Schreiber Ont., artist takes up cool new craft making ice sculptures

An artist in Schreiber Ont., who is well known for creating unique pieces of art in the snow, has taken to a new medium this winter.

Kim Asmussen has started to craft sculptures out of ice blocks and has been placing the final pieces around his hometown.

"Last year I took a crack at [sculpting] a baby grand piano and it was a live and learn procedure … I ended up finally making it through trial and error. So, I wanted to look at it a bit more in depth this year so, I did more researching on how to build the clear blocks," explained Asmussen in an interview with CBC Radio.

The latest sculpture crafted by Asmussen depicts a life sized soldier complete with a World War I era Brodie helmet and rifle. The soldier is standing and praying with his comrades, said Asmussen.

The artwork entitled "Frozen In Time," is on display at the Schreiber Cenotaph Park for the public to enjoy.

"I think it's tug at quite a few heartstrings, like a lot of people were fairly emotional with it. So, I'm obviously happy with that because that's sort of what you want out of an art piece. People, you know, reflecting on what happened in World War I and World War II," said Asmussen.

The ice sculptures Asmussen creates are done using a number of tools including a chainsaw, a grinder, metal frames and pumps to keep the water circulating as it freezes from the bottom up.

Asmussen said perfecting the clear ice blocks has taken practice, adding that he uses a torch to shine the sculptures once they're completed.

"As it's getting warmer, it's even shining up more … the nighttime it looks really good and during the day. You know, it all depends on, you can drive around the corner and it has a different look from each different view," he said.

Asmussen has also sculpted a stack of books for the local library and a wisdom tooth for a dentist office in Schreiber.

He said next winter he hopes to provide the township with multiple sculptures for everyone to enjoy.