Building with a Passion, One Brick at a Time
Remember when building Lego seemed the coolest and most important thing in the world? Whatever happened to that? Oh right, we got told to grow up, get a regular job and that Lego is for children and won’t pay the bills.
Well, our interviewee Sean Kenney proved that wrong. He tried the traditional route, worked in an office, but his life wasn’t fulfilled. At night instead of rest, he would build with Lego until one day he found a way to make it his dream job.
Read on to hear more about Sean’s incredible story.
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- Can you tell me about your background?
I grew up in suburban New Jersey, about 30 miles outside New York City. I am the oldest of 4 siblings. I had a generic suburban-American life, living on a cul-de-sac in tract housing.
I was a straight-A student through high-school and was brought up believing that art wasn’t real work and that I should study hard and get a good job somewhere. That didn’t last long; I had a desk job for about 5 years after college but gave up on that pretty quickly.
- What do you do for a living and why do you love it?
I create art with LEGO bricks. I have a 4000sf private art studio in Brooklyn, New York where, together with my team of artists, we create award-winning exhibits, portraiture, children’s books, home decor, and commissioned artwork. My multiple-award-winning travelling exhibitions have been touring North America, Asia, and Europe since 2012 and been heralded as “an incredible exhibition” by Lonely Planet that Vogue says is “bound to make visitors stare”. I’ve authored 9 children’s books, guest-judged a reality TV show, and have been featured in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, PBS Arts, BBC Arts, NHK Japan, ELLE, Wired, and countless more.
I’ve always been an artist and have always loved to create things, even as a young child drawing and designing were a big part of my life. Also, LEGO toys were something that was always there as a way to create and express myself, whether as a nine-year-old who just wanted to make things or as a grown adult with something to say. Of course, I still love to draw cartoons and do graphic design. But rather than use my drawings or designs as the artwork itself, I use them as the starting point of what becomes a LEGO-based work.
I’ve always been a massive fan of LEGO toys, ever since I was a little kid. They’re just so intrinsically fun and whimsical. I think they reflect my personality well — I am structured and organised and logical, but I am also rather silly and love to laugh. What better medium than a primary-coloured children’s toy based on straight lines, rules, and math? As an art medium, it’s lovely to see people’s reactions to what I create. The LEGO makes it inherently whimsical, which I love. Art doesn’t have to be so serious all the time.
- What made you change career and how did it happen?
I used to work as a cartoonist, a graphic artist, and a website designer. I spent 10 years designing website interfaces and web user experiences, and I wore a suit every day to work. But the whole time, my “inner child” was itching to get out and play! Every night after work I would go home and play with my LEGO toys… sometimes while I was still in my suit! One day I was sitting in my office in a cold-looking, quiet, boring, 40-story glass skyscraper on Park Avenue in New York. I was sitting at my desk, but I wasn’t working; I was daydreaming about beautiful architecture and bright LEGO colours and thinking about what I would build with LEGO bricks when I got home. It was about then that I realised that was exactly what I needed to do… I should follow my dreams. So I stood up, took off my tie, and walked straight out — just like that, in the middle of the day. And I never looked back.
- What is the highlight of your career?
I can’t say I have one… I’ll let you know after I’ve retired. In the meantime, I continue to try to do my best and have had plenty of exciting and proud moments along the way.
Last winter my travelling art show opened in Taipei and was a very proud moment that was half a decade in the making. Having spent so many years putting so much effort into my work, this particular exhibit was the first (after scores of other venues) that managed to present my work exactly how I’d always imagined it could be.
My new sculpture “Back from the Market with Mom” is the type of sculpture that I’ve wanted to create for years, but I had always been too afraid to do so. It would take a long time and be very expensive to create, no client was offering to pay for it, nowhere to display it, no one sponsoring it… but I finally just decided to do it anyway. It will always be one of my favourites. And this summer the New York Times published a photo of it in their Arts section and called me talented. I didn’t need an “attaboy” to be proud of the sculpture, but it helped me realise that your best work is the stuff that comes from your heart.
- Where has your job taken you?
Physically: So many places… Australia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, the UK, the Middle East, and across the US and Canada.
Metaphorically: As a visual artist I never thought I’d be in mainstream media, and yet I was asked to guest-judge a reality show, make props for Tina Fey, and produce a series of videos for Warner Brothers. I never expected to have truckloads artwork touring cities all around the world, or to have published nearly a dozen’s children’s books, or to have created personalised gifts for celebrities and billionaires.
- If you could give advice to someone who wants to pursue their passion but might be scared, what would it be?
Just do it. Don’t wait for an invitation… just start doing it, and then the world will see what you’re capable of, and you’ll be successful. Passion, like art, has to come from within, so do what you are passionate about. Draw, dance, build, whatever. I didn’t wake up one-morning building 50,000 piece sculptures; I’ve gained all of my technical building knowledge by building over and over all my life. Keep creating, and don’t grow up!
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Did anyone ever tell you that your dream job was ridiculous, unachievable, a waste of time? This story and others show us that it is not the case. Yes, you will have to work harder than you ever have before, but you will also enjoy yourself and want to go to work every day.
Don’t let your dreams float away like a balloon on a windy day. Believe in yourself and go for it.
If you want help developing your passions or finding new ones, then head over to PassionDig where we believe in running the marathon with you, every step of the way.
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