Snow Sculpture

 

            Today's Snack: Let's make a fruit ice! It's kind of like ice cream, without the cream, so it's low-calorie and very refreshing! It's like flavored snow. You need a blender that can crush ice, so it has to be pretty strong. Just put ice in the blender, and whirl away. It takes quite a few batches to make enough "snow" for more than one serving. So if you're fixing this treat for a crowd, put your "snow" in the freezer as you work, and take it out only when you have enough. To fix your fruit ice, just pour apple juice, cranberry juice, orange juice, white grape juice, pineapple juice, or whatever flavor fits your fancy, over the "snow," and stir. Now take an ice-cream scoop, and scoop it into a bowl. Garnish with a mint leaf, or a maraschino cherry on a colorful toothpick. Enjoy!

 

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If you're lucky enough to have snow outside, you can make an outdoor statement that goes 'way beyond a snowman: snow sculpture.

 

            You can make a statue that just stands there, such as a tree or house, or something with which people can interact, such as a throne or a farm. You can make it something recognizable, or just a neat shape or pattern.

 

            Decide what you want to make, pick a spot where passers-by will see it, gather up what you need, and bundle up with waterproof gloves or mittens so that you'll stay comfortable as you create.

 

            Use household items as molds that you can pack snow into tightly, and dump out into a shape, the same as you do with wet sand at the beach:

 

            Buckets

            Plastic storage tubs

            Margarine tubs

            Square, round and rectangular plastic food storage containers

            Strainer

           

            You can spray these molds with cooking spray to help make the molded snow come out more easily.

 

            Now gather up sculpting tools:

 

            Big serving spoon

            Flat spatula

            Cake froster

            Basting brush

            Vegetable peeler

            Apple corer

            Garden tools, especially children's plastic rakes

 

            The idea is to make your basic shape with snow-packed molds, and then add to it, or subtract from it, with more snow that you shape with the tools into the curves and domes and other 3-D shapes that will make your sculpture complete.

           

            For a group project when there's lots of soft snow on the ground, make a life-size igloo. Plan it to be big enough for one or two people to get inside. Use a square mold, or cut cubes out of a rectangular one. You can use a hacksaw to cut straight lines, if you have adult supervision. You can plug holes and cracks with additional soft snow, and rub it in to conceal seams. Don't forget to make an opening!

           

            Even though you had fun, you're only an amateur. It's amazing what people with lots of sculpting experience can do with plain old snow. To see what the snow sculpture professionals are up to:

           

            http://www.gobreck.com/page.php?pname=events/annual/breckenridge-snow-sculptures