Welcome to Snow Sculpting Club!
Snow Sculpting Club is free and everyone is welcome, regardless of where you live! I was motivated to create the club to give people another option to have fun outside during the upcoming pandemic winter. The club is based virtually and launched during the first snowstorm of 2020, which happened (where I live) on Sunday, Nov 22, 2020! So far we have members in Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge, Durham, Toronto, Montreal, Alaska, Philadephia, Port Severn, somewhere in rural Saskatchewan, Ottawa, Netherlands, Scotland and Riverview, New Brunswick. And these are only the locations we know about!
Many people think that snow sculpting is only possible when we have packing snow, but this is absolutely not true. Packing snow can be used, but the best snow for carving is non-packing snow. I encourage you to explore this page and discover the possibilites for yourself or others. Whether you live in a home with a lawn, or a high-rise (and possibly no lawn at all), this club could be for you!
Or maybe not! You don’t have to join the club to hang out on this page and learn more about snow sculpting.
Read on! You will learn how to get started by building a beautiful mini-tower of snow (using a 5 gallon pail) that you can then carve or use as a building block. Once you master this introductory technique, you might even try larger plywood or plastic forms.
Near the bottom of this page you will find a link to 8 badges you can earn. These badges will guide you through a series of tasks that will give you the confidence to build solid mini-towers of snow and then give you a little bit of practice with snow carving basics.
In the last badge you will attempt the creation of a penguin!
And during the very first snowstorm of the year, I was able to film a number of videos to support your learning. They can be viewed further down on this page or on my YouTube channel, mattdjmorris.
Many people think that snow sculpting is only possible when we have packing snow, but this is absolutely not true. Packing snow can be used, but the best snow for carving is non-packing snow. I encourage you to explore this page and discover the possibilites for yourself or others. Whether you live in a home with a lawn, or a high-rise (and possibly no lawn at all), this club could be for you!
Or maybe not! You don’t have to join the club to hang out on this page and learn more about snow sculpting.
Read on! You will learn how to get started by building a beautiful mini-tower of snow (using a 5 gallon pail) that you can then carve or use as a building block. Once you master this introductory technique, you might even try larger plywood or plastic forms.
Near the bottom of this page you will find a link to 8 badges you can earn. These badges will guide you through a series of tasks that will give you the confidence to build solid mini-towers of snow and then give you a little bit of practice with snow carving basics.
In the last badge you will attempt the creation of a penguin!
And during the very first snowstorm of the year, I was able to film a number of videos to support your learning. They can be viewed further down on this page or on my YouTube channel, mattdjmorris.
Snow Sculpting Club Goals
1. Have fun learning how to build and sculpt with snow.
2. Get active outside.
3. Build community.
1. Have fun learning how to build and sculpt with snow.
2. Get active outside.
3. Build community.
Principles
1. Everyone is welcome—kids, teens, adults, seniors. Let’s encourage everyone to consider this opportunity.
2. It doesn't matter where you live or what kind of dwelling you live in. This club is for everyone.
3. Club membership is free.
4. Club members commit to working safely. Children should not use sharp tools. A cake decorating spatula or plastic knife works well.
Adult supervision is a must.
If you want to give the club a try and agree to adhere to these principles, you may call yourself a club member!
One option is to print a blank membership certificate and print your name in the space provided:
Membership certificate in English.
Membership certificate in French.
Lastly, a note on privacy. A membership list will not be built. Pictures will not be taken by the club. You may choose to post pictures of your amazing creations, but that is your choice. One social media hastag that we could all use is #snowsculptingclub. Before I founded the club, this hashtag had never been used.
1. Everyone is welcome—kids, teens, adults, seniors. Let’s encourage everyone to consider this opportunity.
2. It doesn't matter where you live or what kind of dwelling you live in. This club is for everyone.
3. Club membership is free.
4. Club members commit to working safely. Children should not use sharp tools. A cake decorating spatula or plastic knife works well.
Adult supervision is a must.
If you want to give the club a try and agree to adhere to these principles, you may call yourself a club member!
One option is to print a blank membership certificate and print your name in the space provided:
Membership certificate in English.
Membership certificate in French.
Lastly, a note on privacy. A membership list will not be built. Pictures will not be taken by the club. You may choose to post pictures of your amazing creations, but that is your choice. One social media hastag that we could all use is #snowsculptingclub. Before I founded the club, this hashtag had never been used.
Let's get started!
How to make a small tower of snow using a 5 gallon pail:
- Obtain a 19 litre (5 gallon) pail.
- Fill about half the pail with clean fluffy snow. Non-packing snow is best. Avoid crusty old snow from earlier in the season.
- Pack it in using your mittens. Your packing may not look perfect and that’s ok.
- Repeat this load/pack process until the pail is full.
- When full, flip the pail upside down onto a level spot on the ground. Make sure your grip includes any handle. Some may need to ask a strong helper with this tricky part. Or just try to do it. If you fail, just start again.
- It's now time to release the pail. Give the pail a little twist while you sharply pull up. This will release it from the snow. Now slowly remove the pail completely. The YouTube video below gives you a demo.
- Leave the little snow tower untouched for about two hours to allow it to ‘snow sinter’. This is where the snow bonds together. The wait period is crucial to success. Do NOT touch the snow while it is sintering as it will be quite fragile initially.
- Consider making more, knowing that you will get faster as you perfect your system!
- Many new enthusiasts make a bunch one evening and let them sinter all night for fun the next day!
- Once it has sintered for a few hours (or overnight) celebrate your amazing tower of snow! You rock!
- Use plastic utensils, a cake decorating spatula or other safe creative tools to carve!
- Printable version of above: How to make a small tower of snow using a 5 gallon pail.
Short introductory videos:
1) Sintering therory and tools. 7 minutes.
2) Demo of the entire process. 6 minutes.
Once you finish reviewing this page, you may be interested in the many other videos I have created that appear in the VIDEO SUPPORT page found in the above menu.
1) Sintering therory and tools. 7 minutes.
2) Demo of the entire process. 6 minutes.
Once you finish reviewing this page, you may be interested in the many other videos I have created that appear in the VIDEO SUPPORT page found in the above menu.
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Extra tips:
- Packing snow: Packing snow can be used but shorten the sinter time. Remember though that non-packing snow results in the most consistent medium for carving.
- Releasing the pail: In the very unlikely event you have issues with this step, check out the FAQ page under the SNOW SCULPTING CLUB menu item.
- Sintering: Search the internet for ‘snow sintering’ and learn how snow binds together. This is the major trick of this process. If you don’t let it sinter, your beautiful tower may fall apart as soon as you touch it. The colder it is, the longer the time needed to sinter. Why not leave it overnight
- Two ways to dress warmly: Building towers is hard physical work while carving is not. Once you build, and the towers are sintering, go inside to warm up. When you go back outside later, ensure that you dress MORE warmly than the first time. Keeping warm allows you to enjoy the carving experience. Think of how XC skiers dress very lightly compared to snowmobilers. It’s all about appropriate clothing for the level of activity. Socks made of wool are the warmest.
- Quarter Pounder: When packing the snow into the pail, a mittens works well. If you want an even better pack, make a Quarter Pounder. When using the QP7000, make sure some of the pounding action is directed to the edge of the pail—that’s what the curve on the pounder is for. It's called the QP7000 because it's the 7th snow pounder I have designed. The ‘quarter’ part of its name comes from the fact that the pounding surface is sized to one quarter of the bottom of a typical 5 gallon pail. For build instructions, click here.
- Pail: You don’t have to use the pail I recommend as almost any pail will do. You will want the bottom of the pail to have a slightly smaller radius/circumference than the top. That way you have a chance of removing the pail to reveal the mini snow tower. The square pails that restaurants use and might give you, will work. They are just a little bit harder to release because you can’t twist them like a round pail.
- Tarp use: To make the job easier, set out a tarp to 'catch' the snow. A proven approach is to lay it out the night before a storm. Put weights on the edges so it doesn't blow away. Wake up in the morning and collect the snow. It's easy to pull the corners of the tarp to the center and then shovel the pristine snow into your form. You can sometimes drag the tarp close to your build site. A tarp also ensures that leaves don't end up in your snow tower.
- Weather forecast: Check the weather forecast regularily and be ready to pounce. One of the challenges of becoming a snow sculpting enthusiast is the unpredictability of weather. But when you see '90% chance of 20cm', you can be pretty confident good things will happen. Try hard to get some sleep the night before, knowing an exciting day is approaching!
- Carving tools: Information about snow scultping tools can be found elsewhere on this website. A good (and safe) starter tool is an 8" offset icing spatula or a disposable plastic spoon. Parents and Guardians should always be involved with tool choice.
Snow Sculpting Club Badges
Some club members might be interested in taking on the challenge of meeting the requirements of 8 badges that have been created.
Let's run through how it works by looking at the requirements of Badge #1:
- Description of the eight badges.
- Certificate to display the 8 badges as completed:
- A little further down this page, please look for 6 videos that will support you in your quest to earn the 8 badges.
Let's run through how it works by looking at the requirements of Badge #1:
First Tower Badge:
A good place to start. Your first tower! Make sure to watch the video on how to release the bucket to ensure a clean removal. Go for it! Someone in your bubble should really give you a high five for this first badge! If you have any trouble with your first tower, I encourage you think about what might have gone wrong and then try again! Two common issues include not packing in the snow enough or improper release of the pail. And don’t forget to let it sinter for an hour or two before moving it or carving it! If you decide to carve, a plastic knife or spoon work well. An offset cake spatula, is a great option too. This is also a good opportunity to experiment with new tools. What other safe object can you carve with? A comb? A car window scraper? A piece of wood? Once you accomplish the above task, print out the sheet of badges and then carefully cut one out. Some kids like to colour the badges before cutting them out.
Next, print out the display certificate. And finally, proudly glue your badge to the appropriate box on the certificate. But where will you display your certificate? Perhaps your fridge! The final badge is the creation of one or more penguins! Accomplishing the 8 badges though is just the beginning. From here the creative possibilities are limitless. The above description of badge #1 was just a sample. |
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Six YouTube videos that cover all 8 badges!
All of these videos are commercial free.
Badge #1 and #2.
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Badge #3
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Badge #4
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Badge #5
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Badge #(6) and #7
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Badge #8
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Teachers: snow sculpting meets many of the ‘Visual Arts’ expectations in The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8, The Arts 2009, curriculum document. This experience, and all included resources, is free.
And I know that creative teachers will find great ways to link snow sculpting with many other curriculum areas!
And I know that creative teachers will find great ways to link snow sculpting with many other curriculum areas!
I hope you enjoy your experiments in snow—a pastime that costs little, is great exercise, allows you amazing opportunities to be creative, and then melts away making storage issues irrelevant! This, and I can almost guarantee you will end up having uplifting conversations with your neighbours.
OK, what's next? Will you continue building and having fun with mini-towers built with a pail?
You might be interested in the over 30 free Videos I have created that appear in the VIDEO SUPPORT page in the menu at top.
Or will you click on BUILDING WITH FORMS? Here is where you will learn about plywood and plastic forms.
May I suggest using the currently unused hashtag of #snowsculptingclub (if you are comfortable), as a way of sharing our fun in the snow! Let’s share our fun as a community.
I decided to launch this club in the summer of 2020. I was concerned that the upcoming winter might be a difficult one for many (myself included) given the impact of COVID. I was hoping to create a way for people to have some fun outside during the winter months.
Thanks for visiting our snowbank!
Twitter: matthew_morris
Instagram: snowbankproductions
YouTube: mattdjmorris
Have fun!
P.S. Teachers! Check out the new Teacher Resources page in the menu!
Special statement: a special thank you to Ottawa teacher Sylvie Plamondon for her idea to create the french translation! This version was loaded February 19, 2021. Sylvie offered to do this important work after having a great time making geometric shapes with her grade 3 students at the french school in Ottawa where she is a teacher. The printable badge certificate along with badges that are cut out and glued to the certificate are also now available in french. Thank you Sylvie!
And more recently, a special thank you graphic designer Carl Leisegag, (owner of Hadeda Creative) for your initiative and creativity in redesigning our club membership certificate and badge certificates!