Carving Giants

PowderHoarPowderHoar Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
edited February 23, 2007 in Journeys
Carrera marble is the choice of master sculptors.

Second best on the list of best carving marbles, believe it not, Colorado marble.

Third best carveble substance, and top of the list is in it's own catagory, is carving Colorado snow.

The X-games, world cup of snow sculpting is the 17th annual "insert-beer-sponser-here", Breckenridge International Snow Sculpture Competition.

The beer is Budwieser.
The sculptures are amazing.
The Camera is a Nikon D70s.

To create the 20 ton blocks of snow, the biggest these sculptors get to carve all year, they start with packing concrete forms. The snow is blown in to the form with snowblower trucks and then packed by foot by several volunteers.
snoSculptureForms.jpg

The forms are removed and they are left with 14 incredibly huge blocks of snow, ready for carving.
snoSculptureBlocks.jpg

Up go the scaffolds, let the games begin.
snoSculptureScaffold.jpg
snoSculptureBreck.jpg

No power tools involved, the teams use every conceivable hand tool to cut, chip, carve, and polish the snow.
snoSculptureHoe.jpg
snoSculptureAuger.jpg

Artists of a eathereal, perfectly toolable material that snow is. Snow is also a fleeting temporal, frozen-sand mandala, waiting to be whisked away by nature's whim.
snoSculptureSilloutte.jpg

snoSculptureCones.jpg

This is Team Proctology. Digging for gold.
snoSculptureButt.jpg

During the day the blocks are kept shaded.
snoSculptureBreckSails.jpg

Team Breckenridge, last year's winners, created a totally amazing sculpture utilizing, stacked snow balls floating between a stone wall and the thinnest snow drape of fabric I have ever seen.
snoSculptureBreckBack.jpg

The teams work through the night on Friday to be ready for saturday morning's judging.
snoSculptureBackLite.jpg

Top of Team Breck's.
snoScupture1.jpg

This year's winner; team Oregon with "Old Man Winter". A striking and charming sculpture. To see such a warm smile at such a scale is fun and amazing and really made the show something special.

snoScuplyure2-1.jpg
Team Oregon's was the clear winner and I thought Team Breck was easily second or third, but it didn't recieve a nod from the judges at all. It was the only sculpture that addressed the medium of snow, by using snowballs, in such a manner and really pushed the limits of the medium...but what do I know!?

All in all a great show this year. A fun, surreal several days of excellent photo opportunities,

To see more - head up to Breckenridge Colorado next year.
It's a sick world and I'm a happy guy!

Comments

  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited February 20, 2007
    Cool! What a neat event. I agree, the snowball/thin sheet of snow sculpture is a neat concept.
    Sid.
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  • anwmn1anwmn1 Registered Users Posts: 3,469 Major grins
    edited February 21, 2007
    What a cool thing to see develop.

    Looks like a good time too!
    "The Journey of life is as much in oneself as the roads one travels"


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  • Deano955Deano955 Registered Users Posts: 50 Big grins
    edited February 23, 2007
    Well done!

    I did not make it up to Breck for this event. Snowed in to much in Denver. At least I got to see some of it here.

    Classic shot here with a great caption:

    snoSculptureButt.jpg
    Baldy owns my free time
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