Our camera club went to an ice sculpting display today. There were photo opportunities galore at every turn. After we'd seen the indoor displays we watched a glassblower working on little glass animals and an ice carving competition. These fellows were such fun to watch. And what they do with a chain saw, drummel and blow torch (used with air to blow away the ice dust) is amazing. Each carver must make the same sculpture (in this case it was a swan) and they have 30 minutes to carve it from one block of ice. We came upon them at the last 10 minutes. As fun as it would have been to see the carving from start to finish, with the temps hovering around freezing and snow falling, I'm glad we didn't have to wait too long! Apparently this was round one of four. These poor guys are going to be cold when it's all said and done! The winner of this round was the fellow in the center.
Did they have to make the same exact carving from a model they saw or just the same type animal? That sounds like it would be fascinating to watch, and a lot of similarity in glass and ice sculptures
I will have to keep this idea in mind for next year. This year I think a lot of these were in snowy weather not a good time to be traveling. You some wonderful captures.
Thank you Taffy, Kerri, Lisa, Dixie, Graham, Joan, Carole, Nicole, Francoise, Colleen, Debs, Pam and Nicole!
@pandorasecho Just the same animal, although, I think the pose is the same in each one. There are no models on display for them to copy, so their expertise is how they are able to create the traditional style statue or pose- in this case the swan you'd see on a banquet hall table. @francoise It was amazing to watch them carve the ice as easily as we'd carve a turkey!
Wow. Great triptych. Ice sculpting is a great art form. I still have to finish my collage of the college students' ice sculptures. I went back and shot all 20 finished sculptures! These guys were lucky they were allowed power tools. The college students could only use chisels. No power tools. These swans are beautiful.
Thank you Taffy, Kerri, Lisa, Dixie, Graham, Joan, Carole, Nicole, Francoise, Colleen, Debs, Pam and Nicole!
@pandorasecho Just the same animal, although, I think the pose is the same in each one. There are no models on display for them to copy, so their expertise is how they are able to create the traditional style statue or pose- in this case the swan you'd see on a banquet hall table.
@francoise It was amazing to watch them carve the ice as easily as we'd carve a turkey!