Tag Archives: building

Sep14

lego is not just for stepping on.

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Where do I begin?

 Lego appeals to every kind of builder. Type-A architects may like to purchase sets and follow the instructions to the letter, while more free-form designers may prefer to amass random pieces and see what inspires them. If you fall somewhere between these two categories, Brickit may be the app for you.

As FastCompany reports, Brickit is a free app that tells you what you can build using whatever LEGO pieces you have at home. To use it, start by gathering your LEGO collection and snapping a picture of the pile through the software. The app uses object recognition to pick out specific pieces from your hoard. The technology isn’t limited to 2-by-4-peg bricks in primary colors, either: More specialized elements like vehicle wheels are also detectable.

After identifying your pieces, Brickit suggests products that are compatible with your collection. You choose a structure to make and the app shows you how to put it together step-by-step with the pieces in front of you. Depending on the size of your inventory, the tool may show you build-plans you don’t have all the necessary parts for. This is where it encourages you to be creative by finding alternate pieces to fit into the empty spaces.

Brickit is a great resource if you want to build models that go beyond the picture on the box. It’s also an excellent way to use the extra pieces that come with every set—which LEGO includes for your own good.

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“innovation is like looking for pieces in a jigsaw puzzle.

you have to find a lot of pieces that don’t match to find the one or two pieces that match.”

-edward conrad

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credits: Fast Company, Lego, Brickit, Michelle Debczak, Mental Floss, Jack Taylor

Sep19

fury.

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back in the 60’s

so excited to begin my modeling hobby

 black fury arrived

took out all three of the pieces

two horse halves and a tail

 laid them out

along with my airplane glue

after reading the directions

carefully matching the halves

adding the tail

it’s black plastic body

smeared all over with glue

but it was together

 i had made it all by myself

gave it one last little squirt of glue

for good luck

which missed and went into my eye

my joy turned to dramatic squealing

zoomed off to the eye doctor

went home and looked at fury

with my one good eye

not sure what went wrong

learning not to add

one more little dab of something

when a project is finished

and began my foray into my new hobby

stamp collecting.

“when things go right it’s hard to figure out why,

but when things go wrong it’s really easy.”

-steven soderbergh

 

Dec8

fly.

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this crew has built their own airplane.

they are flying to australia.

it will take them “70 miles long” to get there.

i have no doubt they will arrive safely and on time. 

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“to invent an airplane is nothing. to build one is something. but to fly is everything.

-otto lilienthal

Jan5

gather here.

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when grandie v and i

have finished building our indoor winter fairy village

 with jewels and feathers and sparkles, a flower vine swing, love tape, and puff ball beds

it is very important to write about it and invite them to move in tonight. 

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“when I sound the fairy call, gather here in silent meeting,

chin to knee on the orchard wall, cooled with dew and cherries eating.

merry, merry, take a cherry, mine are sounder, mine are rounder,

mine are sweeter for the eater, when the dews fall, and you’ll be fairies all.”

 -emily dickinson

Dec26

the village.

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the old mill, a boarding house, the glass lake, the stone bridge,

santa and his team, pine cone evergreens and the christmas tree

at my cottage 2016

—

once again

i was so excited to put out

 the remaining pieces

of the tiny village that my irish grandfather built

way back in the depression

when had become an american citizen

he was an architect by trade

as was his father

 he built this village by hand to exact scale

using

tiny stones

and

little sticks

and

heavy papers

with

incredible attention to every detail

all built

to share with us at the family christmas

i have very early and very fond mémories

of it placed on a big white board

with penciled in numbers for placement

so that every piece was in its place

beneath our christmas tree

with  lights installed underneath

 each building lit up inside

when it got dark outside

 a train ran around the village

it was covered in sparkly cotton snow

 it was so wonderful

i thought it would come to life at christmastime forever

 then it was lost for a long, long while

 i didn’t see it anymore

until

one day i saw its box out by the curb

waiting to go out with the trash

  during a very bad divorce between my parents

i would recognize its box anywhere

 i was lucky that i rescued it just in time

 only a few buildings and a few accessories remained intact

my siblings and i divided up what was salvageable

now i love to set up my own little section of his village each year

i think of how magical it was to see it all together as a child

i wonder what inspired him to create this wonderful village

i wonder where he got the ideas for each building

 i wonder how many buildings there were once upon a time

one of my buildings has the number 9 written inside in pencil

in my ‘umpa’s’  very neat and precise handwriting

 i wish i knew more of the story of the village

i wish i could ask him

no one remains who knows these answers

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a couple of old photographs of parts of the village that i found in the original box

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“i call architecture frozen music.”

-johann wolfgang von goethe