MEET THE MAKER: THE BUILDER BEHIND THE VISION
Interview by Giorgio D'Albano
58th episode: 🇺🇸 KIMBERLY GIFFEN Kimberly Giffen
Where are you from and what did you study?
From Washington State, USA, I studied Engineering
What do you do, what job do you do now?
I have four children so much of my time revolves around parenting. To fit my kids schedule and give more time to build I work part time with a Lego STEM program and am a substitute teacher flexible hours are a win at this stage of life
What inspired you to become a LEGO builder?
This is where I ask when was I not a Lego builder? I was building my own creation up until I left for university and jumped back into it when I started building with my children
Where do you get inspiration for your creations?
So for many of creations in the years that I was growing my skills I took requests from my kids. I would build things for them to play with. Later going to Lego shows became a source. I remember spending one show set up near a giant bathhouse from "Spirited Away" and I went home and started researching Japanese Architecture. I also am inspired by real life, I look at things and often think about how I would build them in Lego
What is your favorite LEGO work that you have built so far?
Favorite was the Silver Pavilion. It's an architectural replica so it had the challenge of trying to get the details just right. It also used a favorite part of my oversized greenhouse. I took the Koi pond mechanism out of one build and added it to the next. It had me playing with so many new techniques
What has been the most complex challenge you have faced as a LEGO builder?
Most challenging was Aerith's house from Final Fantasy VII. For those not familiar its an oasis in an industrial slum. There are rocks, pipes, waterfall, rickety bridges, scaffold, a garden all in this small carved out area. The house itself has video game architecture the components come together at odd angles. So an octagon shaped main level, with a wrap around porch, High pitch roof with triangular dormers, a roof deck, intersected by a hexagonal shaped tower. It was one of those if I couldn't get the roof right I wasn't going to build it. A pop culture build isn't a build to take too many creative liberties I wanted to get it right for the fans
Do you have a favorite technique or a special method that you use in your constructions?
I love technique that allows one to break the grid. Take a rectangular building turn it 30 degrees it automatically looks and feels different then when straight on viewing. Using curves and angles. My goal is to have lines that draw the viewer into the creation. I also use a plethora of plant parts. So that is another layer having the landscape with a building softens the lines of the build. Rounded plates are probably one on my favorite elements It can allow one to create features that are curved
What themes or subjects do you like to explore the most in your creations?
Try everything, is that a theme? So while I favor botanicals I really enjoy the challenge of trying something new. Currently I am itching to build a pirate ship for the simple reason that I haven't built one yet
What is the largest or most ambitious project you have ever made?
My space colony has been my largest and most ambitious. First I had never built a science fiction build so everything was new to me. First time building an air lock, a mech bay, mechs, a rover, a small space craft, radar dishes, science labs and aliens. I had thought no one expects me to build space so lets build space. It was large 5ft (150cm) wide, 2ft(60cm) deep and 2.5ft(75cm) tall. The building was a decagon in shape the geometry of the plates didn't quite work out but it was close enough for a building that would be open in the front. The domed roof was a lot of trial and error, original attempts at geodesic domes just didn't look right, in the end invested in technic joiners for the large dome that was more like spokes of a wheel. It was also a build that showed well in the low light showing. I had to create diagrams as to how to incorporate lighting throughout the model. There were definitely features with technical challenges I think I spent a solid week figuring out how to build a motorized elevator
What advice would you give to someone who wants to become an expert LEGO builder?
Two things, first start with a set remix and second put in the time. Take a set, build the set, learn how the parts go work together, take apart and build something different. Having limited parts teaches you to try different work arounds. The other part is it takes time. If I built a tree the next tree I would try to make it slightly better, the next tree better still and so on. I am still absorbing techniques to make the next tree better. It takes time to grow skills and while I came really far in the 5 years that I have been part of the adult building community I had a decade before that of building at home with my kids. In that time I would experiment, if I didn't know how to do something I would look up what others have done
Link Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/people/k_giffen_creates/
Link Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/k_giffen_creates/
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