Ice, Snow and Butter Sculptures

Posted by Jennifer Yap Jan 7, 2007

Welcome to sculpture and ceramics at Suite101.com! I have a broad interest in the topic and hope you'll join me in indulging our curiosity. First...

A quick look around this winter seems to confirm that nothing is safe from the carver’s knife, chisel, chainsaw, or… um, spatula. Everywhere people seem to be carving ice, snow and various foodstuffs.

In frozen Harbin, the northeastern most city in China, they have just started the 2007 Snow and Ice Festival with 2 sprawling parks. Check out these massive ice replicas of famous landmarks and snow sculptures from a previous year. They’re lit a little garishly, but still impressive.

This has gotten so successful that it has spawned competitors in the capital, Beijing, which appears to have quite a bit of promotion behind it. We’ll have to wait and see if these newcomers succeed in taking down the frontrunner.

Then there is the Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. Sculpted anew every year, this fully functional hotel encourages snuggling. Take these 360-degree tours to see the chilling beauty of the place.

In Iran, a statue of Iranian poet Abolqassem Ferdowsi made of snow joined that of other Persian luminaries on display at the recently ended Sadabad Winter Festival.

And in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Jim Victor carved 800 pounds of butter into a likeness of Benjamin Franklin with the Liberty Bell for a farm show. He also has plans to carve cheese in Hidalgo, Texas and chocolate in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, the residents of Bassingbourn in the UK have rethought their initial decision to erect a dung sculpture. No, not real dung (phew!), but a bronze sculpture representing dung to commemorate the village’s historic fertilizer industry.