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Ice Sculpture
Snow Sculpting Team to Represent the U.S.A in Italy in Jan 08'
Local artists cross the globe!
Geneva artist Francis Joseph Gagnepain IV and Eau Claire artists Jason Anhorn and Stephen Bateman are headed to Italy this winter. This three person team calls themselves The Starvin' Carvists and will be competing in the 18th annual Snow Sculpture Festival held in Innichen/St. Vigil, Italy between January 9th - 16th, 2008. They will represent The United States competing against teams from all over the world.
The Starvin' Carvists have competed in three former snow sculpting events. Bateman, the team captain participated in several events prior to the formation of the Starvin' Carvists.
Their team took second place in February 2007 in Mt. Prospect, IL, at the annual InternationalSnow Visions competition.
In January, they took third place in the International category at Zehnder's Snowfest in Frankenmuth, MI, and they finished in fifth place their first competition in 2006, at Frankenmuth.
For the Snow Sculpture Festival in Italy, The Starvin' Carvists submitted drawings for their two planned sculptures: Fool of the World, showing a boy on a clipper ship, flying in the clouds; and Mother of Invention, showing a woman's face with gears, a light bulb, and a keyhole comprising the back of her head.
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At each event the team is given a 10' by 10' by 10' block of snow for a total of 1,000 SQ FEET! Referring to a small clay model crafted ahead of time, the team sculpts their design using handsaws, ice scrapers, sanding pads and many other homemade tools.
Snow sculpting competitions differ from ice carving events in that teams must use all hand tools, and, in general, the scale of the compacted snow is much larger than when ice is used.
They make their own saws out of aluminum. They use chains to cut out the big sections, they use a horse brush to smooth the snow, and they use a drywall knife for detailing. They work up to 16 hours a day on the sculpture, sometimes they work all night. They want it to be perfect.
Italy is no stranger to snow sculptures. An Olympic sanctioned event, Bardonecchia, Italy was host to the 2006 Olympic Snow Sculpture contest, held as part of the cultural program of the TuriWinter Olympic Games, that year.
Joseph Gagnepain is working with The Geneva Cultural Arts Commission and The City of Geneva on a snow event for downtown Geneva, to be hosted the 3rd week of Febuary 2008. Their will be four proffessional blocks placed at seperate locations around town. The Starvin' Carvists will be one of the four teams competing. Their will also be four local high school teams, each one with their block positioned near a professional block.
Maybe the Starvin' Carvists will make it to the Olympics in the future, but in the meantime, they are raising funds to help pay for their airfare and transportation costs to Italy, as well as for winter gear for the team, such as matching parkas and snow pants. The Tourist Boards for the participating towns, which are located in the Italian Alps, are providing room and board.
Interested businesses are invited to contact The Starvin' Carvists for information on getting promotional patches and logos on the teams gear, which will be worn in Italy and at all future competitions
So there you have it, The Starvin' Carvists are heading for Italy this January, we are seeking sponsorships to help cover airfare costs and equiptment/ tool costs. We are accepting Paypal donations by clicking the link below, and are also accepting sponsorships from businesses. If you would like your business name/ website/ logo/ patch on our gear, email one of us for more information. Thanks for visiting!
You can donate by using the Paypal link below.
$300 donation - Name Printed on Coats
$50 donation - Name and Website Link on Website
$20 donation - 11" x 17" Starvin' Carvist art print
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The Fund Drive
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Current Sponsorship List:
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9000 level - cover expenses and able to compete in future China, Japan, and other International Events
6000 level - cover travel expenses and gear
3000 level - cover travel expenses |
Rex Bohn, Illustrator
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