When it comes to breathtaking scenery there is very little that can compare to a snow covered landscape. The snow dulls sounds so that everything is quieter than it normally is, nothing much ventures out in the cold so everything is still and calm. A feeling of peace and tranquillity seems to fall with the snow and settle over the region like a protective, mood tempering blanket. Adults become children again, throwing snowballs and making the occasional snow angel in a deep snowdrift. Everyone becomes an artist, expressing themselves through the creation of elaborate snowmen. You also get the real winter artists, the ones who thrive in the cold and whose creations will never be treasured in any museum simply because the medium doesn’t last long enough. Ice sculptors are being taken more and more seriously as artists, as the complexity of the art becomes better known and it gains more recognition internationally.
China and Japan both have long traditions of ice sculpting. They are 2 countries that for millennia have had a reputation for valuing art and beauty so it is no real surprise that they have been appreciating the magnificence of ice far longer than any other cultures in the world. The art is so valued in Japan that it makes the best ice chisels. Ice chisels are specially designed to work on ice and are extremely sharp. Other tools used in ice sculpting include: electric chainsaws, angle grinders, heat guns, torches and a plain old household iron. How you use these tools and how many of these tools you use will depend on the size of the sculpture and its design. The toys involved certainly are fun, though you want to be careful and not accidentally take your own leg off in all the artistic excitement.
Ice sculpting is a fairly complicated and scientific art. Not just any old piece of ice will do. The blocks of ice used are carefully chosen for their suitability. Sculpting ice must be made from pure, clean water so that it will be as transparent as possible and have the absolute minimum of air bubbles. The sculpting environment is equally important. If the temperature is not that cold then the sculptor will have to work quickly to finish it. In cases like that it is more efficient to use power tools as much as possible.
There are several ice sculpting competitions and demonstrations held all over the world where artists and amateurs are given a chance to display their skills.
Heilongjiang Province, in China, hosts the increasingly famous International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival, which is held once a year in Harbin. As the festival’s popularity has increased, so has its size. It attracts more talented artists every year, who display ever more impressive techniques and create ever more spectacular pieces to display. Heilongjiang is an ideal region to host an ice and snow festival as the climate is very cold and there is no shortage of snow.
The Annual World Ice Art Championships has taken place in Fairbanks, Alaska since 1989. The event is organised and run by volunteers, which makes it rather unique in the world of ice art championships. Roughly 100 artists from around the world attend enter the competition every year. There are two main categories: single block and multi-block. Each category is then sub-divided into 2 more categories: abstract and realistic sculptures.
On the Japanese island Hokkaido; the city Sapporo is famous for its winter carnival where teams compete to create the best ice sculptures. The designs get very creative and elaborate, some even reaching the size of multi-storey buildings.
Ice hotels used to be novelties, now they are becoming popular and regular destinations for tourists in several cold countries. Sweden is believed to have started the trend, however, with its Ice Hotel in Kiruna. It began in 1989 and has been widely advertised through all media. The only things in the hotel that are not made of ice are the beds. There are 60 rooms and suites, a bar, reception area and even a chapel. It is only open between the months of November and May when the weather is at it’s coldest.
One country that you would not normally associate with ice sculpting is Ireland. It is not known as an ice and snow covered landscape. It is not defined by freezing temperatures and long winters. Yet it has some of the world’s most well respected ice sculptors who have won the International Ice Sculpture Festival, Jelgava, Latvia for two years in a row. Not bad going for a country of shamrocks and leprechauns.
Ice sculpting is more popular in the Northern Hemisphere largely because there is not a great deal of snow in Australia and Africa, even in the depths of winter. South America is very similar. The southern continents are not close enough to the Antarctic to get very cold winters and snow. They have to rely on machines to make ice blocks big enough for their artists to work with. They also have to keep the finished pieces in specially cooled rooms so that they don’t melt immediately because the warm climates simply aren’t conducive to the durability of the works of art. The people are fine appreciators of ice sculptures though, and whenever an opportunity comes around for them to see some art, they are always there in droves.
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