Art of a Culture

The Art of Ice and Snow

Natural Art

Children who live in areas with four distinct seasons often find they love the outdoors for many different reasons, and celebrating each season gives them an opportunity to create their own forms of art. For those who experience winter, the art of ice and snow can be realized in many different forms. Children often learn at a very young age to create snow angels, and they then move on to creating snowmen from the fluffy white powder that surrounds them. When it comes to ice, children have found this a fascinating material that is not always easy to bend to their will, but they will still use it as a tool of creativity.

There are a number of cultures that use snow in many different art forms, but children learning to create with snow are not always a part of these cultures. While they might start with simply rolling out large pieces of snow to create a snowman, they will eventually progress into making forms that they can inhabit. Snow forts build by children are a large part of many cultures, and children will spend countless hours creating them. They find they can create their own world in this transitory medium, but longevity is not necessarily important.

Creating buildings with ice is a whole new realm for many children, and they often borrow from other cultures when they want to be creative. Igloos are famous throughout the world, but building them takes time and practice because true igloos are cut out of ice. Rather than studying the proper method of building their own igloo, children use their creative talents to make an approximation. Some of their efforts will fall in as the sun hits them, but other children excel at creating these amazing ice houses.

Using the materials provided by nature is a cultural habit, but it does not exclude the whimsy and creativity of children. When the weather turns cold, they find snow and ice are materials that will allow them to build their own worlds right in their back yards.