For the first time in 30 years, Kelly Patterson invested in a pair of longjohns. It was one of his many layers as he worked in front of his Simpson Street home in December. He had to work in 15 minute bursts, retreating into his house to warm up for 30 minutes.
“I’m not a real big fan of the cold,” he said.
While most people in Yorkton cranked up their heat and bundled up in their blankets during the big chill in December, Patterson forced himself outside. It was cold enough before he started working with ice. He could feel the frigid temperature through his gloves.
But he kept going, working on his project for close to a week. Finally, he stepped back and admired his work. He was done.
Three massive ice sculptures stood on his lawn.
Patterson is an artist. His collection of paintings, “Surface and Seduction,” was featured at the Godfrey Dean Art Gallery last September. This year, he tried his hand at winter sculpting.
“This is the first time I’ve done anything like [this] with ice,” he said.
Patterson bought a series of plastic containers of varying shapes. He filled them with water and left them outside overnight. In the morning, he slid the plastic off and picked up his smooth ice blocks.
That’s when the real work started. Patterson stacked the blocks into a tower shape, delicately balancing them. He filled balloons with water and food colouring, froze them, and put them on top of the structures.
“It freezes like concrete,” he said.
Patterson dosed the towers with water from a spray bottle, which froze and held them together, He hollowed them out and filled them with lights so they glowed in the night.
“I didn’t want it to look too Christmas-y,” he said.
Patterson has seen dozens of people get out of their cars and snap photos of his icy installations.
“My favourite part has been seeing people’s reaction to it,” he said. “That’s been the biggest kick for me.”
Patterson calls his three towers a “proof of concept.” Next year, he wants to take everything he learned about ice sculptures and create something even bigger.
“Next year, it’s going to be epic,” he said. “Something grand, like a castle.
“I’m really excited.”
The sculptures will stay up for as long as the cold weather allows.
“I’m sure it’s going to be freezing after February, so [you’ve got] lots of time to enjoy them,” Patterson said.
