Cold Weather Companions - A Glimpse into the world of Vermont’s Snow Sculptors

Every February, the Burlington Winter Festival hosts Vermont’s State Snow Sculpting competition, and over the past decade, two men have made quite the name for themselves among the Snow Sculpting circuit. Michael Nedell and Adrian Tans first joined the competition in 1998 after seeing a “Call to Artists,” in a local paper, and have returned to compete almost every year since. The other members of their team have come and gone over the years, and their 2010 line-up also includes their friend, Brooke Monte. I met with Mike and Adrian at Mike’s home in Burlington, as the two packed up for the National Snow Sculpting Competition in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
I sit down to meet with the two in Mike’s kitchen, and my eyes are immediately drawn to a clay scene on the table- a scale model of the team’s latest plan. A robot and a monkey are mid-duel, the tall, boxy robot firing a ray gun at the chimp half its size, who is firing a laser from the peeled banana in his fist. “It’s based off of a James Kolchaka song, ‘Monkey versus Robot,’” Mike tells me. For those unfamiliar with the reference, James Kolchaka is a Burlington-based comic book artist and musician, of whom the sculptors are quite fond.
“We always like to include some sort of twisted message in our sculptures,” Adrian tells me. “This concept, for instance... We’re all monkeys versus robots, in essence, monkeys battling technology.” In 2004, their sculpture featured a different conflict with technology- a scowling boy sitting cross legged in front of a television set, out of which protruded a giant hand, pointing a remote control at the boy’s face. Another sculpture, for the Nationals in Lake Geneva, was a giant microscope with the American flag under its lens.
I ask them what the typical creative process involves. “We sit around, sketch, talk about stupid stuff, sketch stupid stuff,” Adrian tells me. “We’ve got a great notebook!” Michael adds with a laugh. “We’ve had some weird ideas.” After coming up with a few concepts, they’ll start looking at pictures online for reference, and begin sculpting scale models out of clay, like the one in front of me. When the Winter Festival roles around, the men have three days with which to carve their creation out of a six foot by six foot block of snow.
Did they have any idea what they were doing the first time? “Not really,” Michael admits. In any case, their debut sculpture, a woman on a tortoise, won first place, and their team was sent to the Nationals in Lake Geneva for the first time. Since that first win, the team has gone to Nationals eight times, and have twice made it to the internationals in Breckenridge, Colorado. Michael has attended and sculpted at several exhibitions in New Hampshire and Maine.
“[Parks and Recreation] brings in the snow for us on Thursday, and we sculpt until Saturday,” Michael says, adding “It’s a slow process, we take a few beer breaks, talk to people passing by.” The Nationals in Lake Geneva require more time, and more equipment - specifically, 150 pounds of equipment. “When you’re working on the sculpture, there’s scaffolding, ladders, and a good chance something might fall on you.” Michael says, “It’s a dangerous past time.” Tools of the trade are innovative - anything from floor scrapers and ice cream scoops to home made tools. Adrian and Michael reminisce over a man they met at Nationals who makes his own tools at home, using his own forge.
Dangerous, but unifying. The men agree that snow sculpting may not seem like the ideal way to spend one’s time, but it brings them together. As Adrian puts it, “some guys like hunting, some guys like to go to Las Vegas... We like going outside in freezing temperatures and climbing around carving enormous snow statues.” And for these artists, friendship isn’t the only appeal to the art.
“Here’s our chance to make something, essentially for free.” Michael points out. “You don’t get that chance working with marble, or even with paintings. I think snow’s a great medium!”
“It literally falls from the sky.” Adrian adds with a laugh. “Marble is much more prohibitive.”
Another benefit of working with snow is that it leaves no clutter behind, and the statue remains for a matter of days - there is no lingering question concerning where it must move next, and how it should be moved. “No selling involved, no extra junk, it just goes away!” Michael grins.
What’s clear of this snow sculpting team is that Michael, Adrian and Brooke like to have fun. Although their first entry in the Vermont Snow Sculpting Competition began on a whim, it has evolved into a yearly tradition and serves as a means to stay connected with old friends, as well as making new connections. For these unlikely sculptors, a blizzard presents a unique opportunity for outdoor recreation, creative expression, and yes, robots battling monkeys.



Grace Spain