nature, Reblogs

Snow Sculptures

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We may be getting warmer, but we still have lots of snow. What to do with some of it? Make sculptures, of course!

One of our corvid friends with a snowball in his beak.

This one is of a raven; they are one of the most intelligent and resourceful birds on the planet. They have to be – they survive through -50C (and in more northern areas, even colder) subarctic and Arctic temperatures by huddling together in wind protected areas. Loyal, extremely communicative and collaborative, I don’t see them as the mean, nasty nasties they are often portrayed as in literature and film.

It has been quite overcast for a few days, so these photos are very monochromatic, (I had a lot of visual difficulty because of the lack of contrast) but the subarctic can be like that.

I really admire the talents of the people who come out to make these. They were out on a frozen lake, in the howling wind, in -40C (-40F).

I won’t be sorry to say good-bye to these sculptures when they melt, though!

Have a good week. 🙂

31 thoughts on “Snow Sculptures”

    1. There are quite a collection of them and several artists. I’ll post others in the next weeks. The work is quite amazing as well as how long they last. They are in a somewhat protected area but the flat surface of a frozen lake has plenty of strong wind.

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    1. Yes, very easy to love from a distance. 😉 Next winter will be my last Arctic/subarctic one (going to southern Canada after five years) and although I have gotten along with it reasonably well, I won’t miss the weather all that much!

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  8. A great sculpture, for sure Lynette. I always admire the artists for the shapes they can achieve from ice and snow. Thanks for sharing and have a great week. Allan

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    1. The trickster! That’s an interesting topic. My understanding is that the raven spirit belongs mostly to the northwest coastal First Nations origin stories collection. Raven goes by a number of different names in different areas. In northern BC and Alaska, Raven is the most popular crest figure, and is common among the Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian.

      He is a powerful trickster often seen as a guardian but as with most tricksters, he demonstrates a wide range of personality characteristics; he’s very much a human-like figure who can be both heroic and despicable. Possessors of the Raven spirit are thought to be good hunters. I don’t know anything about the US southwest connections, although the coastal First Nations had well established trade routes up and down the west coast before they were disrupted by colonialisation, so it’s very likely that a relationship exists.

      If you’re interested, you might like Eden Robinson’s Trickster series. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/series/1TT/the-trickster-trilogy

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    1. Thank you, and thank you for the link. 🙂 What a wonderful story! My mother had a crow-friend. She fed him twice a day and he would spend time with her as she worked in the garden (she was an amazing gardener), cackling and chatting, sometimes in a sort of gravelly purr. She talked back, telling him how handsome he was and what a good boy he was. He brought her all kinds of shiny bits and pieces – quite amazing. Eventually he also brought his mate and they “settled” in her yard. After my mom passed, my dad continued to put food out, but one day they just didn’t arrive.

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  13. Now that’s dedication. I’m sure it’s hard enough to carve something that intricate into a block of snow, let alone having to do it in such frigid temperatures with no protection from the wind!

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    1. Definitely! I admire their dedication. It’s part of the winter festival, so many people give their time for the children’s enjoyment. There’s also a snow castle, a maze and lots of warm eats!

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  14. I LOVE snow sculptures! I’ve played around in the past with the kids doing these. I’ve wanted to go play the last several times we’ve had enough of the right kind of snow, but I don’t have the patience (or protective gear) to sit in the wet snow for hours anymore. The people that can do the really big, elaborate sculptures like this amaze me.

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    1. They are very talented. There were other sculptures and I’ll post more of them later. I think the artists are very practised – they can size up a snow block quickly and they have the right winter clothes for ease of movement and warmth. I admire you for trying to do these!

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