Ice Festival Temporary Art

I've always been a fan of temporary art. Don't get me wrong, the value of masterpieces from the great artists can't be downplayed. But considering the number of people being creative today, you have to assume that for every Michelangelo  Leonardo, Raphael and (Ninja Turtles fans think I'm going to say Donatello) Picasso there are thousands of others that created works of art that we will never experience.

Some of that is by design, and we should cherish opportunities to see works of art that will only last for a short time. Among those, ice sculptures have to be among the most short lived.

Over the past two weekends several of my Facebook friends have visited ice festivals in Lewisburg, Chambersburg and Franklin Pennsylvania. I thought I'd share some of their photos (with permission).

Thanks go to our local celebrity, Drew Kelly, the morning guy at WQKX, for photos from Lewisburg.  Additionally, I'd like to thank Karla Groy from Chambersburg.  Finally from back where I grew up, Larry Deal and a reader I'll just call "twins mom", thanks for tons of photos from Franklin, PA.

The local bank sponsored this ice sculpture. Now that's some "cool" cash.

Chief Shikellamy is a local hero.  I'm not sure if this is him, but I'll say yes.

I'm really hoping this is supposed to be an arrowhead. 

Mama polar bear, a close up.

Drew's daughter, Chloe, gets in on the festivities.

Mama bear again, this time with her cubs.

I think this is an old Yankee soldier.

Sometimes you just have to Disco.

The fact these artists use chainsaws makes it even more impressive.

One of my favorites of an artists' pallet

Gorgeous seahorse

I love this old fashioned microphone.

Continuing the musical theme, here comes treble.

I'm not sure if this is a trumpet or a coronet. Nobody was brave enough to try it out.

Philly isn't the only city with a "LOVE" sculpture.

Two horns that look a little, well, horny?

Ba rumpa bump bump.

Play that funky music  Ice Boys!

Twins Mom put the twins on a statue. They're thinking "take the picture, our butts are freezing".

 This dolphin reminds me of the Caribbean, except that it's ice. 

Artistic heart just in time for Valentine's Day.

Very cool (literally) guitar.

Do you hear banjos?

I laughed and I cried.

I'm glad all snowflakes aren't this big.

Nothing like some good sax on a cold night. 

Some of the ice sculptures were lighted that night.

An icy sparrow illuminated by blue and pink lights

Another shot of the daytime sparrow ice sculpture.

Send in the clowns

I'm not sure what she represents, but she's beautiful.

Cinderella's coach is waiting during the day and at night. She has to be home soon.

A cool shot of the snowflake in production.

A magician's hat is full of surprises.

Put on your dancing shoes

Bears can make music too.

The finished ballerina. 

A couple of the ballerina in progress

Apparently T-Rex didn't survive the  Ice Age. 

This snowflake is as unique as Karla's little boy.

This last photo is unique. Granted ice sculptures of tiny men sitting on steps may not seem all that difficult, except for one minor fact. This was done outside an art museum in Brazil. The little men lasted mere minutes. They had already started melting before the artist placed them all. It definitely gives new meaning to temporary art.

Enjoy the rest of your winter!