Ice Sculptures from the Snow as a New Direction of Fine Arts

Recently, various sculptures of ice and snow have become so popular that annually around the world in the northern regions of many countries there are exhibitions of such exhibits that are characterized by extraordinary beauty and grace. Thousands of tourists hurry in the winter to the famous cities to admire the unusual sculptures of various sizes, shapes and designs.

Sculptures made of snow cause in the person an unusual feeling that resembles a childish delight, but at the same time the fragility of such a work makes a person feel some sorrow, because sooner or later any ice artwork will turn into ordinary water.

The most famous centers for the exhibition of ice and snow sculptures is the Chinese city of Harbin, whose temperature in winter often drops to -30 degrees. In addition, ice exhibits are annually exhibited in cities such as Lübeck in Germany and Fairbanks in Alaska in the US, where ice makers from all over the world come to the annual meeting.

Many sculptures made of snow are so large that they are simply fairy-tale castles and palaces, with many transitions and halls. Also interesting enough are the ice bridges with magnificent finishes. It is difficult to convey all the admiration that a person experiences, looking at the refraction of the sun's rays in the icy pieces of the most incredible architectural forms.

Among the most common snow sculptures are the following:

- figures of various characters, both heroes of adventure films, and animated series;

- castles and palaces, stairs and slides;

- Houseware;

- elements of clothing and so on.

Sculptures of snow with their own hands are, as a rule, performed in one of two ways. The first, which is the most common, is the processing of a single piece of frozen snow, where with the chisel and hammer folk craftsmen cut out the most unusual figures of various shapes and sizes. Another way is more complicated, and is used, as a rule, by highly skilled craftsmen. It consists in creating a preliminary metal frame, on which a layer of compressed snow is gradually applied, which is sprinkled with water. Most often this method is used to create ice creations with subtle and refined elements. An example of such works can serve as snow carriages, icy Christmas trees, and other sculptures with elongated and thin ice details.

In order for snow sculptures to be made in time and ready by the time of the exhibition, ice preparation is carried out in advance. With good weather conditions and snowy winter weather, problems do not arise with this, and ice is extracted from frozen water bodies and ponds. With the help of a chainsaw, the necessary piece of ice is cut, which is removed from the pond by means of special equipment and transported to the place where the work is done. Sometimes ice is created by artificial means with the help of a special wooden mold, into which water is poured and left in a severe frost. Due to this method, some dyes can be added to the water, resulting in ice of any color.

It should be said that the process of cutting on ice is a fairly complex and time-consuming process that takes a long time. Even experienced professionals of their work sometimes work for several weeks over particularly complex exhibits. As a result, we see magnificent sculptures from snow, which fascinate and cause in tourists admiration and delight.

It is noteworthy that the usual ice composition with a negative air temperature is able to stand outdoors for a whole month. If you bring an ice figure, up to 1 meter in height, it will stand between 12 and 24 hours, which sometimes allows you to make interesting ornaments from ice to weddings and other solemn events.

However, in the end, the fairy tale comes to an end and with the advent of spring all the ice structures begin to turn into water. It is interesting to observe how a large sculpture of a dragon from the snow begins to gradually melt and decrease in size, after which the place of the exhibit remains wet. But do not get upset about this, because every year the ice business of the master will again delight his fans with new architectural creations.