the offset integrated island to the twin drive screws in the stern. Even Nate grudgingly admitted he like it once he got over his resentment over the number of Legos that had been used by Jake.
It's always interesting to see what they'll come up wiuth next.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Artist of the Week: LEGO Robotics
This week's artist is Jake. Today was the last day of his LEGO Robotics course that he took under the auspices of the Summer Regional Governor's School (scroll down the page for the summer school programs). The courses are free and are open to gifted students that have been accepted into the program via a competitive application. It is a wonderful program and, as you can see in the picture, Jake was one very happy camper.
He was very willing to get up early each morning of the eight day session and ride in with his father and be dropped off before the opening bell at 8:30 am. Not once did he gripe to me about going to school. I think his only disappointment was concerning their field trip to a local robotic manufacturer, because the students were not allowed on the production floor.
Anyway, he had a great time and this is about the final robot that he helped to produce. The students would get partnered up with different kids then design, build and program a robot for the challenge of the day. The kids were not only learning about the engineering side, but also about teamwork.
Today family members were invited to attend the last robotic challenge. It gave us a chance to see exactly what had been going on during the past eight days of class. Fortunately both Larry and I were able to go and see the fun firsthand.
For his last project Jake was teamed up with the young lady in the picture. She seemed like a really sweet girl and was bright and chatty when we met her today. She explained the program and the robot to us and was very impressed with Nate's knowledge of radar (thank you History channel- aka the WWII channel). It looked like she and Jake worked well together and were having a good time.
The robot they designed was meant to follow a course and hit four different targets. The course, on white paper, was laid out on several tables in the classroom. A black lined marked the preferred path to the targets. From what I could see Jake's team used line/color sensor to find the line and an ultrasonic sensor to find the target. They used a laptop to set up the running program and then downloaded it into the LEGO NXT Intelligent Brick (the brain of the robot).
Each team got two tries with time built in to modify the robot in between runs. The course stared off fairly simply with a straight path to the first target. Then it got tricky. The robot had to turn and cross a short yet narrow bridge. After the second target the course got progressively harder.
Here is a longish film of the two runs spliced together.
I'm very proud to say that their robot came in second overall. It wasn't able to complete the course, but points were awarded for hitting the taget and following the line. One robot almost finished the course. It just missed hitting the final target. The two teaching assistants made special trophies to commemorate the occasion. Jake, of course, promptly put it on his head and walked around with it precariously perched on top. I t was such an utterly Jake thing to do I just had to share it with y'all.
He was very willing to get up early each morning of the eight day session and ride in with his father and be dropped off before the opening bell at 8:30 am. Not once did he gripe to me about going to school. I think his only disappointment was concerning their field trip to a local robotic manufacturer, because the students were not allowed on the production floor.
Anyway, he had a great time and this is about the final robot that he helped to produce. The students would get partnered up with different kids then design, build and program a robot for the challenge of the day. The kids were not only learning about the engineering side, but also about teamwork.
Today family members were invited to attend the last robotic challenge. It gave us a chance to see exactly what had been going on during the past eight days of class. Fortunately both Larry and I were able to go and see the fun firsthand.
For his last project Jake was teamed up with the young lady in the picture. She seemed like a really sweet girl and was bright and chatty when we met her today. She explained the program and the robot to us and was very impressed with Nate's knowledge of radar (thank you History channel- aka the WWII channel). It looked like she and Jake worked well together and were having a good time.
The robot they designed was meant to follow a course and hit four different targets. The course, on white paper, was laid out on several tables in the classroom. A black lined marked the preferred path to the targets. From what I could see Jake's team used line/color sensor to find the line and an ultrasonic sensor to find the target. They used a laptop to set up the running program and then downloaded it into the LEGO NXT Intelligent Brick (the brain of the robot).
Each team got two tries with time built in to modify the robot in between runs. The course stared off fairly simply with a straight path to the first target. Then it got tricky. The robot had to turn and cross a short yet narrow bridge. After the second target the course got progressively harder.
Here is a longish film of the two runs spliced together.
I'm very proud to say that their robot came in second overall. It wasn't able to complete the course, but points were awarded for hitting the taget and following the line. One robot almost finished the course. It just missed hitting the final target. The two teaching assistants made special trophies to commemorate the occasion. Jake, of course, promptly put it on his head and walked around with it precariously perched on top. I t was such an utterly Jake thing to do I just had to share it with y'all.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Artist of the Week: Legos Times Two
This week’s artist is Jake. This is him from a few weeks ago when we were enjoying spring like weather.
He and his brothers are big Lego fans and are constantly making new creations. Jake takes particular care with his builds. He likes the colors to be symmetrical and for full articulation whenever possible.
I picked out two this week because I couldn’t decide which I liked more. (If you click on the picture it leads to a small set featuring different angles of both.)The one on the left is a sort of fighter jet; on the right is a walker type vehicle from Star Wars.
I like the stubby little fighter. I know it would mortify him to hear this, but I think it’s cute. The walker is fun with its articulated arm that pulls it along. I like the details he added to the arm of the walker such as the tubing for the hydraulics.
Jake says that both are still works in progress, but I like them just the way they are now.
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