RedGage

The history of ice sculpting began as soon as ice harvesting began. It has a long history that dates back to 600 B.C. Ice sculpting began in northwest China in the highlands by farmers, hunters and fishermen. In the 1600s, ice sculpting became popular in Russia as farmers and hunters carved ice lanterns to light dark, cold winter nights. In 1897, Russia became home to the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival. This festival displays works from thousands of artists from all regions of the world. The first Ice Palace was built in Russia in 1740. It was in the mid 1800s when natural ice harvesting began throughout the world. In the United States, by the year 1920, about 750,000 blocks of ice were being produced everyday.

Japan is the world's largest host to winter events and in 1950, it became home to the Sapporo Snow Festival. About 2 million people flock to this festival every year to see beautiful snow and ice sculptures. Today, a modern ice carver uses crystal clear ice to make sculptures. Ice sculpture is an art and today a wide variety of ice sculpting tools are used by the artists to produce sculptures. A 300 pound of crystal clear ice block can be purchased and used for sculpting ice. People often refer to ice sculpting as ice carving. Ice sculptures attract people from far and near to view their beauty.

Ice sculptures have a very limited lifetime and they are mostly used at extravagant events or special occasions. Their lifetime is determined by the temperature of the environment. These ice sculptures can last from a few minutes to a few months. Ice sculpting festivals are now popular around the world. Razor sharp chisels and hand saws that are specially designed for carving ice are the most popular tools that are used. The ice sculpting art is often taught in culinary schools.

Ice sculpture has found a home in many different parts of the world and some of these places include Belgium, Canada, United States, China, France, Ireland, Russia, Philippines, Sweden and Japan. There are a wide variety of uses for ice sculpture and they include being featured decoratively in cuisines, displayed at wedding receptions and even used at the bars. They are often used to enhance the displays of foods. Countries that have the coldest winters are home to the largest ice sculpting events and festivals; some of these festivals last for weeks.

Published On: 12/30/2011 by Shannon Lynn Farlouis