North Pole Ice Art Championship 2007

The first annual North Pole Ice Art Championship was really interesting watching people create from an artist's soul and burgeoning into life from a frozen square conforming block to something magical and precious.
People had from Sat 8:00am to Sunday 3:00pm to produce a beautiful textured piece of ice art with chainsaws, power sanders, and even small nail files, with little or no sleep. The ice chips were flying everywhere and cool prisms of light were reflecting from multiple and non-congruent chunks of ice lying wasted next to forming creations. The artist's minds eye were becoming part of reality for everyone to see and feel.
There were multiple volunteers helping anyway they could, from loaning tools, clearing ice, to just helping out with babysitting artist's adorable children. It was a symphony of artists and the community trying to build something together, the laughter and smiles on people helping each other was just such an Alaskan part of life. People had been up all night trying to breath life into a cold solid block of ice, like An Qifeng and his piece of art called "It's Love". The free form and soft curvature might have been about love being free and comes out of nowhere. Two forms coming together and merging into one, each completing each other.
I have felt that kind of soul moving love twice now in my life. My friends tell me people search their whole lives looking for that kind of love and I have been very lucky to have it, 10 years ago and just this spring. Publishing the photo of It's love and listening to Annie Lennox "Love is Blind" while writing this resurfaced what happened just a few days ago at the UAF print art sale. I saw my current endeavor's upper torso portrait on a print labeled "A wonderful thing to wake up to". Well, that was an eye opener and wondering if I have bitten off more than I can chew. The print was a little racy, but that is artistic expression. Then just when I was walking out of the print show, my heart left me speechless, which rarely happens. The person I am truly interested in was looking at the print and was enthralled. I tried to talk but my damn heart was in my mouth, and I let my emotions runnith over. I was not able to handle it, sucks being human. Am I scared to be in love again and fear of failure or being able to change out of this melancholy and be happy again? This kind of thing you just cannot make up, life is better than fiction.
Well, I am digressing and need to get back to the other story, which is also entwined in my life.

The creation from Anita Tabor (see first photo) captured first place in competition juried by the Artists and was presented the award by the King and Queen of the Ice Art Championship. I have never seen anyone wearing a Queen's tiera in the middle of an Alaskan Winter before. She said it was the one award she really wanted to at least place in. Being recognized by your fellow artists is a wonderful fulfilling emotion. She wanted to pay me for photos of her art, but I said I would take it out in trade. I would like to have a "Snow Woman" made in my front yard, since there was not enough snow this year to make one. Why does it always have to be a Snow Man? She laughed and I might have my snow woman next weekend.

Deline Laughlin sculpted this free form piece called "The Gift". We were talking about how artists like ourselves are trying to make this world a better place to live in and how art moves lives. She remembered how during one Ice Art Championship her daughter was going through tough times and she got her into helping her in sculpting a piece together. It truly helped both of them and this piece was representing their time together. Life and art are beautiful combined expressions.
If you would like to see more Ice Art, they have it set up with a Live Web Cam at www.icealaska.com. You all might go there at a specific time and say hi to your family and friends in the lower 48. It would be a heart-warming gift for all involved. I will be there live during Christmas with a sign to say hi to my Family in Florida and Washington on Christmas Day, since I cannot be with them and I am making my X move out. Well, I have my next-door neighbors and friends for X-mas.