Luxury Lifestyle: Snow Art: Man vs Nature

Snow has many different forms. It can be light and flaky, wet and slushy, crunchy and brittle and it can be compacted to form a dense modelling medium. Snow sculptors work with snow in a similar manner to potters and ceramic artists, using tools to carve away areas of snow or their hands to shape a feature of the sculpture.

Man Made Snow Art

Making a snowman is a fun activity for kids, but there are some artists who never outgrew their childhood passion for making figures out of snow. Around the world, winter festivals bring these snow artists together to compete for prizes and appreciation.

Above: Several cultural characters complete this Japanese Snow sculpture, including a samurai warrior and a dragon. Snow sculptures such as these are popular with children and make ideal attractions for public areas in winter.

Above: Clean curves and straight lines make this snow sculpture a winter art masterpiece. The artist's attention to detail gives the sculpture a unique appeal. Each window and door has been carefully shaped, and trees, stairs and decorative architectural elements have been added to complete this artwork.

Above: Large snow sculptures make impressive, imposing statues. Snow art is short-lived. In colder climates, snow sculptures can last for a few weeks, but at the end of winter these snow statues become nothing but a wet patch, a few memories and a handful of photographs.

Above: Snow sculptors often model man-made objects or human subjects. For some reason snow creatures such as penguins, polar bears and seals make a rare appearance in snow art.

Natural Snow Art

Nature is the most skilled artist in the world, creating incredibly detailed creatures, environments and natural wonders such as these natural snow artworks.

Above: A snow rose, sculpted by the wind.

Above: Wind creates a variety of different snow sculptures. These snow rolls were formed in strong wind situations, when the temperature dropped below zero. They are winter's equivalent of tumbleweed.

Above: A combination of heat and extreme cold in thermal basins create a velvety snow coating for these rocks, transforming them into winter curiosities.