In addition to the parking fee admission, there is a special ArborEvenings admission price of $5 per person. Head on an inspirational and moving journey at Nature Connects® — an award-winning, record-breaking exhibition of art made with LEGO® bricks. Depending on the size of the sculpture, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion. For more information about the Arboretum or Nature Connects, please visit ncarboretum.org or call 828-665-2492. All of the sculptures are steel-reinforced, fully glued and then coated with a special UV-protectant lacquer to protect the plastic from the rays of the sun. Sean is the artist behind the Arboretum’s newest exhibit Nature Connects®, Art with LEGO® Bricks, an outdoor exhibit … When and how did you get into building Lego sculptures? They’re also bolted down to the ground to protect against weather and vandalism. Visitors to ArborEvenings can sip and stroll through the Arboretum’s beautiful gardens and discover the illuminated LEGO Brick sculptures while listening to live music. When outdoors on the Arboretum grounds, guests are encouraged to wear face coverings whenever they are unable to socially distance themselves from others. From I-26, take exit 33; from I-40, use exit #47 (Farmers Market). Taking a break from designing additional Nature Connects sculptures and personal projects “that are pushing the boundaries of what [he] thought was possible with the Lego brick as an art medium,” Kenney spoke with Xpress about planning, creating and transporting the exhibit, plus his hopes for people who experience it during the COVID-19 pandemic. Creating a spindly little nose and paper-thin wings built out of chunky Lego pieces seemed like a wonderful challenge and, if done right, something that would look amazing. The traveling exhibit was delayed by the pandemic for its planned May opening. Even as a young child, drawing and designing were a big part of my life. All the sculptures were built in my private studio in Brooklyn between 2011-2020. Thank you. She says with all the sculptures combines there are about 500,000 bricks! Having our grandchildren visit again and since they love “LEGO’s” we were excited to visit the Lego Exhibit at the Arboretum. Some of our larger and more detailed sculptures can take nearly a year to design and build. Daytime admission to Nature Connects is free; however, a standard $16 parking fee applies to non-Arboretum members. The Brooklyn-based artist’s Nature Connects exhibit contains over half a million Lego bricks and took approximately 4,700 hours to design and build. St. Fullerton is hosting Green Scene this weekend, and with that, they are going to debut their three month bonsai exhibit. Composed of nearly 500,000 LEGO bricks, Nature Connects includes 16 nature-inspired sculptures constructed on a larger-than-life scale by renowned artist Sean Kenney. Visitors to The North Carolina Arboretum will enjoy a fun-filled outdoor adventure this summer and fall at the Arboretum’s newest exhibit, Nature Connects, Art with LEGO Bricks, on display throughout the Arboretum’s gardens through October 23rd. Did you buy the bricks directly from Lego or somewhere else? The self-guided tour meanders through the gardens, which begin outside of the Baker Exhibit Center. Others are inspired by watching nature videos online. The North Carolina Arboretum welcomes back the popular traveling exhibit, Nature Connects ®: Art with LEGO ® Bricks by Sean Kenney. He also reviews films for ashevillemovies.com and is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association (SEFCA) and North Carolina Film Critics Association (NCFCA). Whitney Smith is from the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. Xpress needs help, too. They have some nice hiking trails, a nice center with gift shop, info etc. Each sculpture can have a different process. LEGO® Exhibit at NC Arboretum Combines Education & Entertainment. Installing the show is quite a huge feat. Experience: “Nature Connects: Art with LEGO Bricks” at The North Carolina Arboretum What we tried (with pricing): We chose a beautiful late summer day to head to the Arboretum, but don’t worry – the exhibit runs through Nov. 1, so you have plenty of time to check it out as the seasons shift. Comments are moderated. Among the fanciful sculptures on display are a 5-foot-tall colorful peacock, a giant dragonfly, a bonsai tree and a massive monarch butterfly. Not only is the sculpture incredibly large and gravity-defying, but I took the trouble to model and construct the details of every feather, down to the textures of the quills. Some of the largest sculptures, when crated, weigh over 500 pounds! It’s important to me that each individual sculpture attempt to illustrate the “connections” found in nature, whether a predator-prey relationship, mankind’s relationship with nature or even the parent-child relationships you see in the wild. I have to purchase my Lego pieces. Fundamentally, the show is about connections. For example, the design of the hummingbird sculpture just “popped” in my head the minute someone said “hummingbird.” I immediately had this vision of something that you could actually walk under, suspended as if by magic. What was involved in the planning and creation of the Nature Connects sculptures? See here for our terms of service. I’ve been doing this professionally for over 15 years, but I’ve always loved to create. I’m proud that my sculptures are able to be on display for people to enjoy during this time. 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