Snow Art - Materials and Equipment

Snow sculpting has been around apparently for a very long time. I didn't know that, but I am not surprised at all; building a snowman actually is a form of snow sculpting.

For the more serious sculpting art you will need at least an axe, a (chain)saw and a chisel and a lot of snow. The latter is out of your control, but you can always take a short vacation to a place where it snows abundantly.

I found several sites with online instructions, but I thought I might list them here as well for a change:

- Before you get started it would be a good idea to make some kind of a sketch for the sculpture you have in mind. Pack the snow firmly; this will ensure your snow art will last as long as possible.

- You can use containers to pack the snow in. In case you are not very creative you can also use molds: loaf pans make excellent bricks and bowls make good domes. Jello and pudding molds, cake pans and ice cube trays can also be used for snow art molds.

- Make a rough outline of the sculpture by drawing with sticks or making trails of footprints. Then build up the overall shape of the sculptures with your molded building blocks, snowballs and packed heaps of snow.

- Add details by adding snow or using tools to carve them out. For the finishing touch; spray your project with a mist of water from a spray bottle. This gives the art a slightly, shiny finish and a stronger outer layer as the water hardens into ice.

In case of 'painting' the snow, you will need several different colors of natural food coloring and an equal amount of spray bottles or other dispensers. Don't forget to be creative and increase your pallete by mixing the colors!