May 17

May 17 Sculptures Made of Ice and Snow

Ice Sculpture is a sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. They can be abstract or realistic or can take on any form you want.
They are usually done for special events as their life span is obviously limited. Their lifetime depends on the environment where they are. Some last minutes while others last months.
We have all had a go at it in the form of making a snowman really, but not to the extent some of the wonderful ice sculptures around the world are made.

There are ice festivals around the world and some of the work is out of this world.

The sculpting of it is not easy as the ice will change according to its, and the surrounding, temperatures. They are generally carved from blocks of ice and must be perfect ice. Ideally, they should be made from pure clean water. There are machines that allow for slow freezing and the removal of impurities from the ice. White ice blocks look like snow and coloured ones have dyes added to the ice. A good effect can be made combining these.

Some of the work needs to be completed very quickly to avoid melting. Some can be completed in about 10 mins if using chainsaws and special bits fitted to a die grinder. The sculptors use razor sharp chisels and hand saws that are designed for cutting ice.

There are some wonderful festivals around of Ice Sculptures and one of the most famous is in China in a place called Harbin and would be well worth a visit, in January.

The video is well worth a watch it’s a real WOW!

It amazes me the hours of work that people put into these things for a short period, and as you will see from some of the pictures, they are brilliantly carved.

Ok, let's enjoy these wonderful creations and let us know if you have ever tried to carve ice into anything.