Our Nottingham ice-sculpting students have been hard at work in Harbin, northeast China, producing a hollow Earth Globe sculpture as their entry for a second competition at the 2013 Snow and Ice Festival.

In the team’s words, “We won! We really did this time, we came first in our second competition alongside six other first place sculptures.”

They go on, “It was hard work, as we … got stuck straight in without a day’s rest. The temperature was much warmer at the University because it was far less exposed and there were lots more sculptures. The competition is the largest in the world with about 60 teams competing.”

As newbies in the world of ice sculpting, the team picked up skills fast during their first attempt, a larger-than-life car crash. And it shows in their words, “…we were happier with our sculpture this time round, which proves to show that practice makes perfect. It was also nice to feel we were back on home turf at the Harbin Engineering University which we now know so well.”

They’re getting to be publicity hounds too, with trophy presentations, and interviews for a Harbin newspaper.

Well done, Team Nottingham!

There’s more to read, as well as a pic of the Earth Globe at the blog here or click the link on the top bar.

The student team from Nottingham University have hauled in a prize at Harbin, the city in northeast China, where one of the world’s biggest Ice and Snow Festivals is running.

In the team’s words, “WE WON!!!!!! Well.. the Creativity Prize anyway which is a cash prize of 1000 RMB (about £100), a medal each and a certificate each (and one for the Uni). We stood out as the most creative idea which is always nice to hear! The First place went to France, who we’d become good friends with.

“The closing ceremony was really good, if not a little chaotic to begin with. We genuinely thought we were going to get a commemorative prize, which is essentially a ‘thanks for taking part prize’ but when Yinguo (England) was called out for the creative prize we were really surprised!”

According to the team, transferring their original 2D plans to a 3D ice sculpture was not easy, especially in cold that had icicles forming in their eyelashes and hair. As I write this, the temperature in Harbin is ‘just’ -16C, with tonight’s chill dropping to -31C and below.

Snow sculpture themes varied dramatically, depending on whether competitors came from East or West. Most Eastern teams went for classical themes, whereas Japan and the West were more contemporary – our team created a larger-than-life car crash, the Italians carved a piece of pasta, the French made a pure abstract, while the Japanese produced a water droplet.

Well done Nottingham team, and a special congratulation to my daughter Emily, shown at left in the team pic above.

In the team’s words, “…It felt truly rewarding to be bestowed with the creative prize, and to be applauded by what are masters in this art.”

More to read here or click on the link in the top bar.

The Nottingham University Snow Sculpture team left from Birmingham Airport early Wednesday this week, and by Friday had flown via Schipol and Beijing to Harbin, northeast China.

The temperature there is today is around the -21C mark, so the cold weather gear they packed (one case tipped the scales at more than 30 kg) will have already proved absolutely essential clothing. Mind you, that’s the daytime temperature – last night it was -30C! So it’s no wonder that the Chinese can mine the local waterways for metre-size chunks of ice, and also that Harbin is aptly titled the ‘Ice City.’

Emily Stapleton-Jefferis (second from left in the pic below) has this to say of the challenge, “…I’m currently in my second year studying Decorative Arts which I absolutely love! It means we get to explore loads of different materials from ceramics, to metal, to wood, and learn the skills to create beautiful and interesting pieces. I love all areas of Art and Design so when I found out about this competition I couldn’t wait to apply!”

Emily adds, “I’ve never worked on such a large scale before and know this is going to be a real challenge, which I actually find incredibly exciting as I love trying new things! I can’t wait to learn how to sculpt snow properly with all the exciting tools as I’ve only ever made a snowman before… The previous year’s entries look amazing and are really inspiring as to what we could possibly make.”

There’s enthusiasm for you, and right now that brio is being backed up by a course of practical skills, as the students are being taught the fine art of Chinese snow sculpture by mentors at Harbin Engineering University. The amazing snow sculpture shown at the top was hewn out of the white stuff at the last Festival, in 2011, so Nottingham Uni’s snow crew has a mighty challenge ahead!

You can keep up with the team at the Nottingham Uni blog, link at the top right of the main page.

Four students from Nottingham Trent University in the Midlands leave England for China this week, to represent the UK in the 18th Harbin International Snow Sculpture Competition.

Harbin, a city in north-east China, hosts one of the world’s four largest ice and snow festivals, matching the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan, Canada’s Quebec City Winter Carnival, and the Ski Festival in Norway. Ice for Harbin’s amazing architectural fantasies is mined in industrial quantities from the local river with lighting supplied via LEDs. These are bright but cool, enabling the amazing colour visions you see here – and they can change colour too, lending a further dimension to the icy city-within-a-city.

The four students – Emily Stapleton-Jefferis (my daughter), Lucy Woodhead, Sam Hewland, and Liman Metolli –  are studying fine and decorative arts, product design, and architectural technology, and they will head for the Harbin Engineering University, where they will be trained in snow sculpture techniques. The actual competition takes place in early January 2013, so they won’t have time to hang about!

Leading the team is Peter Westland, Dean of the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment at Nottingham, who reckons the competition is, “a fantastic opportunity” that will, “enable them to experience a new culture, meet new people and learn new skills.”

They will also experience temperatures far below our experience in England of course. Their winter gear will have to protect them from sub-zero temperatures that can drop to a shiveringly chill -30° Celsius or even colder.

Nottingham Trent University has form in the competition, and this year’s students have a record to match in the biennial event, as the last team won the Universities section in 2011.

Go Emily, Lucy, Sam, Liman!

Updates to come via Nottingham Trent University.