igloos

The 2008 igloo was the first with which I had significant help. Richard Weis had been waiting almost a whole year to help with this one, and assisted with tote filling, joint packing, and morale on a long second day. Charlie Huber (photo, top-center) showed up, out of the blue, and put in 2 long afternoons of extremely hard work. Thanks guys!
I use a Midwest, tamped block, brick layer's technique, as opposed to the tradition methods used in the arctic. In Iowa it takes a special set of conditions to make this type of structure. Lots of snow, warmer days with colder nights is helpful, and lots of free time. I've tried a variety of tubs and totes to use as a form to make the blocks I slowly stack up. Sometimes I have to resort to pulling out the garden hose and kiddy pool to mix powder snow and water, which is a big extra step.
While the 2008 model was by far the largest, I believe the 2007 had the best design with winding stairs up to a slide back down, an arctic entrance, and sphinx like promenade. Also interesting to notice, is for the 2001 igloo no snow was taken from the igloo yard, and was built almost exclusively from the inside.
I find true delight in the absurdity and futility of this work. With these each having taken in excess of 40 hours each, I am additionally delighted to have people enjoying to come and help, and the many smiles brought to people's faces, young and old alike.
Unlike so many art projects involving a lot of clean-up once the project is finished, these have been relaxing to just simply watch melt away.

2007