Suguru Kanbayashi works on an ice sculpture honouring the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee that will be unveiled at Winterlude.
For many residents who have grown up in Ottawa, the towering ice sculptures found in Confederation Park during Winterlude figure into childhood memories of crisp February weekends spent playing in the snow and eating Beaver Tails.
But for Suguru Kanbayashi, the son of one of the first ice carvers to participate in Winterlude’s annual international ice sculpture competition, the frozen figures and scenes have always been a part of life.
“I was basically a toddler walking around the park when it all got started,” says Kanbayashi, 33.
As a teenager, Kanbayashi says he became interested in ice carving while helping his father, Ikuo, create sculptures for weddings.
“I’ve always enjoyed drawing,” Kanbayashi says. “I don’t do any other sculpting other than ice, but I do a fair bit of drawing.”
He improved his skills through practice, and by the age of 17, he was competing in some of Winterlude’s ice sculpture competitions as a solo carver.
For the sixth or seventh year in a row, Kanbayashi is preparing to compete for the $3,200 cash prize in Winterlude’s pairs ice sculpture competition Feb. 3-5.
The National Capital Commission begins preparing for the competition as soon as the previous Winterlude is over, says Marie-Sylvie Pérusse, program co-ordinator for Confederation Park, where the ice carving takes place. The competition seeks to include 14 pairs every year, she says, and this year, pairs are coming from as far away as Mexico and Sweden.
The NCC will provide each team with access to an electrical outlet, a stepladder, a piece of plywood, a table, scaffolding, lighting, an ice lifter to be shared among all groups, a tarp and a plastic container, according to the rules of the competition.
Teams will bring their own carving tools, but they are not allowed to use lighting effects, generators, props, some coolants or colouring.
Teams will have access to 18 blocks of ice, Pérusse says. Their sculptures have to fit within area and height restrictions.
But one of the biggest challenges of the competition is the weather, especially the temperature, Kanbayashi says.
Winterlude uses tents to protect the sculptures and the sculptors from the elements, but when temperatures rise, the tents can’t completely protect the sculptures from melting, Pérusse says.
The ice carvers will have 30 hours to create their pieces, but if it gets too warm and the sculptures are at risk of melting, the judges may end the competition early.
Two years ago at Winterlude, the temperatures were so warm that the sculptures melted before the end of the competition, Pérusse says.
“I had breakfast with one of the carvers and I said, ‘My God, it’s so sad, you know? You worked so hard on a sculpture and you see your sculpture melt like this and fall apart,’ ” she says.
“And he said to me, ‘You know why I chose that job? Because I can create a new thing every time’.”
Sometimes, the weather conditions are the complete opposite, causing a different set of problems, Kanbayashi says, describing a recent competition in Edmonton where he worked in freezing temperatures and a snow storm to complete his sculpture.
“My lips are still chapped,” he says. “But you just have to fight through it and try to do the best you can under the conditions and try to be as efficient and creative as you can.”
Ice sculpture judges look for competitors to “push the limit,” says Paul Germain, the founder of the Academy of Ice Carving and Design in Fresno, Calif.
“Typically, the sculptures being done for competitions are not practical for events that you would sell, for clients,” he says.
“The competition pieces are typically not meant to last a long time. The number one way to win a competition is to make it look like it’s going to fall, but it doesn’t.”
But safety is as important as artistry, Germain says.
At Winterlude, carvers will be wearing construction boots and other safety equipment.
Safety has to be a priority because carvers use sharp equipment, including chainsaws andchisels, which carry inherent safety risks that make the occasional accident almost unavoidable, he says.
As architecturally risky pieces gain more favour with judges, it’s also important to have an escape route in case the sculpture collapses, Kanbayashi adds.
For his team’s sculpture in this year’s competition, Kanbayashi says the design will depict a child having a dream.
The child will be surrounded by a scene from the dream, featuring creatures of the child’s imagination acting as her protectors.
The competition will be tiring and the sculpture may not last for long, but it’ll be worth the hard work, he says.
“It’s pretty rewarding being able to create art so quickly and in a medium that’s just so awe-inspiring,” Kanbayashi says.
“Pictures just can’t do ice carvings justice. You have to see it for yourself and watch the light reflect off the surfaces of the ice sculpture.”