Today we’re thrilled to showcase a special interview with Azurekingfisher, a talented LEGO artist from Japan whose creations blend geometry, color, and motion into a distinctive aesthetic. Many of these works were recently featured in the Masterpiece Gallery at LEGO House, so prepare for a journey through creativity, form, and artistic philosophy.
Color Choice
Ann: Hello and welcome to BrickNerd! It’s wonderful to explore these remarkable creations with you.
Azurekingfisher: I am very honored to be asked to participate in this interview. Thank you.
Ann: First of all, your sense of color is exceptional. Your “LEGO Flower” piece, for example, practically lets us smell spring in the air. Is your color selection a long, deliberate process, or is it more of an intuitive habit?
Azurekingfisher: I’ve been familiar with LEGO bricks since I was a child, but I began building in 2013. The “LEGO Flower” that BrickNerd noticed was made in 2014, so it’s a very memorable piece from when I first started building. At the time, I didn’t have many LEGO parts, so I would disassemble existing sets to build my own. I remember being very excited when I came up with the idea of using the wheels of Cinderella’s carriage as the center of the flower and clipping tooth parts all around it.
This flower and another flower (Chrysanthemum) were featured in Mike Doyle’s famous book Beautiful LEGO Wild!, and I think that’s when my direction in building artistic LEGO pieces was solidified.
Ten years later, in 2024, I held a solo exhibition. Over the course of those 10 years, the number of available colors for tooth and clip parts had increased. This time, I rebuilt the “LEGO Flower” with 35 different petal combinations all in different colors. My color choices are intuitive and whimsical. The moment I hold the parts in my hands and arrange them, I instinctively choose what to use based on questions like, “Do I like it? Do I dislike it?” or “Is it beautiful? Is it ugly?”
At the time, the transparent orange tooth parts felt just right, so I lined up three of them in the center. If I were to build it now, the color combinations and arrangements might be completely different.
Building Style
Ann: You create incredible patterns—like your “Garden” series—using small LEGO details. How would you describe your personal artistic style, and how did it develop?
Azurekingfisher: The four plates in “Garden of the Four Seasons” are a series of works, each representing a garden in spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
I created these plates using 32×32 stud baseplates, white turntables, 1×1 round tiles, and 1×2 grill tiles, arranging geometric patterns and decorating them with plant parts. I’ve even received comments like, “The geometric patterns look like lace.”
My paternal grandmother was a Japanese dressmaking instructor and also held a Kimekomi doll instructor’s license. My maternal grandmother loved to knit beautiful shawls out of ultra-fine yarn and give them as gifts. My paternal aunt was skilled in Western dressmaking and knitting, and would hand-knit sweaters for me every winter. My maternal aunt opened a small French embroidery class and taught students.
I never had formal training in handicrafts myself, but I grew up surrounded by high-quality handmade work—Western dressmaking, Japanese dressmaking, embroidery, knitting—so perhaps the patterns and methods of these crafts naturally embedded themselves in my memory.
Ann: How did that style manifest in your garden MOCs?
Azurekingfisher: The four plates in “Garden of the Four Seasons” are a series of works, each representing a garden in spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
I built “Spring Garden” in February 2018 (left) and “Summer Garden” in July 2019 (right), but I left them alone for a long time because I just couldn’t get a feel for autumn and winter.
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After deciding to hold a solo exhibition in 2024, I revisited “Spring Garden” and “Summer Garden” in the fall of 2023. Then, at the end of November, I suddenly finished “Autumn Garden” (left), and just two days later, completed “Winter Garden” (right).
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I’m pleased with the result: a harmonious series that can be enjoyed individually or displayed together. There’s a gap of more than four years between “Summer Garden” and “Autumn Garden,” but I believe that time was necessary. If I had rushed to make “Autumn” and “Winter,” they likely wouldn’t have turned out well.
Part 37195 (Magenta), used in “Autumn Garden,” was only released in 2022. Parts 32607 (Bright Light Blue) and 24866 (Bright Light Yellow), used in “Winter Garden,” were released in 2023. I believe a piece can be completed only when the timing of the image in my mind and the release of the parts align just right.
Geometry as Art
Ann: Many of your MOCs—such as your ‘Spheres’ and ‘Square & Cube’—transform geometry into art. Can you talk about your approach to these works?
Azurekingfisher: The “Spheres” use part 2417 (Plant, Leaves 6×5). These builds are distinctive and “not computer-manageable.”
“HALO”
The “Square & Cube” builds, on the other hand, are computer-manageable, and I think they have a geometric pattern with a traditional LEGO brick feel. Connecting arch parts and decorative fence parts while changing stud direction is like solving a puzzle—fun and profound—but since they weren’t included in the Masterpiece Gallery exhibit, I won’t discuss them in too much detail.
Ann: Do you have a philosophy or symbolism guiding your work with shapes like spheres and wreaths?
Azurekingfisher: The “Spheres” and “Wreaths” are my unique, original builds using only part 2417. Using the flexible nature of that part, I construct geometric, three-dimensional structures using only stud connections, with no adhesives. If you understand that a sphere is a regular or semi-regular polyhedron, and wreaths are regular polygons, it becomes easier to see the patterns.
Regular polygons in wreaths: “From triangle to hexadecagon”
Discovering these patterns was a long process of trial and error. Rather than managing the structure in software or calculating it on paper, it was literally born from repeated hand-assembly, demolition, and reassembly.
Of the 14 studs on the leaf element, some have strong joints and others weak ones. The flexibility also varies by color. Since 2014, I have built many spheres using different assembly methods. I’ve made three complete sphere series so far, each time refining my techniques as more color variations for part 2417 became available. The resulting builds are gorgeous and precise.
2017 Version
2020 Version
2024 Version
LEGO and Origami
Ann: You’ve mentioned an affinity between your LEGO spheres and origami polyhedrons. Can you tell us more about that connection?
Sonobe-style unit origami (from 3 to 60 sheets)
Azurekingfisher: I feel a deep affinity between Sonobe-style origami units, invented in Japan, and the 2417 spheres and wreaths I’ve built. Sonobe units are created by folding a single piece of origami into a unit, then combining multiple identical units into various polyhedrons. If you undo the connections, they return to individual units.
When I was in elementary school, I was obsessed with Sonobe units and made many of them. This summer, I recreated those memories:
Sonobe units are colorful and varied in shape. They’re light and stable, so they can even be arranged into kusudama. When I transformed the 2417 spheres and wreaths into mobile sculptures, I may have unconsciously drawn from those childhood experiences.
Birds and Other Winged Creatures
Ann: Your “LEGO Birds” and other winged creatures are breathtaking. What draws you to this theme?
Azurekingfisher: Thank you. I’ve always been drawn to winged creatures—not just birds. As a child, I loved watching wild birds in the garden and owned a bird field guide. I adored winged beings in picture books, fairy tales, and myths. Being somewhat frail, I think I longed for the freedom of flight.
When I began creating, part 2417 came in only a few colors, so I combined it with the smaller plant leaves part 2423 (Plant, Leaves 4×3) to create small tabletop birds. The Indian peacocks, swans, and flamingos in the Masterpiece Gallery came from a sudden inspiration in summer 2015 when I realized that the half-arches (part 6005) look like a bird’s head and neck! Those were built in a single week.
Larger birds such as my Owl were built in 2018. Their wings are beautiful but fragile—too fragile to hang.
In 2019, I created my first mobile bird sculpture, White Bird, built with minimized body weight so it could be suspended. Its wings use only part 2417, finding strong connections without glue. The parts flex softly and cast feather-like shadows.
From there, I expanded wing shapes, leading to these builds:
Kingfisher
Big Fire Bird
Eagle
Griffin
Pegasus
Ann: You clearly made these with great love, didn’t you?
Azurekingfisher: I love both real and imaginary winged creatures. I would be delighted if, someday, inspiration strikes again and a new winged being is born.
Masterpiece Gallery, LEGO House & Billund
Ann: Your exhibition in the Masterpiece Gallery is an extraordinary achievement. What was that experience like?
Azurekingfisher: Exhibiting in the Masterpiece Gallery was an unexpected honor. When I received the email in early March, I could hardly believe it. Even a month after setup, it still feels like a dream. Reading on the LEGO House website that “this year’s exhibition pushes the boundaries of what’s possible with LEGO bricks” was very humbling.
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The 6.5 months from March until installation were intense: display planning, discussions, building, layout decisions, shipping, and on-site setup. Both LEGO House and I faced many challenges. To hang mobile sculptures, LEGO House drilled holes in the ceiling of the showcase and attached a grid net. Hooks allowed micro-adjustments, perfectly aligning seven mobile sculptures as planned. I am deeply grateful for their detailed support.
Grid-like net fixed to the top of the showcase
The finished display isn’t a random collection—it forms a cohesive world. On the ground, the “Bird Sanctuary” features peacocks, swans, and flamingos, symbolizing peaceful coexistence. Above them, the sun, planets, White Bird, and Kingfisher mobile sculptures float, representing harmony with the universe. I’m proud to have created such a conceptual display in the Masterpiece Gallery.
Immediately after setup was completed
My first visit to LEGO House felt strangely familiar and liberating. During AFOL Day, I built a small house in the huge pool of LEGO they have there to play with. Diving into a sea of mixed parts in search of unknown possibilities was irreplaceable. Unlike following instructions, freeform building nurtures creativity. I could have played there forever.
A tiny house improvised from brick in the LEGO pool
Billund was green and serene. Short walks revealed pinecones, acorns, and red berries—autumn deepening. I spotted a building resembling set 345—thrilling! The clear sky, crisp air, and quiet atmosphere were deeply relaxing.
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I focused on setting up the exhibit and didn’t visit LEGOLAND, but it was a fulfilling journey. I hope to return to Billund someday.
Closing Thoughts
Ann: Thank you for sharing your creativity with our readers. We wish you continued success and look forward to your future masterpieces!
Azurekingfisher: Thank you for the opportunity to reflect on my creative journey. My work has always been like gazing up at the sparkling surface from the bottom of a still lake. For many years, creating simply meant posting to social media. I never belonged to a LUG and have attended only a few events. Displaying in the Masterpiece Gallery is a wonderful experience, but I believe deeper exploration suits me best. I am returning to the bottom of the still lake—my creative home.
What else would you like to see built with LEGO leaf elements? Let us know in the comments below.
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