Driving through Steinbach recently, you may have noticed a new snow sculpture taking shape on the corner of Brandt and Elmdale.
Seasoned sculptor Lyle Peters says he was looking for a project to tackle over Christmas Break. When deciding what to create and where, the perfect idea came to mind.
“I’ve done an old church there before but now that there’s a bakery there that is an old church bakery, I figured, let’s do another church there. It’s a good spot for one,” says Peters.
The basic shape is complete. Next come the windows, and after that, Peters says, it can get detailed like crazy. How far it goes will depend on how many people are willing to help.
“I’ll spend a bit more time there, but sometimes if I get a bit of a crew, then more happens. And if I have less of a crew, then I have to decide, what’s important to me and what’s not.”
For the City of Steinbach, Peters and his brother Kevin sculpt at no charge. He sets up the forms, and the city fills them with snow. Peters says money is not the main motivator.
“It’s being active. It’s being creative. I have enough of a crew of guys that are into it that for me, it’s my winter sport.”
Peters says sometimes his kids will help out as well, and it becomes a family affair. He mentions that it would be nice to get more people into it and that he is not sure what is holding them back.
The weather plays a big part in the success of the project. Both brothers agree the perfect conditions are if it is cold enough that your gloves do not get wet, but warm enough that you can dress for it. When it is too warm, snow gets stuck on the tools which make them hard to work with. Melting under the sun is also always a concern for these structures.
“It’s the sun more than the warm weather in a lot of cases. The south and west sides always take a real beating. The block in town is also not very clean. So any of those dark spots absorb the sun and kind of sink into the block. There’s so many things it’s dependent on.”
Strategic placing of the artwork can also really make it shine. Like in the case of the church sculpture, Peters notes, it is very pretty the way it is facing now.
“It’s nice to get the sun on areas to accent it or pick up the light. It’s always a bit of a game,” says Peters.
Some larger exhibits have started setting up buildings to sculp indoors. Peters says that is the case when he works at the Snow Maze.
“Two years ago, the year it got really warm, when we sculped a Mustang it would have deteriorated to nothing had it been outside, but it was indoors and it totally survived.”
Peters is also preparing for his participation in the Festival du Voyageur. He will be working on two blocks, one at the corner of Provencher and Archibald, and another at the Royal Canadian Mint. So far, the only guideline for the Mint sculpture is that it should feature some kind of animal.
Work is expected to begin mid-January, giving plenty of time to have the sculptures ready to help promote the festival.
