This is KPBS Midday Edition . I am Maureen Cavanaugh Creativity happens naturally for children before their imaginations are to discipline. They can create whatever occurs to them. One of the earliest creative mediums for many are the little plastic bricks, Legos. The kids are not the only ones letting their inner artist,. We spoke with Nathan Sawaya, the Lego artist featured in the Fleet Science Center new feature called The Art of the Brick Exhibit . Your story is you were a corporate lawyer and you made a dramatic transition. Was that like a sudden flash or a long, slow realization? It was a bit of a slow burn. Definitely. I was working as an attorney doing securities work. But I would come home at the end of the day and I would need some sort of creative outlet. Some people go to the gym but I needed to create something. I would draw or paint. One day I thought about sculpture and what about this childhood toy . It I do large -- could I do large-scale sculptures with Legos? Can I replicate an Apple out of Legos? Now can I make at the size of a basketball? Really experienced -- experimented with the brick. I was working full days as a lawyer and then coming home and doing 6-8 hours of Lake -- Lego building. Eventually my computer crash from too many hits and I left the law firm behind then. How did people react to your decision? [ Laughter ] it was a mixed reaction. Some people thought that doing something to leave a secure lifestyle was a complete mistake. And I had colleagues who were both supportive and also sort of jealous because I was leaving to follow my passion. I think my bosses were confused. I have heard that from a number of lawyers a mistake. You may have tried other medium. Or was it Legos right away? I have sculpted in more traditional media with things like clay, wire, bottle caps, candy. Candy is kind of like Legos because you are using tiny little pieces to create a larger form. But I find that I enjoyed the Legos and it makes the art more accessible to people. So many kids have played with Legos and adults have snap the bricks together. When you create something out of Lego bricks I think people can connect almost on a different level. Because they can relate to it. If someone sees a marble statue they can appreciate it but because people have Lego bricks, they do great this democratizing of the art world. You are recognized all over the world. Australia and Brazil for example. This and he met -- everybody find it accessible right away? It is very universal. The Lego brand has become very universal. People all over instantly connect with it. That is been a blessing. When we were in Rome, the reaction was so great and so astounding that I think there was maybe something about that type of art, seeing bright colors and art out of Legos, they were really attracted to it. They just loved it. There are all kinds of things that you have created. There is a huge T Rex skeleton. Right. I think I saw Stephen Colbert in the background. Do you mainly do things that are already cultural icons? This exhibition that is at the Fleet Science Center is really a mix . In some projects I am trying to talk to kids in a way through a medium they are familiar with. There are also some original pieces that have come out of my imagination. They are inspired I'm a own journeys, essentially. That gives you something else to focus on. As well as something whimsical like a giant TaRhonda source Rex. This exhibit has been going on for a while. What are you working on right now extract I am always challenging myself to create new things. Do you work alone? Some of these are very big I noticed. Are you in the studio all by yourself or do you have a team of people working and stepping bricks together with you? My hands are the one -- the ones that created the artwork. That I do have a great team. They are fantastic in the hill with shipping and crating and the logistics of getting six different exhibitions around the world. Part of the exhibit are Lego infused photos by Dean was. That was a fun collaboration. Demos tonight decided to use his hyperrealistic photography and combine it with my Lego sculptures but when you look at my sculptures, there is almost this pick civilization of it because it is made out of bricks. That works well with photography so we did seven different portraits. They of something in the made out of Lego but the rest of it is very realistic. For kids it might be a "where is Waldo" type moment. But it is really about the construction of identity, essentially. So if you think about construction and the construction of Lego, it works together well. One of our producers says that you see all sorts of bricks in the latest movies with Kirby sides but you just use the rectangular bricks? Why is that? Maybe it is just the nostalgic thing. Those of the bricks I grew up with. I do also like the distinct lines, sharp corners and angles. When you see my art of close you will see all of those corners. But then when you back away from it, you see it from a different perspective and it changes. And those corners will blend into curse and that is the magic of using Lego bricks. I get that. so the thrill of creating something which we all remember from our youth, do you still get that when you finish a creation or are you more turned on by the reaction of the people to the work that you do extract I enjoy the act of creating. That is when I am happiest, in my art studio with my dog at my feet and I can build. There is a process where you are very excited about a new idea. Then as you progress through the process, it can get tedious and you start questioning yourself. But as you add brick brick by brick and get closer to the finish point, you get back to the point where you are excited to get to the end. It is an exciting process for you. That's wonderful. That's right.
Generations of children around the world have played with LEGOS.
It's because of that familiarity with LEGOS that artist Nathan Sawaya believes a new exhibit at the Fleet Science Center called, The Art of the Brick, is a more approachable way to appreciate art.
"By creating large-scale works out of LEGO bricks I think people can connect to the artwork on almost a different level because they can relate to it," Sawaya said. "Because people have LEGO bricks it does create this democratizing of the art world."
Sawaya created 100 works of art made out of LEGO bricks. Some are recreations of famous pieces, such as Michelangelo's "David", Vincent van Gogh's "Starry Night" and Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," while others are original pieces.
The exhibit opened on Friday and runs through Jan. 29, 2017.
Sawaya joins Midday Edition Monday to talk about the exhibit and his art.
