We’re in the depths of winter, which means it’s time to get out and own it or wimp out and snowbird out of here. I’m choosing to own it! Today that meant a trip to the World Snow Sculpture in Stillwater. The contest was last weekend, but the sculptures will remain standing as weather permits, which they guesitmate will be first couple weeks of February.
Sculptor teams come from all over the world. It was interesting to see their approach. Some are very conceptual, some capture the cute factor and some are really striking. Many are a combination of each. We heard a parent and child visiting and talking about a very conceptual work. The poor parent was reading the description about the symbolism of the Earth turning inside of itself to a bewildered child and finally just said – it’s abstract. (At right.)
One of my favorite sculptures was Slaying Our Demons, a dedication from a team to a team member who lost his battle with mental illness in October. From a distance, it looked like Medusa on overdrive where not only the hair, but half the face becomes a snake too. It’s gorgeous and a nice testament and recognizes mental health as being separate from a person, not as the person.
Another fave was Journey, which is a statement on the last few years of pandemic and strife. Even before reading the backstory, the anguish comes through snow and I love the setback eye.
There were others I liked. They made me smile or think. Or I loved to watch other people react to the snow sculptures. They were all worth checking out, I just detailed the ones inspired by stories that struck me.
Mostly Minnesota 