Ice Sculpture
Ice sculpture is at its peak during the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China. Organized every year in Harbin, this festival has reached an incredible extent over the years being the meeting point of hundreds of great artists from all over the world. This is the place to show their skill and talent at carving incredible ice sculpture art works to leave the spectators aghast. This location in China favors the long term preservation of the ice sculpture designs, not to mention that the supply of primary matter is nearly endless. The impressive range of ice sculpture decoration is so extended that it touches the technological fields of lasers as well as the traditional customs of lanterns.
China is not a singular location for great ice sculpture festivals. Take for instance United States, Alaska that has been hosting the World Ice Art Championship since 1989. Pristine natural ice is available for sculptors from all over the world who meet here to show their talent. The Ice Park receives around 45,000 spectators during the championship and there are people of all ages who come to have fun on the premises. There are two main categories of ice sculpture art work in the competition, one dedicated to the use of a single block of ice and another to multiple ice blocks.
A further division in the competition is made between realistic and abstract ice sculpture. Nothing of the big show would be possible without the use and support of heavy machinery and tools especially designed for ice work. The participation to such an event will therefore require great strength, high skills and a real mastery of the ice sculpture techniques that distinguish an amateur from a professional. The artistic vision is one other strong point in the creation of unique ice sculpture and it is surely not overlooked by the judges.
Besides the participation to ice sculpture competitions, private parties and fanciful social events are other “casual” occasions for admiring great “perishable” art works. As beautiful and exquisite as it can be, ice sculpture is surely short lived to the disappointment of artists and spectators. It is even difficult not to feel a touch of regret when you think about all the hard work put into the making of the ice sculpture, and it will be all gone as soon as there is a two or three degrees alteration in the temperature. Therefore, most enduring ice sculpture is best achieved in cold globe areas where weather is on the artist's side.