冰點之下的舞者

零下幾十度的東北，大地蟄伏，滴水成冰。以冰雪雕琢而成的玉宇瓊樓、飛檐翹壁向人們開啟了另一個奇幻世界。原本毫無生氣的大塊冰雪，在藝術家手中，仿佛化成一個個活潑的冰雪精靈，在潔白的世界里跳舞。

Northeastern China is a vast, hidden sanctuary where temperatures fall well below zero in winter.Water drops freeze as soon as they hit the ground.This is a place of pavilions and halls carved and sculpted from the ice and the snow, creating a magical world of beauteous chambers and archways.Gifted artisans transform this seemingly bleak and lifeless world of ice into lively statues of ice fairies, prancing about in a pristine world of white.

French themed snow sculpture by frozen Sun Island Lake, 2015.2015年太陽島雪博會雪雕作品。

Zhang Dexiang is a native and resident of Harbin, and loves the ice and snow in his hometown.

Seeing the fi rst Ice Lantern Exhibition held in Zhaolin Park inspired him, who was once an art teacher, to take up the art of creating ice sculptures.Master Zhang then won a prize with his fi rst ice sculpture entry: The Girl Playing with Bubbles.The success greatly encouraged his passion of ice sculpting.He spent more time on the discipline and adopted a more professional approach while honing his skills.

Master Zhang has been practicing ice sculpting for more than 20 years.Before working on the block of ice, he would fi rst create a miniature threedimensional sample using modeling clay to ensure that every detail is included in the fi nal work.Upon completion, Master Zhang would also compose a poem that helps to describe and interpret the piece of art.According to Master Zhang, the greatest joy he could derive from the art of ice sculpting is that a variety of realistic and abstract techniques could be used to breathe life into the frozen material.

Each and every fi nished work offers a beautiful and aesthetic experience for the viewers, helping them to re fl ect and contemplate the meaning of life itself.Master Zhang feels only excitement at the sight of the falling of the fi rst snow fl akes that mark the arrival of winter.“It has come to the point that when I see a block of transparent ice, I feel that I must do something about it with my tools.The sound of ice chipping and forming is almost melodic.Each strike of the chisel creates a small shower of ice chips and snow.You can literally witness how your efforts transform lifeless snow and ice into enchanting works of art, imbuing them with various essences that eventually gives birth to life.”

Near the equator, we have Master Bai Yamei, a skilled ice sculptor from Singapore and winner of multiple international awards who has led Team Singapore to the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival for a total of 20 occasions.One may question, how Master Bai could tolerate the physical and mental stress creating artworks in a place of ice and snow that is 60 degrees Celsius colder than Singapore.Master Bai puts it cooly: “I like how this feels!”

Ice sculpting is demanding, requiring both skill as well as stamina.The outdoor environment is

extremely cold worsened by the freezing blasts of wind.Such conditions make focusing dif fi cult.The fragility of ice also demands a steady hand during the sculpting process.These professional artisans must work in such bleak environments in order to create works of ice and snow for tourists and visitors from across the world.To overcome the biting cold and keep themselves in their best creative conditions, the ice sculptors and artists have established temporary work sheds with warming fi res to soothe their numb limbs, fi ngers, and toes.These artists are dressed in duck down jackets, woolen hats and gloves.Many wear a pair of valenki boots to combat the low temperatures.

As the artists move into the details, they are fully aware that the slightest mishap may transform their almost completed masterpiece into a pile of ruined ice.Limbs and ribbons require a great deal of time and meticulous work.Spheres and balls must be stuck to the main body.Artists have to apply some water and stand in the winter cold for more than a quarter of an hour to securely “glue” these adornments onto the work piece before they can let go.Working on the details of the work imposes the most strenuous challenge for the artist's stamina and artisanship.The metal tools become bitingly cold, sapping even more heat away from the hands, forcing the artists to take frequent pauses so that they can breathe soothing heat into their painful fi ngers and palms.Despite such precautions, frostbite is still a common occurrence.The harsh environment of ice sculpting easily makes it one of the most physically demanding form of art.

Due to his special ties with ice and snow, Master Zhang Dexiang added the Chinese character Xue (snow) to his children's names.His fi rst-born is named Zhang Xuesong, while his second child is named Zhang Xuetao.Under his in fl uence, his wife Zhu Qing, both of his sons, as well as his daughterin-law (married to Zhang Xuesong) have become avid ice sculptors.

Despite being a world-renowned ice sculptor, Master Bai Yamei still harbors some regrets.Those wonderful works created in China, Japan, and Canada are ephemeral and disappear once the seasons change.He still hopes that there is a method of permanent preservation, allowing the ice sculptures to escape their fate of melting away in spring after only being born in winter.

This may sound like pure fantasy, but every ice sculptor and artisan share this wish.

1.Ice and snow sculpting requires clay sculpting beforehand, according to Master Zhang.張德祥說，冰雪雕刻都是二度創(chuàng)作的，先要泥塑出一件作品，便于對冰雪雕塑作品的多維度認識和把握。

2.Ice sculpture Prosperity Year after Year by Zhang Dexiang.刀工絕倫的《連年有魚》冰雕作品。

1.Ice sculpting can be enjoyable but painful, according to Master Bai.白亞美認為冰雕藝術是痛苦中的快樂，圖為進行冰雕創(chuàng)作中的白亞美。

2.Curves shown from all angles are the most difficult for a snow sculpture.線條呈弧狀，且不同視角均呈現(xiàn)出曲線的雪雕作品是難度最大的。

作為土生土長的哈爾濱人，張德祥熱愛家鄉(xiāng)的冰雪。在兆麟公園觀看第一屆冰燈游園會時，曾為美術老師的他便動了制作冰雕的想法。后來，他第一次雕刻的“吹泡泡的小女孩”在冰雕比賽中獲了獎。欣喜之余，也對冰雕雪雕的興趣濃了，態(tài)度嚴謹起來，手藝也愈發(fā)精湛。

從事了20多年的冰雪雕刻，每創(chuàng)作一件作品之前，他都要用油泥雕出小樣來，以形成立體的圖形，確保每一個細節(jié)的精準，同時還要賦詩一首進行詮釋。他認為玩冰雪的最大樂趣便是在于通過寫實、寫意等各種藝術手法賦予冰雪靈魂，讓觀者能從一件件作品中體會到美的享受，引發(fā)對生活的深刻思考。每到冬天第一片雪花飄落的時候，張德祥總按捺不住內心的激動，“現(xiàn)在我一看到哪塊冰很透，我就想拿把鏟子給它鏟點啥。那種沙沙的聲音真像是音樂，鏟子刷的一聲下去，冰雪紛紛落下來。沒有生命的冰和雪經(jīng)過你的手，一點點的居然變成了美麗的作品，產(chǎn)生了種種內涵，漸漸地那個生命就誕生了?！?/p>

而遠在赤道附近，屢獲國際賽事大獎的新加坡冰雪雕塑藝術家白亞美，已累計20次率新加坡代表隊參加在哈爾濱舉辦的國際冰雕和國際雪雕比賽了。當被問及整日身處與新加坡溫差60度的冰天雪地里，對肉體上痛苦和精神上的刺激能挺得住嗎？他坦然地告訴大家：“感覺挺好的！”

冰雪雕塑不僅需要技藝，更需要毅力。寒氣襲人的露天環(huán)境使人難以深思熟慮；冰雪質地酥脆，又必須穩(wěn)健操作。能工巧匠們就是在極其矛盾又痛苦的條件下，把冰雪藝術品呈現(xiàn)給來自世界各地的游人。為了克服寒冷又很好發(fā)揮技藝，冰雪雕塑藝術家們在施工現(xiàn)場會搭起臨時工棚避風烤火，緩解凍透的肢體和麻木的手指、腳趾。他們穿著鴨絨服，戴著包裹頭臉的毛線帽和手套，腳上多以毛氈靴御寒。

作品的復雜精細部分，創(chuàng)作時稍有不慎，就會把即將大功告成的作品弄個“粉身碎骨”。如肢體、彩帶部位極其耗時費力；而球形等部位，常常需要往冰雪雕塑主體上粘貼，藝術家們在寒風飛雪中一站就是數(shù)十分鐘，要用手托著蘸水的“部件”直到粘牢才能慢慢撒手。在作品需精雕細刻時，是考驗毅力和藝術水準的關鍵階段，寒風里手握冰得刺手的金屬工具，不得不雕刻幾下就用嘴哈哈熱氣以緩解疼痛。即使這樣，凍傷也還是難以避免。從事這門藝術的艱辛環(huán)境，恐怕要超過任何藝術門類。

因對冰雪有著特殊感情，張德祥給兒子們起名都加上了“雪”字，老大叫張雪松、老二叫張雪濤。在他的影響下，妻子朱青、兩個兒子，還有大兒媳季麗莉，都成為了冰雕愛好者。

而在世界冰雪雕塑領域早已成為名人的白亞美唯一遺憾的是，自己在中國、日本和加拿大等大型賽事中辛勤創(chuàng)作的作品不能永存。他非?？释麑⒊鲇诙尽⑷谟诖杭镜谋┧囆g品沖破季節(jié)的界定，使作品生命永恒。

也許，讓冰雕雪塑成為永不落幕的童話，是每一位冰雪藝術家的宿愿。

DANCE OF THE FAIRIES

Text by Wang Yuanchang Photos by VCG & Wang Yuanchang Translation by Sonia