Yin and Yang. Harmony.
Keanu and I built this the first summer he was home from college. It was a time of adjustment, and a time of challenges. In my heart everything was the same. In his heart he was ready to spread his wings and fly. I would love to say we handled that time with grace, but it looked more like a monumental battle. We decided before he came home we wanted to build another MOC, but we were not prepared for all the emotional changes that would take place. We fought so much that my husband had to step in and sit us both down for a good talking to, and a bit of bribery in the form of a new LEGO set each if we would stop arguing and learn to work together in a new way.
Looking back it is really interesting that we designed this build at that time. Through it we found harmony, we found peace. Keanu will always be my son, and I will always be his mom, but now we focus on just being best friends. This build will always mark that turning point for us.
This MOC was challenging, because we wanted to create a land that was in the shape of Yin and Yang split through the middle with a river, but other than the change of seasons, perfectly symmetrical on both sides.
We chose to have one side spring and the other fall. These changes were shown primarily in the foliage and within the garden.
A bridge connected the scenes and was a very difficult creation. Due to the curve in the water it had to be positioned at an angle which always tests the limits of our patience. The arch that we desired in the bridge provided another challenge, but after many prototypes Keanu was able to achieve another masterpiece.
Other than the changes to the garden and positioning of the wildlife, because they had a mind of their own, every other piece was a perfect mirrored image of its counterpart. This was difficult! We would place a piece on one side, and then copy it on the other. Sounds simple, but since the mountains ran the opposite way of each other we confused ourselves many times.
A small cabin lay nestled within the mountains, and our local farmer built up a lovely garden, chicken coop, and a layer of rice fields.
We loved everything about this build.
