Stayin’ Alive, the magnificent sculpture of a massive cat coming down a tree to drink water from a lake while Momma alligator is preparing to protect her eggs, has taken first place in the Double Block competition at the World Ice Art Championships. It was carved by the American carvers Todd Dawson and Jeff Kaiser. Actually, I’m thrilled because it’s one of my very favorite entries. The cat and the alligator are so life like, right down to the cat’s tongue as it starts to lap its drink of water.
Second Place was awarded to the beautiful and delicate entry carved by Junichi Nakamura and Heather Brice. The piece is called On Pointe and depicts a dancing ballerina. She is breathtaking.
The Third Place winner is called Blossom and was carved by a two man team from Latvia and can only be described as ethereal, extremely delicate and light.
Tomorrow begins the final competition of the 2020 World Ice Art Championships, the Single Block. It will end the 1st of March. Tune in tomorrow to learn more about the Single Block competition.
Ice is water, frozen into a solid state. We haven’t really talked about the ice used in these ice art championships. It is considered by some to be the best ice in the world for carving because of its gemlike qualities. It is referred to as the “Arctic Diamond”. It is thick, crystal clear and glistening with a slight tinge of aquamarine. This high-quality ice comes from a pond southeast of the Tanana Valley Fairgrounds. It freezes from the top down, so the ice has time to reject impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air. In preparation for the annual carving championships, volunteers harvest more than 4 million pounds of ice.
“They said come skating;
They said it's so nice.
They said come skating;
I'd done it twice.
They said come skating;
It sounded nice….
I wore roller-
They meant ice.” Shel Silverstein
