Ice sculpture
However, clear, transparent ice is a result of the freezing process and not necessarily related to the purity of the water.
Clouded ice is often the result of finely trapped air molecules that tend to bind to the impurities while naturally freezing.
Some sculptures can be completed in as little as ten minutes if the carver is using power tools such as chainsaws and specialty bits fitted to a die grinder.
The ice may be turned clear after carving by applying heat from a Propane or Mapp Gas cylinder.
Due to land distribution and population densities in the higher latitudes, large ice sculpture events are almost exclusively held in the Northern Hemisphere.
A number of countries, some listed below, have established traditions of ice sculpting and have made contributions to the art.
For the sheer variety of ice sculptures and the number of visitors, the Quebec festival is regarded by some as the best in the world.
Ice sculpting started to become important in Quebec in the 1880s, as traditional sculptors, like Louis Jobin, turned their skills on this less permanent medium.
Each year Lake Louise, located in Banff National Park, holds a three-day event called Ice Magic in the 3rd weekend of January.
Sanctioned by the National Ice Carving Association, Professional carvers are invited to compete in this event staged in the shadow of the glacier-clad Mt.
The annual Deep Freeze Festival in Edmonton, Alberta hosts a chisel-and-chainsaw ice carving competition the second weekend of January.
In the National Capital Region of Canada the Crystal Garden international invitational ice-carving competition starts every February, as part of the Winterlude winter festival of Ottawa.
In 2008, Royal Military College of Canada's snow fort was modelled after the MacKenzie Building in the Second Empire style with a Mansard roof and a central tower incorporating a working clock, flanked by projecting end towers and a slide.
About 10 km East of Quebec city, near Montmorency Falls and within the grounds of the Duchesnay winter resort the first Ice hotel in North America is erected each January.
The most famous event is the increasingly popular International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival[5] held annually in Harbin.
The festival has consistently increased in size over the years, with more talented artists involved and more impressive techniques and pieces on show.
The Japanese city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaidō is famous for its winter carnival, in which teams compete to create ice sculptures.
[6] Most of the Filipino ice sculptors working abroad (Hotel & Luxury Cruises) came from Paete, Laguna, a small town approximately 100 km.
Paetenians hold an Ice Carving Competition every year on the last week of July as a way to celebrate their town Fiesta.
In 2009 an ice sculpture festival named ISSTJÄRNAN started in Sikfors, Hällefors, on the lake Sörälgen.
Nearly 100 sculptors come from around the world each year to sculpt large blocks of pristine natural ice sometimes referred to as "Arctic Diamonds".
Teams that compete in both the Single Block and Multi-Block events must handle a total of 50,000 pounds (23 t) of ice.
Power tools and scaffolding can be used in both events: assistance from heavy equipment is only permitted in the Multi-Block Classic Competition.
Thus, participation in the event requires strength, endurance, and engineering skill as well as mastery of basic ice sculpture techniques and artistic vision.
NICA sanctions and supports various ice sculpture competitions around the United States and in Canada and has held a yearly National Championship since 1991.
NICA also was responsible for managing the ice carving competition held in conjunction with the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and provided support for the 2006 event in Italy.
In 2007, NICA started a "Tour of Champions" that rewards high scores over several competitions, usually including the National Championships.
