Summit County Citizens Voice

Great Expectations. PHOTO BY JENNEY COBERLY.

Sculptures on display through Feb, 5, weather permitting

By Summit Voice

Team Canada-Quebec secured first prize in the 22nd annual International Snow Sculpture Championships in Breckenridge, Colo. with “Great Expectations,” a complex and cohesive piece depicting the “ice houses” once used to preserve meat, poultry and fish on the Saint Anne River in central Quebec.

Photos of all the completed sculptures are online here. Along with 15 other teams and artists from 11 other countries, Team Canada-Quebec worked across five days, for a total of 65 hours, to create an enormous work of art from a 20-ton block of snow.

Team Germany won second with “Dancing Screens,” an ambitious and superbly executed piece that rendered harmony within an imbalance of angles. Team Baltic (Latvia/Estonia) won third with “Discover the Edge of the World,” which used flowing lines to create 360-degree interest.

“Team Canada-Quebec created a sculpture that demonstrates all virtues of carving snow: clean execution, anatomically correct figures and animals, texture, balance and more,” said Jenn Cram, judge coordinator and Arts District administrator for the Town of Breckenridge.

Artists worked through the night on Friday, Jan. 27, to complete sculpting by 10 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28. An official awards ceremony took place today at Breckenridge, Colo.’s Riverwalk Center to announce the winners and present them with medals.

Thousands of spectators watched throughout the week as teams worked through sun, clouds and, Friday morning, eight inches of fresh snow. Pieces are achieved without the use of power tools, internal support structures or colorants – just the ingenuity of the sculptors and a medium that lends itself, if only temporarily, to the persuasion of hand tools.

Sculptures will remain on display at the Riverwalk Center in Breckenridge, Colo. though Sunday, February 5 (weather permitting). An eco-friendly LED lighting system adds to the play of light and shadow with gentle tones of color.

Snow carving in Breckenridge began as a local pastime during the town’s winter carnival – Ullr Fest – in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today, the event is attended annually by more than 30,000 people. Visit Facebook.com/GoBreck for photos of the 2012 sculptures in progress.

Filed under: Breckenridge, Colorado, snow sculpting, Summit County Colorado, Summit County news Tagged: | art, Breckenridge Colorado, International Snow Sculpture Championships, snow sculpture winners