A Nanaimo ice carver is Alaska-bound with aspirations of being a world champion.
Aaron Grant, of Cool as Ice Ice Sculptures, will fly to Fairbanks, Alaska, to take part in the single block competition at the World Ice Art Championships. From Thursday, Feb. 27, to Saturday, March 1, he will be outdoors in the elements sculpting his entry, with aspirations to win the judges over and take first place and $3,500 in prize money.
Grant's entry will draw on Norse mythology.
"It's a valkyrie, a warrior from the waist up with wings that are going to be nine feet tall," he told the B次元官网网址 Bulletin. "The block's only six feet tall. So I have to stack the ice and build it up to become the final sculpture with a sword too, so itB次元官网网址檚 going to be pretty fragile."
As per rules, freezing elements, such as chemicals, are not allowed B次元官网网址� it has to be all natural.
"You join blocks together with water. You make the surfaces really flat and prep them so they're perfect and you can just add a little bit of water into the joints, and then it refreezes as long as it's below zero," Grant said.
On Saturday, Feb. 22, Grant was at Maple Sugar Festival du Sucre d'脡rable, carving Toffy, the festival's beaver mascot, and his method will be different in Alaska.
"This is subtractive sculpting," said Grant. "I'm taking away from this block, whereas in Alaska I'm building it up and stacking it and joining and then constructing something larger than the block."
For more information, visit .
