SNOWDOWN: a gathering place for snow sculptures
Bruce & Liv Barton
Clare Duckett
Dale & Sadie Meyer
Daniel Schaefer
Maggie Schaefer & SNOWDOWN Time-Capsule Contributors
Matt Masters & The Burgener Bunch
Shyra DeSouza, Suri & Lincoln
Tiff Polancec
Veronica Murphy
Caitlind Brown & Wayne Garrett
More TBA!
“Snowdown” may sound like “Showdown” but the title of this collective creative endeavor should instead invoke a resemblance to “Slowdown”. Rather than being a competitive experience, “Snowdown” invites artists to come when the weather suits them to the Hibernation Project headquarters, Caitlind and Wayne’s house in Ramsay, make snow sculptures then leave them to mingle with those left by others. With each new flurry more snow creations may arrive and with each Chinook or sunny day some may go.
The first few weeks of the project were marked by remarkably little precipitation.
After waiting anxiously for what felt like forever, it FINALLY snowed, and boy were we ready!
Shyra DeSouza brought her young family members, Suri & Lincoln, to make the first piece for SNOWDOWN!
Following a blizzard a few days later, more artists arrived, ready to sculpt hilarious and delightful things using Winter’s most readily available material!
Maggie served up hot chocolate and made everyone traditional French-Canadian winter treat, Tire d’érable (maple taffy).
The fresh snow conditions were perfect for mounding and carving.
Bruce & Liv Barton made a castle – complete with turrets and fine details, carved with household cutlery.
Clare M. Duckett made formalist snow semi-spheres, modelled using a wooden bowl.
Dale Meyer carved a whimsical duck (goose?) from snow, and his daughter Sadie jumped in the contribution of baby ducklings (goslings?) tailing the feathered mama on her snowy adventure.
Maggie Schaefer made an ice and snow sculpture. She and Daniel Schaefer packed in the SNOWDOWN Time-Capsule on a homemade shelf beneath Maggie’s snow summoning beacon.
SNOWDOWN Time-Capsule holds a series of artworks from various artists, collected by Maggie and packed into the shelf surrounded by snow. The pieces are preserved in time until the snow melts away and reveals the contents of the shelf.
Matt Masters & The Burgener Bunch made multiple excellent snow sculptures around the yard, ranging from volcanoes (complete with dried berry lava) to aerial-view cats, and more!
For his part, Tiff Polancec sculpted a geographical feature from seminal 70s sci fi movie, Close Encounters of the Third Kind!
Veronica Murphy sculptured a giant snow snake, slithering softly across the lawn!
Wayne Garrett made his specialty…
… cats! Wayne sculpted a series of life-sized snow cats around the yard.
Caitlind Brown added a layer to a sculpture she and Wayne started building during the “dry spell” before SNOWDOWN.
Along with all the other sculptures, this piece sits in the yard, awaiting the melting rays of the sun. Thank you to everyone who participated and visited SNOWDOWN!
Want to make a snow sculpture? You’re invited!
This is an ongoing theme! As long as there’s snow on the ground, you are welcome to contribute to SNOWDOWN. You can either make a snow sculpture in our yard (send us a message here) or make one from afar, and share it with us on instagram or facebook by tagging #HPsnowdown!
THE HIBERNATION PROJECT 
2 Comments Add yours