Stay-at-Home-Mom of the Month: Alice Finch

This afternoon, I took the kids to see Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary at the Seattle International Film Festival.  Rather, the kids took me to see it.  They saw it Saturday with John, and today was my turn to take them.*  The Boy is a huge KFOL (Kid Fan of Lego), and along the way, I found that I have warm spot in my heart for these little plastic bricks.

One of the AFOLs (Adult Fan of Lego) featured in the film is Alice Finch.  She is from the Seattle area, and was at the screening.  She is famous at BrickCon and has won awards for her humungous Hogwarts from Harry Potter and Rivendell from Lord of the Rings.  (Check out her flickr page.)

I took these pictures at BrickCon in Seattle last fall.  Sorry this one of Hogwarts is blurry.  It is hard to get a clear shot with all of the people there.

Alice Finch's Rivendell

Rivendell

After the movie, I asked what she did before becoming an expert Lego builder, thinking she might have been an architect or engineer.  She was a middle school teacher, and her father was a builder.  She learned how to read blueprints growing up.

"I am a stay-at-home-mom," she said.  "I build after my kids go to bed until I crash."  She started building when she was ten, but started again when her kids got interested in Lego.

Alice's son, Thorin, was in the movie.  His line: "My mom is the best builder."

I am giving the first Stay-at-Home-Mom of the Month award to Alice.  She seems to have found a great creative outlet for the limited downtime of motherhood.  I admire her stick-to-itiveness to create projects on such a large scale, and then share them with other people--both kids and adults.  Lots of moms work on projects, but these are impressive.

I imagine it takes some coin to build a 400,000 piece design (Hogwarts) and a 200,000 piece design (Rivendell).  I imagine she has spent lots of money on these projects.  To which I say:  Huzzah!  If she comes from a family with that kind of disposable income, why not use the funds to create art, something she can share with other kids and families and bring delight?  She could be buying shoes or jewelry or remodeling her house for the 8th time.  A giant Lego Hogwarts?  Way cooler.

While I am sure her kids love her magnificent Hogwarts, I hope it finds a permanent home where it can be on display, like The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida, or Legoland in California.

* I have no problem with seeing the same movie two days in a row.  I saw Strictly Ballroom two days in a row at the Chicago International Film Festival back in the 1990s.