Breckenridge Snow Sculpture Winners

The 2011 Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships where held last week in Breckenridge, with the sculptors putting down their tools on Saturday Jan. 30. The resulting works of art are available for viewing by the public, weather permitting, through Sunday, Feb. 6.

The artists compete for glory, not money--there is no cash prize for this competition. The event is free to watch...with the only "fee" being $1 to vote for people's choice, $1 = 1 vote. All proceeds from the voting go to funding the event for future years.

1st Place- Team Mexico
2nd Place- Team Canada- Yukon
3rd Place- Team Breckenridge

“Team Mexico definitely took some risks,” said Jenn Cram, judge coordinator and Arts District Administrator for the Town of Breckenridge. “They defied gravity in several areas on the piece, especially with the dragon head. The contrast of thick and thin areas created a wonderful fluidity. Additionally, the piece was covered with finely executed texture that spoke to and had a strong connection to the team’s heritage. Team Mexico’s expression, use of ice for details and overall risk taken resulted in a superbly-executed sculpture with 360 degrees of interest.”

While Team Mexico won the first prize in the eyes of the official judges, both Team Canada-Yukon and Team Breckenridge produced crowd favorites.

People's Choice- Team Canada- Yukon
Kid's Choice- Team Breckenridge
Artist's Choice- Team Canada- Yukon

Photos of the sculptures show the detail the artists are able to achieve.

Team Mexico's winner titled “Alebrije,” depicts three mythological beings of Mexican culture. Team Canada Yukon's "Spirits of the Aurora,” represents the Northern Lights. Team USA Breckenridge's “Underwater,” used the shape of the 12-foot-tall starting block to act as a frame for a below-the-sea scene.

Colorado's Cool Carving Competition Commences

The Budweiser International Snow Sculpture Championships are held in Breckenridge, Colorado every year. The first internal competition in the town was in 1991 so this year mark's the town's 21st competition.

The competition allows only hand tools to touch the 10x10x12 blocks of snow (yes, that's feet) that weigh in at 20 tons. The competition starts today with 5 person teams coming from Russia, China, Japan, Morocco, Belize, Finland, France, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Mexico, Great Britain, Spain, Bulgaria and Canada and of course, the United States. This year 8 countries are represented by the 15 teams with the US boasting 4 different teams all competing for medals and ribbons--but no cash. Sculptors do it for the fun of it and love to have you come enjoy the process and the results.

The teams have five days (65 hours total) to create their masterpieces. After that a panel of artist judges will find a favorite on the basis of theme, style and technique. At the awards ceremony on Sunday (at 3:30pm), the sculptors will also learn which team has been selected as People's Choice, Kids' Choice and Artists' Choice. People vote with $1 donations, with the money going to help support the event.

Some years the works are melting by the time the weekend comes, but this year it looks like the temperatures will be cool enough to preserve the work. Mother Nature permitting, the sculptures will remain on display until the evening of Sunday Feb. 6.

Organizers suggest visitors come before then and watch the pieces evolve--which is a lot of fun. It is hard to see what they are doing at first, but then suddenly the work reveals itself. Very cool...no pun intended. Friday night Jan 28 ought to be a really fun night since it is frequently an "all nighter" for the artists as they put on the finishing touches before they judging on Saturday the 29th which begins at 10:00am.

Many of the sculptors who participate in snow sculpting also work in other materials other times of the year. Loveland sculptor Jack Kreutzer is a stone sculptor and one of the founders of the Sculpture in the Park show every summer (this summer will be the 28th annual event.)

Learn more about the snow sculpting competition including the best parking spots and some photos from past events. The venue is at the Riverwalk area (see map) and there are shuttles from other parts of town.

Check out more photos, information and even videos of past events.

Yule Marble Quarry Reopens with Italian Ties

Good news for lovers of the beautiful white stuff from Colorado called Yule Marble (yes we have beautiful white stuff that is not snow!) After being closed for 10 months the quarry is reopening under new ownership.

Read the Denver Post article.

It seems that Colorado Marble and Carrara Marble are now linked: the new owner is from Carrara, Italy!

I'm actually working on a small piece of snow white Yule Marble right now, so I was pleased to hear this news.

Stone Sculptor Works in Limestone and Marble

Local sculptor Gene Milway took art lessons in high school, but like most of us pursued other ways to make a living. About 40 years ago Gene first started sculpting using clay.

Now Gene carves in limestone and in marble--Yule marble from here in Colorado and Carrara marble from Italy.

He has attended the popular Marble Marble symposium five times. This symposium is organized by another local sculptor, Madeline Wiener, and it takes place in Marble, Colorado near Aspen every summer.

Gene has also spent 3 weeks in Italy near the famous Carrara marble quarry.

I have met Gene and his lovely wife, Gaea. While I was at their home, Gene showed me his pieces and was very generous with his time telling and showing me a variety of tools he uses in his studio at home.

Gene's work is often displayed in Fort Collins' Lincoln Center, and the sculpture shows in Loveland: Sculpture in the Park and the Loveland Sculpture Invitational.

Christmas Ornaments by Loveland Sculptors

One of the wonderful traditions Loveland, Colorado has is offering special Christmas ornaments every year. This tradition started 20 years ago with the first ornament created by Cammie Lundeen.

Lundeen loves sculpting horses and was invited to create this year's ornament in honor of the 20th anniversary. Of course she chose to create some loving and lovely horses for this tree trimmer.

Ornaments are available at many stores for $25, or by mail for $30 (which includes the shipping and handling.) But don't expect to get the original for any where close to that--only 600 were made and they are a hot collectible now, with one selling recently for $1000!

To order by mail, send your $30 check to Winter Holiday Council, PO Box 2274, Loveland, CO 80539. Proceeds from the sale of the ornaments pay for holiday displays all around Loveland.

Carving Out Santa

A Loveland couple has amassed an extensive collection of hand carved wooden Santas.

What makes this collection even more amazing is that they created them, all 130 of them, themselves! Jim Siegl is the carver and Helen paints the figures.

They are beautiful and filled with all sorts of details...what a great hobby they have created for themselves.

Gratitude Book

I am super excited to finally be able to let the cat out of the bag...this project has been so much fun and so fulfilling...and for this next part I need YOUR help TODAY, Wednesday, Dec. 15

I have been honored to be asked to be a co-author of an incredible new book: "The Gratitude Book Project: Celebrating 365 Days of Gratitude" and we are going for an ambitious goal--to become an Amazon best-seller!

So if you are looking for an inspiring book, either for yourself or as a gift for a loved one, please consider this book that will provide that inspiration day after day--all year long!

And, feel good about your purchase for another reason: 100% of the proceeds from the Amazon sales go to 4 worthwhile charities! That's right, 100%--we don't get a dime!

The goal is to get as many sales as possible on Wednesday, Dec. 15 in order to hit that best-seller mark. Why is that so important? Well, best-seller status will get us a lot of traction and help us earn more money for these worthy charities.

So who gets the money?
We have selected four non-profits to receive the proceeds from our sales on Amazon:

* ASPCA for the prevention of animal abuse
* FeedingAmerica
* Make-a-Wish
* Women for Women International

How do I order?
Ordering the book is easy,just go to Amazon and search for "The Gratitude Book Project" or you can click on this link that will take you directly there: http://amzn.to/fbXLpN

This book is special to me because it really helps remind us of all the things that we do have to be grateful for...things we often over look. Some simple things and some really big ones, too--like YOU!