Snow sculpture
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Snow sculpture is a sculpture form comparable to ice sculpture in that most of it is now practiced outdoors, and often in full view of spectators, thus giving it kinship to performance art in the eyes of some. The materials and the tools differ widely, but often include knives, picks, chisels, and irons. Snow sculptures are usually carved out of a single cube of snow about 15 feet on the side and weighing about 30 tons. The snow is densely packed after having been produced by artificial means.
Since 1973 there has been an international snow sculpture contest during the Quebec City Winter Carnival and more recently the Winterlude celebrations have had snow sculpture events. Perm in Russia and Breckenridge, Colorado have also hosted snow sculpting events.
Creating amateur snow sculptures is a popular passtime in some areas. They feature prominently in the annual Winter Carnival at Michigan Technological University. These sculptures are not carved from a single cube, but rather an ever-growing pile of snow. For this reason, they can grow quite large (2 to 3 stories in height and 20 to 30 feet long).
External Links
Quebec City Winter Carnival Official Website (http://www.carnaval.qc.ca/)
Michigan Tech Winter Carnival (http://www.mtu.edu/carnival/)
