Art from pieces

Despite the cold, Feb. 4 was a successful and busy First Friday.

With Malcolm McCrae's colorful airbrush art at O'Tenem and a few hundred pieces by area children on display at the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri, there was a melange of items to appreciate.

One exhibit -- which has actually been on display for two months -- seemed to be among the most crowded.

"The Art of Brick" exhibit at the Crisp Museum had enough people roaming through the gallery to make this clumsy art lover tuck in her purse and stick hands in pockets.

Walking through the exhibit, I was amazed. The artist, Nathan Sawaya, must see the world in pixilated images made of primary colors. His sculptures, constructed from plain old Lego pieces, perfectly resemble the objects after which they are modeled.

Sawaya invented a special adhesive to hold the pieces together when the sculptures are shipped. The glue is so strong that if he makes a mistake, Sawaya has to remove the piece with pliers and a chisel. So there's no real danger of knocking a piece off a sculpture, but I like to stay on the safe side in galleries.

Sawaya's art truly crosses generations. Legos can be enjoyed by the young children who play with them and up through the ages to grandparents who remember stepping on them. While children admire the bright colors and limitless imaginative possibilities, adults can marvel at the technical detail and, well, the limitless imaginative possibilities.

The museum has a table full of the tiny toys for visitors to try building something.

We walked out of Crisp Friday chattering about what we would make -- a golf ball, a Lego portrait, anything.

Then I remembered I needed instructions to help my nephew build a Lincoln Log cabin and I went back to simply admiring Sawaya's talent for recreating images.

You can see the sculptures until Feb. 20. Get there.