Jane Gibbons-Eyre
About you
What is your name?
Jane Gibbons-Eyre
Which country are you from?
Australia
How old are you?
53 years old
About your LEGO passion
How did you get into building with LEGO bricks, especially building your own creations?
For 26 years as a mum of boys I always had plenty of LEGO bricks in the house but only ever tidied them up. Then in 2021, my family and I were watching LEGO Masters Australia on TV when my son Josh said he would like to apply for the show. I thought it looked like fun so I said I would apply with him. The trouble was I had never built anything with LEGO bricks before. I began experimenting with bricks and found LEGO bricks to be a great way to connect with my son as well as express my creativity. I was very inspired by the highly artistic animal builds of LEGO Masters contestant and season 3 winner Gus McLaren. I hadn’t realised that LEGO products could be such a beautiful art medium, and could convey such feeling. While we didn’t end up being cast for the show, that didn’t dampen our enthusiasm. I received my first LEGO set for my 49th birthday and was hooked.
What kind of creations do you love building the most, and why?
I have always loved drawing people, so I have challenged myself to use LEGO bricks to sculpt them instead. I really enjoy the difficult task of building characters that convey story and emotion.
As an art student in my teens, I was very inspired by the works of Australian impressionist painters Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin. When the LEGO Ideas Starry Night set was released in 2022 it motivated me to try interpreting a famous painting into a LEGO artwork myself, but push the third dimension even further. I wanted to be able to build the main character fully 3D, and really embed him in the environment. I decided to build the iconic Australian painting by Frederick McCubbin “Down On His Luck”. I find the Australian colour palette to be uniquely beautiful, and many of the newer LEGO colours work beautifully into this palette. I entered it into Bricktober, my state’s LEGO exhibition, where it won both People’s Choice and Exhibitors’ choice awards. People loved to see Australia represented in LEGO form.
Josh and I really enjoy building Australian flora and fauna together. I’m very inspired by the natural bushland around my home. I see a tree and imagine how I would “paint” it with the LEGO colour palette. My favourite parts are all small. I really like the 2x1 curved wedge and the 3mm rigid hose, as they are so useful for creating organic shapes. However, one of my most commonly used parts is the simple 1x2 plate. I’ve never finished a Minifigure-scale MOC, as I prefer larger scales where I can incorporate more detail and get creative with parts.
If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring LEGO builders, what would it be?
Find a subject to build that you are passionate about, and observe it closely – pay attention to shapes and details. Study the techniques of other builders you admire, and notice the way unique parts are used to good effect. Experiment with putting different parts together until something works and looks right. It can be a long process!
How does it feel to have your work exhibited here at LEGO House - Home of the Brick?
Since I started to build and learned about the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery my highest goal has been to display here. I felt this goal had very little chance of ever being realised however, so when I received the invitation, I was amazed and exceedingly thrilled! It is an incredible honour and privilege.
What’s next for you in your LEGO journey—any upcoming projects or dreams?
My “Shearing The Rams” build is only the second painting I have sculpted in LEGO bricks, so I have many more famous artworks I would like to build, both Australian and from around the world.
Do you have a personal LEGO portfolio website or social media profile that you can share?
My Instagram profile is https://www.instagram.com/jane.gibbonseyre/.
About your LEGO creation(s) on display
Title
Shearing The Rams – Tom Roberts
Can you describe your model and what it represents?
This is a 3D interpretation of the iconic painting “Shearing The Rams” by Australian impressionist artist Tom Roberts, celebrating hard-working Aussie wool farmers. I chose to build this particular painting as a challenge, as it involves extreme forced perspective. Each character is a slightly different scale, and the architectural lines strongly recede into the distance. The difficulty of moving from the largely two-dimensional background to the three-dimensional foreground made achieving believable forced perspective even trickier.
A keen eye will notice when comparing my build to the original painting that one of the closer characters is missing, with only his shadow remaining. This was a deliberate choice of mine. I recently lost my son, and his absence has left a giant hole in my heart and life. I wanted that hole to be represented in my model. Everyone is precious and valuable. Everyone. Including you.
How long did it take you to build?
Approximately 160 hours.
Approximately how many LEGO elements did you use?
I have no idea!
Are there any hidden details, Easter eggs, or techniques used that fans should look out for?
When interpreting the painting into 3D I had to create details for areas that are hidden in the original painting. My favourite of these details is some little piles of sheep droppings in the pen.
