Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculpting ice presents a number of difficulties due to the variability and volatility of the material. Ice must be carefully selected to be suitable for sculpting.

Ice sculpture is popular in cold countries like Northern part of China, Japan, Sweden, and Canada.

The temperature of the environment affects how quickly the piece must be completed to avoid the effects of melting; if the sculpting does not take place in a cold environment, a large ice house is generally required. For this reason ice sculpture is not common in warm or temperate areas. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_sculpture)

In the Philippines, however, although it is not a cold country, you can find a relatively large “museum” of ice sculpture at the Star City in Pasay City, Manila. The place is called Kong Ice Palace and located inside the Star City. The entrance fee has a range up to Php 50 only but it is much better if you will pay for a “ride all you can ticket” worth Php 250 to enjoy other rides other than watching ice sculptures.

Ice Sculpture at Star CityThe ice sculptures in Start City are placed in more than 75 square meter room maintained at a freezing temperature. The sculpture, as a whole, has an overall theme of a palace inside a jungle and primarily composed of ice sculptures of various plants and animals, human, landscape, and other structures.

Filed in: Art and Literature, Travel
Local date: May, 2008