JANUARY 17 2009 - Sean Leahy an ice sculptor with Ice Visions gives an ice carving demostration during the Ice Carvival in the Unversity City Loop. Watch a video of Sean Leahy at the Ice Carnival at STLtoday.com/mulitmedia
Posted on 01/18/2009 3:43:12 AM PST by JoeProBono
To take a block of ice and sculpt it into art, you need a few things. A chain saw, some customized tools and a Zen master's grasp of impermanence. In a nippy parking lot off of Delmar Boulevard in the Loop on Saturday, Sean Leahy wielded a Stihl MSE 180 C and deftly buzzed through a 300-pound block. He wore heavy ski pants to seal off the cold, but only thin cotton gloves to give him a better grip on the ice. He heaved the pieces around or pushed them along the ground with his hiking boots, then sliced some more, before sticking the pieces together with water an ice carver's "glue." Then Leahy picked away at the shapes with chisels, shifting around the sculpture on asphalt messy with water, slush and a tangle of electrical cables. About two hours later, when a UFO emerged, the mittened and hatted crowd cheered.
(Excerpt) Read more at stltoday.com ...
JANUARY 17 2009 - Sean Leahy an ice sculptor with Ice Visions gives an ice carving demostration during the Ice Carvival in the Unversity City Loop. Watch a video of Sean Leahy at the Ice Carnival at STLtoday.com/mulitmedia
Phenominal.
Beautiful. I love it.
The Quebec City Winter Carnival has a tradition of ice sculptures going back over 60 years. This years Winter Carnival will start in early February, culminating the weekend prior to Ash Wednesday, this year, February 21/22.
Photos courtesy Carnaval de Québec
I saw a competition in Wisconsin one year, I was AMAZED! The detail is stunning. They had a snowman building competition too, one was a lady sunning herself and was so large, I saw on her thigh for the photo.
And a Father Time with animals coming out from under his robe and a falcon on his shoulder. It was as beautiful as stone sculpture and was SNOW!
The ice carvings were just as magnificent.
Thanks for the Quebec Winter Carnival pictures ... brings back memories from my youth. Albeit, somewhat hazy, as I consumed more than my fair share of Caribou ... a lusty adult beverage that’s considered the carnivals official beverage of choice.
“sculpture commemorating 9-11”
What a powerful sculpture.
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