I’ve talked about ice bending before and last year documented a clear example in Junichi’s winning single block sculpture “Got you!” This year, it happened in my own sculpture, “beautiful chemistry,” also part of the Ice Art Championships single block event. The side by side photos above were taken from similar vantage points approximately 24 hours apart. The upper ribbon at the top of the sculpture may show a little bending, but the lower ribbon shows dramatic and unmistakeable bending. The lower ribbon is also twisting some while it’s bending. Interestingly, the sculpture also broke during the bend! (see below) The highest connected bond or strut between the ribbons broke and separated some during the 24 hours.

We were depending on that strut and were somewhat concerned about it during carving, but apparently we didn’t need it as much as we thought we did, at least in the short term. However, by the next morning (Saturday, February 28th), after I had left, the sculpture had apparently collapsed. Perhaps it was a crucial strut after all, or maybe somebody knocked the sculpture down. I have no way of knowing and I think the webcam had been removed by that time. But to say the least, I was surprised at how much the piece bent in one day. A quick estimate showed that one part of the lower ribbon moved more than 20 inches, which would be nearly an inch an hour!