Winter refuses to loosen its tentacles from parts of India; particularly the north. The blasted western disturbance (the name for any bizarre climate event that cannot be explained otherwise) continues to inundate us with unseasonal showers. Meanwhile, there are artists who make the most of chilly conditions that they find themselves in:
A trio of Indians won a snow sculpting competition in Japan recently without any government support or sponsorship. A team of Indian men from rural areas – Abhyuday – was the first from India to participate. They won first prize for their ice sculpture of Lord Vishnu’s Varah Avatar (Swine Incarnation); followed by the teams from Russia and Thailand.
This is a yearly event in China since the early 1980s. Apart from the stunning, detailed, large scale ice sculptures which include re-creations of landmarks such as the Milan Cathedral, Rome's Coliseum, the festival features mass weddings, sled rides and swimming in freezing water.
They were funny, whimsical, imaginative! Some immortalised icons such as Charlie Chaplain in ice, others featured lovable cartoon characters; there were dinos, massive eyeglasses and much more on display.
One of Michigan's largest ice festivals, this event is sponsored by various community coalitions and advocacy groups. Sculptures include a beautiful cat, a wall of love, a foosball table and much more.
The creator of this icy version of the Monalisa is Robert Greenfield and these were the words accompanying his Facebook post of the video: “This is not exactly a masterpiece, but I present the Snowna Lisa! Oh, you think that's bad? Wait till I tell you it should be hanging in the Igloouvre.”
Apart from artistic things scultpted from ice, there are people enjoying some ice skating at the ice festival. A unicorn, some star signs other images featured in the show which featured world-renowned ice sculptors from Harbin, China.
Photographer Noah Harrison took these photographs on the shores of Lake Erie. The unusually cold temperatures, strong winds and lake water have come together to create these!
The water has frozen on trees and other places to create some amazing natural ice sculpture.
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