Ottawa Winterlude 2013 – Ice Sculptures

Ottawa Winterlude 2013 – Ice Sculptures

A retroactive post – We started off our downtown visit with a stop at the Rideau Center and then we were off to the NAC to purchase tickets for an upcoming performance and then it was off to Confederation Park to take a look at how the ice sculptures were progressing. Weather couldn’t have been much better for the sculptors and their blocks of ice. Unlike some previous years, there was no severe cold weather in the forecast and above-zero temperatures weren’t forecast either, so with a bit of luck the work of this year’s sculptors will hang around for a few extra days.

I enjoy watching the sculptors work with their assortment of rather interesting tools and implements.  From fork lifts to lift the blocks of ice into their place, to chain saws to do the rough cutting to hand held irons and Dremel tools to do the final touches, all of the tools come together in the hands of these experts to create a frozen treat for the eyes of all of the visitors.

Tom from Winnipeg was enjoying responding to questions about Winterpeg while carving away this large block of ice which would eventually be part of a larger assembly.

In addition to the questions about winter in Winnipeg, mosquitoes in summer and questions about his carving techniques, he also had to stop from time to timeto talk about his unique headgear.

While some folks worked on their sculptures from atop step ladders and scaffolding, others got to work on the equally important lower parts.

These two had a bit of fun when the chainsaw suddenly stopped operating.  Alway sworks better when the cord is plugged in :-).

Getting the line just right!

The area around the fountain once again had a number of smaller sculptures on display and, as mentioned at the outset of this post, it looked like weather might cooperate this year so that the small sculptures would hang around for a few days before being melted by the sun. It was getting dark as we wandered around looking at the smaller sculptures so following images taken at high ISO settings.

 

As we walked back to our car a cool breeze was blowing along the canal but that didn’t seem to be bothering the skaters.

My camera and I won’t be getting back tot he Winterlude venues this year but it was fun to see the beginnings of the ice sculpture masterpieces taking form once again this year.