Fete de Glace

ice man

Yesterday was the annual Fete de Glace, or ice carving festival, in St. Charles, MO. Last year a friend and I went (you can read about my experience here), and this year five of us from my Women in Focus St. Louis photography group met at the event. Last year was quite warm, creating a problem for the sculptors with the melting ice. This year weather was not an issue. It was about 36 degrees when I arrived, outfitted in my long underwear and multiple layers of clothing. Though the sun was shining, a brisk breeze kept a chill in the air.

Our group met up at 10:00, with the actual festival beginning at 9:30. That was still early enough that we could see the prep work of the artists as they readied their blocks of ice for the competition. Each carver starts with a block of ice weighing approximately 260 pounds. It seemed as if there were fewer ice carvers this year, although there were a few who were just beginning to carve as I was leaving a little after 1:00. So perhaps they staggered the start times in an effort to give more visitors an opportunity to see a piece from start to finish.

The crowds are usually pretty light in the morning, so it was easy to get around and take pictures of the artists at work. We basically all headed off on our own for a little over an hour to get the shots we wanted. By that time we were pretty cold, so we went into one of the local restaurants to grab lunch. This is what happens when five photographers sit down to eat. Ha!

tools of the trade

Each time I am together with these women I am struck by what a unique group of individuals we are. I like our field trips where we have an opportunity to get to know each other a little better. We all may be looking at the same thing, but we each see things differently. In our own way. And that gets reflected in our photographs.

Following lunch we braced ourselves to once again face the cold, and headed back down the street to see what the artists had accomplished in our absence. The crowds were much larger, and tons of people had their dogs - large and small - with them as well. It was harder to get good photos without someone in the way. I checked out a few of the new artists just beginning their sculptures, and then took off for home. I think I was the last woman standing from our group at that point. Despite the chill in the air, it was a cool event to photograph. Bah!

ice sculptures

The Iceman Cometh

Fete de Glace

Saturday was Fete de Glace, an ice festival complete with an ice carving competition in St. Charles, Missouri. I have never attended this event before, so when a fellow photographer friend asked me to go with her, I jumped at the chance. We arrived around noon to find the streets crowded with people and all kinds of dogs. That made for good people watching in addition to seeing the ice men in action.

The weather was unseasonably warm at 66 degrees, and while the temperature was great for the attendees, it created a few challenges for the competitors. Several of the sculptures were already completed by the time we hit the streets. The warm, sunny day was taking its toll on them, and like the Wicked Witch of the West in the "Wizard of Oz" they were melting...melting into the cobbled pavers on Main Street.

ice art

ice carving tools

The workmanship was incredible, and it was interesting to see the tools of the trade that were used. From the chain saws at the beginning of the process to the scalpels wielded like surgeons at the end, it was something to experience. When I see artistic efforts like this, I always wonder how the creators feel knowing that their design is so short-lived, not unlike sand sculptures and sidewalk chalk drawings. That would make me sad.

We had a nice lunch at Lewis & Clark's before rejoining the crowds in the streets. We were lucky enough to have timed it so that we saw a few new blocks of ice being reinvented. It was obvious that it takes patience, skill and vision to create these frozen works of art. What a fun day!

ice men