Renown Lego artist Joseph Kraham creates unique works one piece at a time, sought out by pro sports teams, affluent galleries

Renown Lego artist creates unique works one piece at a time

Joseph Kraham sought out by pro sports teams, affluent galleries

BY TIM FARLEY

Joseph Kraham was working as an engineer when his dog’s death set him on an artistic path that has proven to be rewarding and lucrative.

Kraham, one of four brothers in his family, had played with Legos all of his life so when his beloved canine died he decided to use Lego pieces and created a mosaic as a memento in honor of his dog.

But that was just the beginning.

Kraham posted a photograph of the mosaic online and before he knew it, people were requesting him to do Lego artwork for them. In 2014, Kraham received a call from the Cartoon Network asking him to put together a 4-foot by 4foot mosaic for their company. It was the first paying gig he received, the Edmond artist said.

Since then, he’s created about 70 pieces including artwork for the Houston Texans football team, Formula 1, Houston Rockets basketball team, Houston Astro baseball team and

various galas, schools and churches. A special project was completed for the charitable foundation led by NFL star J.J. Watts, who formerly played for the Texans. Another client is Rackspace, the world’s largest cloud computing service company.

Kraham is the only artist in the world that offers this exclusive service and beautiful acrylic artwork. His service also includes custom commissions including famous artwork, pop artwork, abstract and modern works. All works of art are unique and are not reproduced.

The extraordinary artwork doesn’t happen by chance. Kraham uses his computer skills by using a computer program he wrote which assists him with each piece of artwork. He’s even created more colors than Legos offers, which numbers about 40. Since beginning his newfound path, Kraham has put together about 300 different colors with various shades of all the primary colors. Inside his home studio, Kraham has a rack of almost 500 cans of paint and 500,000 pieces of pre-painted Legos.

After he’s created one of his many masterpieces, Kraham is usually afflicted with sore thumbs after putting all the Lego pieces together, he said, half-jokingly.

“Simplicity is what makes each piece unique, ” he said. “When people see my artwork, they can see it took months to create.

Currently, 10 pieces of Kraham’s Legos artwork are on exhibit at the White Room Gallery in The Hamptons in New York. As an engineer for a medical company, Kraham doesn’t rely solely on his artwork to provide income for his wife, three children and their Irish wolfhound, but having that

much of his artwork in an affluent New York gallery doesn’t hurt. It also allows him to work on charity pieces that are close to his heart.

“Absolutely, I’m going to keep doing this, ” he said. “I love doing it. It’s most rewarding to finish a piece and get the approval from my kids. Winning shows and exhibitions is great, too. The wife is a tough customer. She provides constructive critique. ”

The average artwork pieces take more than 10 hours per square foot, Kraham said. In addition, there are more than 1,400 Lego pieces in a square foot of artwork, which limits the number of creations Kraham can do each year. On average, Kraham is able to create 10 pieces annually.

Because each Lego piece is painted, none of the Á

Meyers Young Audience Theatre at Oklahoma City University will host a two-hour fundraising preview June 15 of “Rushmore, ” a musical about America, four of its most notable presidents and their views on the nation.

The Meet the Composers fundraiser will be held 6-8 p.m. at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club. The musical is being written for children in first through fifth grades.

The evening will include a unique fundraising opportunity for people to sponsor a Lego tile with their donation, and signatures will be incorporated in Lego artist Joseph Kraham’s completed work of art that depicts a one-of-a-kind Mount Rushmore sculpture. The artwork will be unveiled at the Nov. 22, 2022 world premiere of “Rushmore. ” Lego tiles can be purchased for $20 each.

A group of singers, accompanied by a pianist, will perform a series of songs from “Rushmore” during the June 15 fundraiser. The commissioned musical is being written by professors Jan McDaniel and David Herendeen.

“Their directive was to write a play about America, its history, its amazing constitutional authors and its lasting impact. The result is Rushmore where you see emblazoned four presidents who come alive and observe their influence on America, ” Meyers said.

The four presidents are George Washington who speaks on leadership, Abraham Lincoln on freedom, Thomas Jefferson on education and Theodore Roosevelt on world markets.

More than 60,000 Oklahoma schoolchildren have attended theatre productions commissioned by the Meyers Theatre since 2005. The goal of the Meyers Young Audience Theatre is to produce plays that focus on the United States, its constitution, Bill of Rights, Declaration of Independence, presidents and its history.

Sponsorship opportunities for the theatre range from $500 to $50,000. For more information, contact Sandy Meyers at Smeyers5@cox.net. All contributions are tax deductible.

pieces are glued to the baseplate. According to Kraham, a small mallet is used to tap each piece into its spot. Pieces will not come out and require the use of pliers to pull out. For cleaning, Kraham said his customers should use a soft brush to clean and remove debris. Kraham also advises his customers to keep the artwork in a climate controlled environment and out of direct sunlight. Each piece of artwork is protected with UV varnish to maintain the integrity of the creation.

For more information about Kraham and his artwork, visit www.josephkraham.com. n

The Oklahoma History Center (OHC) is where Oklahoma history lives and is the final resting place of thousands of artifacts that represent her past.

The History Center building has just celebrated its 15th year in its current location and is an architectural masterpiece. Five permanent galleries and other selected areas within the building present exhibits and collections that can only be seen there. Á