Chris Yurkus shows off a batch of freshly baked Brew Biscuits, hot from the oven at his Holden home.
HOLDEN — Liz Puleo teaches music at Mountview Middle School.
But she is playing a different tune Wednesday nights on the Fox show LEGO Masters.
“My students are aware of my LEGO obsession,” Puleo said. “And as for fame, they still know me as their choral teacher, and I don’t think it fazes them at all.”
But there is a lesson in those LEGO bricks, especially among the estimated 250,000-plus she owns.
“The students’ reactions have varied,” she said. “Some are very interested and impressed, while others are clearly sick of hearing me talk about LEGO.
“For teaching opportunities, I use it more to show that we are complex humans with vast interests. A choral director doesn’t exactly seem like someone who is ‘into’ LEGO, whereas a STEM teacher or art teacher would make more sense in their minds,” Puleo said, adding “Artistic expression comes in many forms, and LEGO is a great outlet.”
Puleo started her LEGO connection early.
“I’ve been around LEGO my entire life. My older brother was a huge LEGO fan from a young age, and I grew up with a basement full of it. While I didn’t play with it often, I was always in awe of the sets, and what he could do to create his own world.
“When I had children of my own, I started playing with it more and building for them. When COVID happened, I turned to LEGO as therapy and started building more for myself than for my kids,” Puleo said.
“This is also when I met lots of other adult fans of LEGO online and discovered the adult world of LEGO and conventions with My Own Creations (MOC). The LEGO group had also started coming out with their ‘adults welcome’ line of products, from mosaics to large intricate sets with motors and complicated build techniques which not only interested me, but also my husband.”
The show presents teams of LEGO Masters with challenges, such as “Jurass-brick World” or “Ready To Launch,” but each team has its own take on the best build.
The same holds true for her other builds.
“My approach to a project varies, from what bricks I have available to what is the purpose of the project. Sometimes it’s for fun, sometimes for function, and others are for show,” Puleo said.
“My inspirations have come from my children and my own passions, to emulating what others have done and trying to make it my own. I’m a fan of fantasy and escape, along with lots of color and intricate detail,” she said.
In order to build, she needs LEGO bricks, and she has collected a few over the years. That 250,000 number can’t be too far off.
“If we’re talking sets,” she said, she owns “somewhere close to 500, and for individual bricks, there’s too many to count, but I would guess more than 250,000 between the sets and bulk lots that I have purchased over the years.”
Of her numerous builds, she said, “For me, my favorite has been the Jurassic World build from Episode 2 of the show. It was reminiscent of the Elsa Castle build that won me my first award, but also at a much higher skill level than I was previously able to do.”
Her current role on the the third season of the Fox show comes after an earlier connection.
“The casting producers actually reached out to me for season 2 after seeing some of my early MOC’s in forums online, and then I met former contestants at my first convention in Virginia. That is also where I proudly displayed my first large scale MOC of Elsa’s castle and showed that I had what it takes to compete for the title of LEGO Master,” she said.
“When season 3 was announced and they called, I didn’t think I had a chance, but I decided to go through with the audition process anyway,” Puleo said.
“After watching seasons 1 and 2, it was shocking to me that there were other moms out there who built for themselves. Growing up with my brother, and seeing the LEGO Movie, it was always portrayed as a man’s world.
“The show inspired me to build, and my thought was perhaps I could show that anyone could enjoy it and express themselves, no matter what age or what background. While I had only been building for a couple years, there was such a wealth of information available that I felt I could do anything,” Puleo said.
With builds that test the bounds of the possible, the show pits experienced builders against one another.
The most intense moment, Puleo said, was in episode 3, “watching our build on the bucking bull; that was insane. We had no idea if we’d survive level 1, never mind level 7,” an accomplishment that helped Puleo and teammate Erin Laundry move on in the competition.
“The tension was insurmountable, and the relief and pure joy after was felt by anyone who watched,” she said.
Getting national exposure catches the attention of people in the community.
“Feedback has been very positive. In Holden, it was tough to leave my students for two months to go and film, but I had a wonderful administration that supported me the entire time.
“There hasn’t been much change since the show aired. The school is only getting somewhat back to normal since COVID, so there’s not much fanfare or celebration. The timing of the show being on so late at night limits our abilities to do much at Mountview.
“When it was supposed to air in May, there were talks of maybe doing a whole school watch party, or some other community event, but the move to 9 p.m. in the fall made that not happen,” Puleo said.
In her hometown of Hudson, Puleo said, “it’s a different story. My son has been blossoming at school and is so honored that his principal has mentioned his mom not only in her newsletters home, but also on their morning announcements. The community message boards are aflutter with well wishes and positivity for representing our little town.”
Since she first saw her brother’s LEGO building, things have changed.
“LEGO is a complete lifestyle nowadays, from clothing, to music and yes, vacation.
“I’ve been touring the country going to different conventions and experiencing all LEGO has to offer. Our lives have been completely changed by LEGO, our Disney vacation was turned into a LEGO Land vacation, and our game room basement is now a LEGO Land basement,” Puleo said.
“Our family takes trips to the local LEGO store on new release days, and we are aware of all the goings on at headquarters in Denmark. I’ve made new friends around the world thanks to LEGO, and have been granted opportunities to meet all walks of life through our passions for this little brick.”
Her experiences have been positive, she said, with a little plastic brick whose name is an abbreviation of the two Danish words leg godt, meaning “play well.”
“I’m really thankful for the opportunity to share my love of LEGO with the world through this experience,” Puleo said.
“I’ve grown a greater appreciation for those who work in the television industry, and how these programs are made. My fellow contestants have become my second family, and we converse every day about anything and everything.
“All things being said, I’m grateful to have had the experience, and it is a time I will never forget and look back upon fondly.”
