Where I’m from, its winter more than its any other season. So naturally, we make the most of it: winter festivals, celebrations of the Finnish god of winter Heikki Lunta, and one of the largest ice sculpture competitions in the world. One of my favorite part about these ice sculptures is their temporality- the idea that you would put so much effort into something that might not last the week. As I head back to the rural north for the holidays through snow, ice, and sleet, I thought about how else frozen art might be created.

Trampled snow art: Simon Beck

English artist Beck uses snowshoes to track these centrifugal designs into the French Alps. In order to stay on track, he draws up the designs digitally, using these to create accurate maps as a guide.

Ice Architecture: Hotel de Glace

Every year, this hotel is constructed in Quebec, CA.

Storm Glass

This is actually a project that I worked on at PLY architecture in Ann Arbor. Storm glass doesn’t actually contain snow, but small crystals that form in this liquid solution help to predict weather.

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