Artist of the day: Artists of the Day, January 7, 2023: Ice sculptors around the world (#1746)

Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative. Ice sculptures are generally associated with special or extravagant events because of their limited lifetime.

Sculpting ice presents a number of difficulties due to the variability and volatility of the material. Ice may be sculpted in a wide range of temperatures and the characteristics of the ice will change according to its temperature as well as the surrounding temperatures. Sculptures are generally carved from blocks of ice and these blocks must be carefully selected to be suitable for the sculptor's purposes and should be free of undesired impurities.

The ice may be turned clear after carving by applying heat from a Propane or Mapp Gas cylinder. This alters the opaque effect that is obtained when carving. The ice turns clear after the outside is melted. Caution is to be used as the ice melts very quickly and could soften edges and contours. Sometimes distilled water is used for enhanced clarity.

Ice sculptures are often used at wedding receptions, usually as some form of decoration. Popular subjects for ice sculptures at weddings are hearts, doves, and swans. Swans have a reputation for monogamy, partly accounting for their popularity.

There are a number of international ice and snow sculpting events around the world. The largest events are, understandably, held in countries with cold winters. Due to land distribution and population densities in the higher latitudes, large ice sculpture events are almost exclusively held in the Northern Hemisphere. A number of countries, some listed below, have established traditions of ice sculpting and have made contributions to the art. Ice artists from these countries regularly appear at international ice sculpture events.

Canada
In Canada, Quebec City, Quebec holds an ice sculpture festival each year during the Quebec City Winter Carnival. The sculpture festival lasts about three weeks. For the sheer variety of ice sculptures and the number of visitors, the Quebec festival is regarded by some as the best in the world. Each year, about twenty teams are chosen to participate in the competition. Half of these teams come from Canada and the others come from other countries. Ice sculpting started to become important in Quebec in the 1880s, as traditional sculptors, like Louis Jobin, turned their skills on this less permanent medium.

Each year Lake Louise, located in Banff National Park, holds a three-day event called Ice Magic in the 3rd weekend of January. Sanctioned by the National Ice Carving Association, Professional carvers are invited to compete in this event staged in the shadow of the glacier-clad Mt. Victoria.

In the National Capital Region of Canada the Crystal Garden international invitational ice-carving competition starts every February, as part of the Winterlude winter festival of Ottawa. The competition site has been located in Confederation Park in Ottawa and also on the shores of Leamy lake in Gatineau, across the Ottawa River. There is a solo category, a pairs category and a one-bloc challenge. In addition to the sculptures done in the competition many ice sculptures are made to decorate the many Winterlude sites.

In Kingston, Ontario, the annual FebFest snow sculpture competition in Confederation Park in features snow forts by Royal Military College of Canada and Queen's University. The snow fort must not only be pleasing to look at but also safe for children to play on.

About 10 km East of Quebec city, near Montmorency Falls and within the grounds of the Duchesnay winter resort the first Ice hotel in North America is erected each January. Small and medium-sized ice sculptures are used to decorate the interiors.

China
In China, Heilongjiang Province is the most significant region for ice sculpture. The most famous event is the increasingly popular International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival held annually in Harbin. The festival has consistently increased in size over the years, with more talented artists involved and more impressive techniques and pieces on show. Ice sculpture decoration ranges from the modern technology of lasers to traditional ice lanterns. The climate of Heilongjiang is very cold and ice is plentiful. Objects of all sizes appear, up to and including building-sized pieces.

France
French Chef Auguste Escoffier was responsible for one of the most famous early ice sculptures and French sculptors are regular participants at the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Ireland
Not traditionally known for Ice sculpture, Ireland has produced some well respected sculptors, winning The International Ice Sculpture Festival in Jelgava, Latvia, in years past. See also Duthain Dealbh.

Japan
The Japanese city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaidō is famous for its winter carnival, in which teams compete to create ice sculptures. Some of these creations are the size of multiple-story buildings. A winter carnival is also held annually in Asahikawa, also on the island of Hokkaidō. Japanese sculptors have made many contributions to the art. Notable Japanese ice sculptors include Yukio Matsuo, author of "Ice Sculpture: Secrets of a Japanese Master," Mitsuo Shimizu, author of several Japanese books on ice sculpture, and Junichi Nakamura, winner of multiple world ice sculpting titles. Ice sculpture has been popular in Japan since the 1930s and an early advocate and teacher in the country was Shuko Kobayashi, the first chairman of the Japan Ice Sculpture Association.

Philippines
Most of the Filipino ice sculptors working abroad (Hotel & Luxury Cruises) came from Paete, Laguna, a small town approximately 100 km. east of Manila. The name Paete came from the word "paet", which means "chisel". Paete was declared by Philippine President Arroyo as "The Carving Capital of the Philippines" as their speciality and main source of income is woodcarving. Paetenians hold an Ice Carving Competition every year on the last week of July as a way to celebrate their town Fiesta. About 50 young natives of this town have been participating each year.

Sweden
Each winter since 1991, an ice hotel has been reconstructed in the village of Jukkasjärvi. ICEHOTEL, as it is known, is the oldest and most popular of a number of ice hotels that have since been constructed in a number of countries. ICEHOTEL is constructed almost entirely of ice and snow and each of the guest rooms feature different themes and elaborate ice and snow carving.

In 2009 an ice sculpture festival named ISSTJÄRNAN started in Sikfors, Hällefors, on the lake Sörälgen. The event takes place every year in February.

United States
Since 1989, Alaska has hosted the annual World Ice Art Championships. Nearly 100 sculptors come from around the world each year to sculpt large blocks of pristine natural ice sometimes referred to as "Arctic Diamonds." The event is run almost exclusively by volunteers.

United Kingdom
The largest display of ice sculpting in the United Kingdom is the London Ice Sculpting Festival. The festival was organized in 2009 by Carol Cordrey and the Icebox. The competition is now held at Canary Wharf.

The London Ice Sculpting Festival chooses different themes every year, and for the 2012 competition chose the themes Team Spirit and Winter Sports. The 2012 winners were Jonathan Lloyd in the singles competition and Pedro Mira & Niall Magee for the doubles competition. Jonathon Lloyd also won the Public Choice Award.[9]

The festival also provides visitors with a chance to try ice sculpting themselves with classes by the Icebox. The 2012 London Ice Sculpting Festival featured classes focused on how to sculpt a husky dog.

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