Ice Sculpting as an Alaskan Craft Show Attraction
posted in Traveling To Alaska |A lot of crafts endure time. They are the tangible products of a person’s soul and are able to outlast the artist on many occasions. We humans are different from animals in the respect that rather than adapt to our environment, we shape it to our needs. But what if your craft is ephemeral?
One of the more interesting crafts is the art of carving ice sculptures. Ice carving is unlike most other crafts simply because the medium the artist uses vanishes in a week or so at most. All that will be left of the piece are photographs snapped by art-appreciators.
But it is for this exact reason that ice sculpting is very special. That you are able to put a piece of yourself in a chunk of wood is a remarkable skill. But, in this case, an artistic eye isn’t just what is needed to create ice sculptures; due to the unwieldiness of the material, power tools such as chainsaws are sometimes called upon to carve away at the ice. So knowledge of engineering is needed as well as artistic vision.
Because of these many skills, ice sculptures are marveled greatly; sometimes even more so than their more permanent counterparts. Here in Alaska, for instance, there is a World Ice Sculpting event held every year. People from around the whole world gather to this important event to see these fleeting but immortal renditions of talented craftspeople.
Arts and crafts provide a glimpse to the inner artistry of the craftsperson as most are pieces of their soul that live on after the artist. Ice sculptures, on the other hand, can be even more special, because they live far shorter lives than the human hands that shaped them from the block of ice. It is something that will outlast both object and creator.
Ice sculpting is one of the many crafts by the people who live in the largest state. For those interested in hearing more about crafts in general, search for the various craft fairs and festivals in the happening in Alaska this year.
