The Art of the Brick

84

85

arrivinG at

ConJunCtion

JunCtion

Yellow Mask

To me, the face in this sculpture is Will, Courtney’s

son. This piece was done in about 2008, and the

expression on Will’s face is just how he always looks

to me.

When I first met Courtney, Will was about 4 and I was

30. Despite my age, I hadn’t really spent a lot of time

with kids. I’d been a student, I’d been a lawyer, and

I had just declared to the world that I’d become an

artist. But I wasn’t a father or uncle, and few of my

friends in the city had started families. I was leading a

simple and self-indulgent life of bachelor bliss when

along comes this beautiful woman and her three

equally beautiful children, Delaney, Blair, and Will.

Early in our relationship, I watched Will while

Courtney ran some errands. The last time I’d spent

86

any real time with a four-year-old, I was probably

one myself. So what did I like doing when I was

that age? I recalled that I really liked Schoolhouse

Rock!. So Will and I sat down and watched back-to-

back-to-back episodes. We sang “Three Is a Magic

Number” and “A Noun Is a Person, Place, or Thing.”

We learned about the words and, but, and or during

“Conjunction Junction.” We oohed and aahed at

the cigar-chomping, pool hall–hustling fat cat in

“Naughty Number Nine.” After a couple of hours

thedoor opened, and Will rushed out and said,

“Mom, I know what an adjective is!”

I was feeling pretty good about my parenting skills

right then. I was thinking that, maybe with enough

DVD box sets, I could really master this thing. I had

alot yet to learn, and Will taught me so much.

Ten years on, it takes more than a rerun of a ’70s

kids’ program to hold Will’s attention. He lives with

us in Los Angeles and goes to high school, plays

soccer, talks in monosyllabic grunts, and does all the

usual teenage boy stuff. He’s also a pretty good artist

himself, and he loves all things film. Unsurprisingly, he

holds no interest in LEGO creations whatsoever.

87

88