One of the main winter joys is plentiful, thick and dense snow. In addition to the beauty that he gives to the outside world, snow provides opportunities incompatible with summer: snowballs, snowmen, sledging (or on the pope) from the ice slide. Winter does not pass for any child without at least one snowman. Both parents and peers willingly participate in this fun. However, not quite lazy people with a creative streak can not only entertain their child, but also decorate the yard or a nearby park with a real work of applied art. By the way, children will like this idea much more than sculpting an ordinary snowman.
Let's start with a simple
Before any complex figure of snow is created, it is worth practicing on something simple. For example, to update or improve your knowledge and skills (regarding sculpting from this natural material) on an ordinary slide. Only during construction, to improve its design with the use of those skills that will be useful when snowy figures are already being built.
From the snow, if there is not a sufficiently high snowdrift nearby, a mountain of that shape and height that you have in mind is built. If there is a lot of source material, there is inspiration and a supply of strength, then the snowdrift can be made winding, like a descent for bobsled. Just be sure to sculpt the sides higher so that the children do not fly off the structure! At the same time, practice working with snow. On a steeper slope, steps are cut or trampled, the entire workpiece is well compacted - where with a shovel, where with its feet - and filled with water.
The slide will be very useful, and when the figure from the snow is created directly, the kids have something to do, so it will not interfere and ruin the “hut” in the process of creation, and then it will become a pity.
Preparatory stage
Naturally, you must first decide what will be blinded. For starters, it's better to choose something simple, without small details. To help yourself, you can print a picture that depicts your future snow figure. But the most important thing is to catch the moment when the molding material is ready for work. In severe frosts, the snow is crumbly and sticks poorly. An ideal time would be early spring or thaw times. However, on other days, snow may be of a suitable structure - if the temperature is not lower than minus eight and the air is quite humid.
Before you make figures out of snow, you need to check its stickiness. To do this, it is enough to squeeze a handful of material in a fist. If, when unclenching, it does not crumble, but repeats the outline of the palm of your hand, you can proceed to your fascinating pursuit.
Since you will have to work with a cold substance, take care of your hands. On ordinary warm gloves, you must put on rubber, and preferably insulated. The ideal choice is fishing - they do not crack from the frost and do not pass it to the body.
Old-fashioned sculptural works
To make intricate figures out of the snow with your own hands, you will also need a bucket of heated water. Periodically, it will have to be changed - winter is still outside, and in cold water it is not enough to wet your hands even with protective gloves. The process itself is not much different from working with the same clay or clay (except on a scale). Only one caveat: you need to regularly iron your sculpture with wet hands. So the snow will catch faster, and the figure will become stronger. This is especially true for small parts - without water they will most likely fall off quickly.
First, the main outline of the planned sculpture is fashioned. Very thin parts are cut with a spatula on an already frozen basis.
When the snow figure satisfies your artistic taste, you can gently pour it with chilled water. If there are a lot of small parts, it is better to spray from the spray gun, so as not to wash away the important "details". The water will freeze, and your creativity will last much longer.
Art carving
If the snow is dry, but you want to create immediately, we resort to another method. A box is taken (it is better plywood, but also suitable from strong cardboard), the bottom is removed, the frame is placed on the ground and rammed with snow. You can moisten it with water for better adhesion. Another level is attached from above - until the height of the "tower" is sufficient for the idea. From above they again hold with wet gloves - and the base is ready. Now the knife is taken, and the carving process begins, similar to the way the ice statues are made.
The embodiment of global ideas
If monumental figures of snow are conceived (the photos presented in the article will tell you the general direction in which you can work), you can not do without a frame. The easiest way to make it out of plywood, battens or boards, simply roughly outlining the necessary contours. Inside and around them, the snow is compacted and poured with water until the desired figure is obtained. The same basis is needed for through architectural structures, for example, for arches.
Subsequent work is all in the same cutting: cut off everything that is not embedded in the image, clean up unnecessary bulges and growths - and get snowy beauty.
Color fantasies
Please note: even if you built a magnificent sculpture, the source material is too faded and does not make much impression. Wanting to achieve perfection, sculptors go to a variety of tricks. The most affordable is the freezing of colored inserts: you dilute watercolors in water, pour them into molds (even children's shallow passages are suitable) - and into the freezer. Then they can stick to the whole body of the figure, making it bright and elegant.
More complex are the technology of coloring the entire sculpture. If her body is uniform in color, gouache or watercolor can be added directly to the snow. The difficulty is to achieve uniform color: the tone usually turns out somewhere lighter, somewhere brighter. Alternatively, you can use a spray gun with diluted paints. However, there may also be trouble in the form of drips.
Well, artists really wait until a layer of ice hardens on the figure, then they take brushes and thick paints and color it in accordance with the plan.