Brickasso turns Lego into an art form

Most of us will remember the hours of fun spent as a child piecing together blocks of Lego into giant spacecraft, or hopping around in agony having trodden on a wayward brick.

Now an adult has turned his boyhood hobby into an art form - and he gets paid for it too.

Nathan Sawaya's obsession began in 1978 when he received a Lego set for Christmas. He never gave up the classic toy, even while studying to be a lawyer.

But, six years ago, the 31-year-old decided to give up the rat race to become a full-time Lego artist in Manhattan.

'I never imagined I could work with Lego in a job - it just seemed too much fun,' he said. 'My first piece was a self-portrait made of Lego - because I am a narcissist.'

But now Mr Sawaya creates anything and his work sells for about £5,000.

The artist has created hundreds of pieces using his favourite building blocks and, three years ago, he won a global search to become the Lego company's own 'master model builder'.

None of the bricks is cut to size and he earns a crust mostly from 3D sculptures and oversized portraits.

His favourites are a huge black-and-white self-portrait and a Monopoly box. 'There is nothing you can't make out of Lego,' he said. Including, it would seem, a living.