Tag Archives: Know Your Pieces

A picture worth 10,000 bricks

This beautiful painting by Hoang H. Dang shows a pleasant street scene with ancient architecture and a gnarled tree, along with a few small street vendor stalls. But there’s much more to it than first meets the eye. Although it’s ostensibly a painting, it’s actually a low-relief sculpture masterfully executed with LEGO bricks, lending it an amazing sense of depth.

And look closer–this painting is much bigger than you probably realize. There’s detail packed into every square inch because the entire piece is enormous–more than 3 feet wide. It’s so big that a Duplo fire hydrant looks right at home. Let’s take a look at some of the other details.

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Well established and always ready for customers

Do you ever find yourself looking at a shop and wondering how it’s still standing? How is it that among all the fancy branded stores, these little guys continue chugging along? It has to be the people like Hoang H Dang‘s grandfather who keep these small businesses alive. No matter what country, it’s little shops like these that are the lifeblood of communities. Even if the walls are cracked and the electricty is sketchy, the magic is in the connections shopkeepers share with their patrons. This LEGO build is a lovely tribute to the nostagia of that little Vietnamese store. And this article goes out to all the small businesses that are still chugging along, even through these rough times.

If you’d like to see more stuff by this builder, check out this fishing boat, and a Vietnamese home ready for the Lunar New Year.

A LEGO bonsai to admire

The art of bonsai, or tray planting, much like LEGO building can be a very meditative process. Hours and hours can go into the finished product, and meticulous study and practice can lead to a true masterpiece of patience and careful work.

In this wonderfully detailed tree by Know Your Pieces that combines both, there are some small details worth pointing out. I love the use of tiny cherries as small berries under some of the leaves. The twisted brown whip wrapped around the middle is also a nice choice. And the bowl and stand work very well together to provide the perfect display. Altogether, it’s just how a beautiful bonsai should be.