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Wintry weekend just right for snow sculpting champs
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| Staff photo by Mark Boxley Paul Larson, of Belvidere, puts the finishing touches on his team's entry in the 19th annual Illinois Snow Sculpture Competition Saturday at Sinnissippi Park in Rockford. The entry, titled "Early Snow Sculpting," took the overall honors in the competition. |
By Rebekah Danaher
Daily News staff writer
ROCKFORD - With intent faces almost completely hidden by hats and hoods, competitors in the Illinois Snow Sculpting Competition finished their final chiseling and chipping on Saturday morning as the sculpting period concluded and judging commenced.
The sculptors had been working in Rockford's Sinnissippi Park since Wednesday, sometimes through the night, to shape their two-ton blocks of packed snow into frosty figures.
The Skupien brothers, last year's state champions, were in a class of their own, being the only international team present. But even without challengers, their efforts were no less valiant.
The Vikings in Black, as they call themselves, had stayed outside through Friday night and into Saturday morning, brushing off the accumulating snow from their sculpture about every 10 minutes.
"We're trying to figure out with no competition why we were out here all night," Steve Skupien said.
But whatever dedication to the art of snow sculpting kept them out for hours in the cold has brought them back to the Illinois competition for 15 years in a row and has taken them as far as New York for other contests. The Skupiens will be competing in the United States Snow Sculpting Competition in Lake Geneva on Feb. 2-5, having qualified with their win in Illinois last year.
The Skupiens' past sculptures have dealt with more serious subjects, but this year they decided to have a little fun with a caped Sesame Street character - "Super Grover."
The several inches of snow that fell Friday night and into Saturday proved to be an added challenge for the participants trying to polish up their sculptures before the 10 a.m. deadline, but no one was complaining.
Laurie Layng, a volunteer coordinator for the event, said the snowflakes were much preferred to rain drops. And despite the cold, she said the competitors were in great spirits.
This year, 22 teams entered the competition, but with room in the park for only 16 blocks of snow, the competitors were narrowed down by a lottery system, according to Layng.
Two teams withdrew, leaving 14 teams to vie for the state champion title. There were also 14 groups in the high school division.
The sculptors judge the work of their fellow challengers, rating their favorites and thus deciding the winners. Members of the public, invited to meander by car or on foot past the displays, cast their votes for the People's Choice Award.
Typically, spectators drive through the park bumper-to-bumper on the contest's final day, but the weekend snowstorm significantly reduced the amount of traffic, according to Community Relations Coordinator for the Park District Vance Barrie.
For the sculptors, the pursuit of first place and snow sculpting glory is only part of their motivation, according to Barrie.
"It's not just a competition," he said. "They're putting on an art show."
In the final minutes before the judging began, the artisans tidied up their work areas, packing up their tools and sweeping away excess snow.
"Some kids just don't grow up," Fred Gardner said of himself and his teammates, William Beard and Paul Larsen.
Gardner estimated that he, Beard and Larsen had spent 50 hours each on their creation, "Early Snow Sculpting" - a depiction of a cave man building a snowman.
"You start with a plain snowman and sometimes you get a little carried away," he said with a laugh.
Andy Cicero, whose team had sculpted an imposing wizard, titled "Spell Caster," demonstrated the flexibility of one useful snow-sculpting tool, which he compared to a machete.
Other essential snow sculpting tools, according to Cicero, are chisels, flat-handed shovels and "really good gloves."
Students from Harlem High School were feeling confident as the first viewers passed their labor of love, "Gaozu's Ascent."
Sarah Kluge, Stephanie Bailey, Sandy Yu and Kelly Madison, under the supervision of Alison Gregory, had finished their project the evening before and were eagerly awaiting the competition results.
All agreed the gratification of completing their sculpture was worth enduring the cold.
And Harlem's efforts were rewarded, as they were named as the first place winners in the high school division at the awards ceremony later in the day.
Guilford High School won the People's Choice Award for its "Joy Ride."
In the regular division, Fred Gardner's team won the State of Illinois Champion's Award and the People's Choice Award for "Early Snow Sculpting."
"The Day Dreamer," created by Michael Bihlmaier, Ted Bihlmaier and Derrick Greenlee won second place, and the "Spell Caster," by Grant Rundblade, Bryan Carstens and Andy Cicero took the third spot.
Fourth place went to Polly Freund, K Dyer, Krista Gustafson for "Music Around the Corner."
Committee's Choice Award was "Snow Man In the Moon" by Becky Robinson, John Gilmore and Nick Zimmerman.
The sculptors had been working in Rockford's Sinnissippi Park since Wednesday, sometimes through the night, to shape their two-ton blocks of packed snow into frosty figures.
The Skupien brothers, last year's state champions, were in a class of their own, being the only international team present. But even without challengers, their efforts were no less valiant.
The Vikings in Black, as they call themselves, had stayed outside through Friday night and into Saturday morning, brushing off the accumulating snow from their sculpture about every 10 minutes.
"We're trying to figure out with no competition why we were out here all night," Steve Skupien said.
But whatever dedication to the art of snow sculpting kept them out for hours in the cold has brought them back to the Illinois competition for 15 years in a row and has taken them as far as New York for other contests. The Skupiens will be competing in the United States Snow Sculpting Competition in Lake Geneva on Feb. 2-5, having qualified with their win in Illinois last year.
The Skupiens' past sculptures have dealt with more serious subjects, but this year they decided to have a little fun with a caped Sesame Street character - "Super Grover."
The several inches of snow that fell Friday night and into Saturday proved to be an added challenge for the participants trying to polish up their sculptures before the 10 a.m. deadline, but no one was complaining.
Laurie Layng, a volunteer coordinator for the event, said the snowflakes were much preferred to rain drops. And despite the cold, she said the competitors were in great spirits.
This year, 22 teams entered the competition, but with room in the park for only 16 blocks of snow, the competitors were narrowed down by a lottery system, according to Layng.
Two teams withdrew, leaving 14 teams to vie for the state champion title. There were also 14 groups in the high school division.
The sculptors judge the work of their fellow challengers, rating their favorites and thus deciding the winners. Members of the public, invited to meander by car or on foot past the displays, cast their votes for the People's Choice Award.
Typically, spectators drive through the park bumper-to-bumper on the contest's final day, but the weekend snowstorm significantly reduced the amount of traffic, according to Community Relations Coordinator for the Park District Vance Barrie.
For the sculptors, the pursuit of first place and snow sculpting glory is only part of their motivation, according to Barrie.
"It's not just a competition," he said. "They're putting on an art show."
In the final minutes before the judging began, the artisans tidied up their work areas, packing up their tools and sweeping away excess snow.
"Some kids just don't grow up," Fred Gardner said of himself and his teammates, William Beard and Paul Larsen.
Gardner estimated that he, Beard and Larsen had spent 50 hours each on their creation, "Early Snow Sculpting" - a depiction of a cave man building a snowman.
"You start with a plain snowman and sometimes you get a little carried away," he said with a laugh.
Andy Cicero, whose team had sculpted an imposing wizard, titled "Spell Caster," demonstrated the flexibility of one useful snow-sculpting tool, which he compared to a machete.
Other essential snow sculpting tools, according to Cicero, are chisels, flat-handed shovels and "really good gloves."
Students from Harlem High School were feeling confident as the first viewers passed their labor of love, "Gaozu's Ascent."
Sarah Kluge, Stephanie Bailey, Sandy Yu and Kelly Madison, under the supervision of Alison Gregory, had finished their project the evening before and were eagerly awaiting the competition results.
All agreed the gratification of completing their sculpture was worth enduring the cold.
And Harlem's efforts were rewarded, as they were named as the first place winners in the high school division at the awards ceremony later in the day.
Guilford High School won the People's Choice Award for its "Joy Ride."
In the regular division, Fred Gardner's team won the State of Illinois Champion's Award and the People's Choice Award for "Early Snow Sculpting."
"The Day Dreamer," created by Michael Bihlmaier, Ted Bihlmaier and Derrick Greenlee won second place, and the "Spell Caster," by Grant Rundblade, Bryan Carstens and Andy Cicero took the third spot.
Fourth place went to Polly Freund, K Dyer, Krista Gustafson for "Music Around the Corner."
Committee's Choice Award was "Snow Man In the Moon" by Becky Robinson, John Gilmore and Nick Zimmerman.
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