Sculptures In The Stages Of Creation

 Picking up where I left off yesterday back at Winterlude 2016. Watching the carvers at work is a benefit to living here.

One of the larger stand-alone sculptures that year was a wall of ice, with photographs embedded within. The theme was life in Canada's far north.

Another large sculpture was done for the National Research Council, a government organization that conducts scientific research and has its headquarters here.

Staging The Winter Wonderland

Turning back to 2016 and Winterlude, I took this photo from the Bank Street Bridge early one evening, with the Moon rising to the east as skaters were below on the Canal.

Confederation Park beckoned me on a day before the festival when set up was underway.

A view of some of the shelters for the large ice sculptures.

Work was just starting on a big one out here. The boxes at left- all ice. The blocks are made in a factory setting and shipped here. The result is clear cut ice.

That big sculpture in progress.

The first weekend, the pairs and solo carvers get to work on their creations. It's a treat to watch them at work.

Gracefulness In The Cold

Here we have more of the small sculptures around the fountain at Confederation Park back in 2015.

Typically sculptures are made to allow for photo ops. Just stand behind it with your head in the gap.

The large standalone sculpture sponsored by a government department that year was this one. 2015 was the year of the Pan Am Games in Toronto.

Here we have more of the big sculptures done by international and Canadian carvers. For whatever reason I didn't take as many shots in 2015. Tomorrow we start looking at 2016.

Beautiful Ice Sculptures

Have a look at my writer's blog today for my perspective on the ending of the occupation of Ottawa by the so called 'freedom convoy' in recent days.

Today we turn to Winterlude 2015, and in Confederation Park the big sculptures were as beautifully carved as ever.

Out around the fountain, the small sculptures had their own charms.

A Playground Of Snow

 Winterlude in Jacques Cartier Park turns the place into a big playground. The snow sculptures in 2014 were of a sports theme, since it was a winter Olympics year.

Each year vast mounds of snow are built up in the park to create snow slides. 

Along the sides of backs of these mounds, carvings are made into the snow.

Another carving here. These are big.

A walk down toward the river shoreline takes in the frozen Ottawa River. There's someone walking out there. Something I would never do. There's open water upstream from here, and the current is swift.

This second view looks towards the Alexandra Bridge and Parliament Hill.

And back into Ottawa on another day. Skaters were on the Rideau Canal where Patterson Creek feeds into the main body of the Canal. A portion of this area is cleared for skaters.

My last featured shot for Winterlude 2014 was this ice sculpture in Confederation Park.