How to make a snow sculpture

How to make a snow sculpture.

We've been snow sculpting for a few years now, and we make quite a few sculptures every year. I've gathered some experience over the years, and I'd like to write some of it down here because there is not a lot of information about this on the net.

Ideal snow.

Yes, there is such thing as ideal snow for sculpting. Sculpting works best when the temperature is right around 36 degrees Fahrenheit (just a little above freezing). The snow will 'pack' real well at that temperature. Anything higher and you're looking at a quickly melting mess. Anything lower and it won't pack too well.

There is heavy snow and there is powdery snow. Clearly, the heavy snow works best, but that doesn't mean that you can't use the powdery stuff. No snow it too bad for sculpting.


Tools

We use shovels to pile up the snow, and we use a hand shovel as well as a trowel for the actual sculpting. Sometimes a knife is used for sculpting small details.
The trowel is a must because your tools need to be sharp. If a tool is not sharp, you could end up breaking off parts of the sculptures. Also, a sharp tool makes clean cuts. Cutting through snow is not always as easy as it sounds.


How to start

There are different ways to start, depending on the size of the sculpture. If you are making a small sculpture, you can put the snow in a form (like a 5 gallon pail), make a snowcake and then sculpt away. Forms are good if you want to make a face, and they can also be used in combination with other methods. For example, when we sculpt humans, we might sculpt them from a pile of snow, and then make a snowcake for the head. Put the snowcake on the body, and sculpt the face.

For larger sculptures you need to pile up snow, lots and lots of snow. A snowblower works well, and so does a shovel or a wovel. Make sure to "pack" the snow constantly because you want a solid block. If you don't pack the snow, the sculpture will crumble and you'll have a real hard time with it. Best is to pile and pack the snow several days in advance, and then let it sit for a few days. We usually pile up snow early in the week and let it sit until the weekend. The packing of the snow is the secret to a good, solid sculpture. The temperature doesn't matter as much, as long as you have the snow packed very carefully. Give it a few days and it will settle.

To make snowcakes, pack the snow really, really well in a clean 5 gallon pail or any device you want to use. I really mean pack it well. If your 5 gallon pail doesn't weigh about 20 pounds, then you haven't packed it well enough. To get the snowcake out of the form, bang on the sides real hard. This is not an easy part, the snowcake won't just slide out, you have to loosen it by banging on the sides of the form. Lift the upside down form now and then to see if it is ready to slide. Make sure to slide the snowcake out in the spot where you're going to use it. Moving it afterwards is very difficult, or let's say nearly impossible.

Balls: Other than a big pile of snow and snowcakes, you can also roll balls, depending on what you are going to carve. Big balls pack automatically under their own weight and are often easier to sculpt with than piles of snow.


The sculpting

Once you have your snow ready, which is the hardest part, you are ready to sculpt. Work slowly and carefully. You can add snow if you mess up, but the sculpture will not be as strong as when you work from the original pile.
Use common sense. Think physics. It's a pity when you make a huge sculpture and then it ends up collapsing. Avoid this by using common sense.