I was born an engineer. Specifically, I was born a software developer. Or at least that’s what it felt like. I wrote my first piece of code at age 10 on an Apple ][+, and I’ve been programming ever since. I like details. I like figuring out algorithms and solving problems. I like binary — not floating point. I am, to put it mildly, very “left brained.”
Then I married a graphic designer. Her entire job involves being creative. Early on in our relationship, her creativity and “right brain-ness” started rubbing off on me. Maybe I need some kind of “creative outlet.” But what?
Earlier this year, my wife mentioned that she was going to do a craft show with her mom. Both of them planned to make some stuff and sell it. And I could too. But is there anything that I could try making and selling? One day, the answer hit me: LEGO®! I could build MOCs (“My Own Creations”) with LEGO® bricks and try to sell them. Would anyone buy them? Who knows… but it was worth a shot.
So with my wife’s encouragement, that’s what I did. I spent the last few months designing and building things for the craft show. Here’s an example:
That’s a completely original creation. I didn’t have any instructions — I designed it and built it myself. I really enjoyed the experience — and I think I understand why. I needed to create designs that look cool. That “fed” the right side of my brain. But I also needed to create designs that fit together, stayed together, and don’t cost too much. That “fed” the left side of my brain. So I basically found an art form that needed both creativity and engineering — perfect!
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