Category Archive: Sculpture

It’s very difficult to make an ice sculpture. First of all, ice must be carefully selected. You need clear, transparent ice. Sometimes snow blocks are carved. By the way, dyes can be added and you’ll have colored ice blocks.
However, lifetime of a sculpture is very short and depends on the temperature of its environment.
To tell the truth, there are many annual ice sculpture competitions in the United States, China, Japan, Canada, Finland, Russia etc. One of the most prestigious international competitions takes place in Fairbanks, Alaska. The 1934 celebration was called the Fairbanks Winter Carnival. By 1938 the now four-day celebration was officially called the Ice Carnival and Dog Derby. Dog races were a major feature of the celebration and the Ice Carnival was the other. Something of seemingly insignificant importance was happening as the Carnival grew. The purpose of the early sculptures was to stage the crowning of the Carnival Queen and King. The sculpted thrones were a place to meet and celebrate.
More »

New Zealand is not only the country where Lord of the Rings was filmed, but also it is one of the most prosperous states in the world. Green hills, endless fields on which flocks of sheep graze, excellent ecology, clean rivers … Perhaps, these lands can be rightfully called one of the most beautiful on Earth.
New Zealand, the land of the long white cloud, is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean. It has two main islands, North and South Island, separated by Cook Strait. Both islands have mountains and hills. The Southern Alps are a long chain of mountains on South Island and they are often wrapped in clouds. The Maori are the first people to live in New Zealand. They came to there from the group of islands called Polynesia. Both English and Maori are national languages.
This country is known for Merino sheep, which are famous for their wool. New Zealand also produces excellent butter, cheese, and meat.
The long-beaked kiwi, a bird that cannot fly, is found only in New Zealand. You know, it is one of the country’s national symbols. By the way, New Zealanders themselves are sometimes even called Kiwis.
More »

The violin is one of the most refined musical instruments, with a charming timbre very much like a human voice. At the same time, it is very expressive and virtuosic. It is no coincidence that the role of the queen of the orchestra is given to the violin.
The magnificent variety of the sound of the violin surprises listeners for more than 5 centuries in a row, penetrating into the soul and the most secret corners of consciousness. It can improve your mood, instill optimism or make you suffer. It’s not for nothing that the violin was called the instrument of angels or the devil.
The sound of the violin is similar to the human voice, so the verbs sings and cries are often used. It can cause tears of joy and sadness. There is a belief that the sounds of a violin stop time and take listeners to another dimension.
Juicy, penetrating, graceful and assertive at the same time, the sound of a violin is the basis of any work where at least one of this instrument is used.
The timbre of the sound is determined by the quality of the instrument, the skill of the performer and the choice of strings.
More »

Snakes don’t have legs, or arms either. These reptiles look slippery and slimy, but their skin actually feels like cool soft leather. The smallest snakes are no larger than worms. All snakes are hunters and swallow their food whole, without chewing. Snakes are eaten by big birds such as eagles, hawks, and owls.
During cold winters, thousands of snakes may sleep together in a hole underground to keep each other warm.
There are about 2,900 species of snake. The best-known snakes include cobras, vipers, boas, and pythons. Snakes are found throughout the world except near the North and South poles. Most snakes live on the ground, but others prefer trees. Sea snakes live in water.
Snakes grow throughout their lives. A snake sheds its skin many times during its life.
More »

Japanese people created a diverse and unusual world of artistic images and forms. The art shows the story of life, way of life, beliefs and beauty of their nation.
For Japanese medieval art greater integrity of the worldview, close connection with religious and moral ideas are characteristic. The poetry of the thinking of Japanese people manifested itself in the multivalence of the content of the art objects, reflecting ideas about nature and the universe. The connections of different arts were largely conditioned by the fact that the measure of all things and the source of inspiration for medieval architects, poets, painters was nature with its natural beauty and eternal variability. The aesthetic norms of Japanese art developed under the influence of historical, social factors, as well as extremely unusual climatic and natural conditions.
More »

Vera Mukhina was a Soviet sculptor-monumentalist, a member of the Presidium of the Academy of Arts of the USSR. She was an academician of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (1947), People’s Artist of the USSR (1943), winner of five Stalin Prizes (1941, 1943, 1946, 1951, 1952). The crater on Venus was named in her honor.
Vera Ignatyevna Mukhina was born on June 19 (July 1), 1889 in Riga (now Latvia) in the family of a well-known merchant and philanthropist Ignatiy Kuzmich Mukhin. The girl spent her childhood in Feodosia. Her mother died from tuberculosis when Vera was two years old. Her father died in 1904 and Vera with her elder sister Maria were hosted by uncles and aunts living in Kursk. Later both girls moved to Moscow, where Vera studied painting at the studios of K.F. Yuon, I.O. Dudin and I.I. Mashkov.
More »

Saxophone is probably the most expressive instrument. It is one of the newer instruments in the musical spectrum. The saxophone’s history can be traced back over 150 years. It was invented by Adolphe Sax, an expert instrument maker and talented musician. The saxophone was patented on March 20, 1846.
Sax was born in 1814 in Brussels (Belgium) and grew up in the trade of instrument making. His father was an expert in instrument making. The boy had already become an expert by the age of six.
The saxophone was born when Sax combined a horn with the body of a brass instrument and the mouthpiece of a woodwind instrument. It was only one of a whole family of new instruments, which were also called the saxophones.
More »