I remember most projects I have done and the experiences I had while doing them but for some reason, this one is drawing a blank. I remember the sculptures but I can't remember any of my time on the mountain outside of that. As with my previous post, I have lost my photos from my SLR camera of this project and have had to resort to looking back on old phone camera images to piece this post together.
Diamond mine
I have images of the suite I did and it was based on the diamond mines in Africa. Africa was the theme this year of the whole hotel and although maybe something Africa should not be too proud of I figure it could work for the suit. Although it is not something that screams peace and comfort it was a nice space. I particularly liked the diamond seat. I also added a few meerkats around the place for a bit of fun.
There was also an ice diamond with a rose inside to increase the romantic atmosphere.
Recap
As a little recap about what all this was in aid of, Here's the lowdown. For many years I would travel up to the top of the Alps in Davos, Switzerland to help make an Igloo hotel around Christmas time. I would spend two weeks with Dutch carver Martijn Smiths creating all the interior design for the rooms, There was a team of builders who worked ahead of us making igloos. That's the igloo hotel down the bottom there in this view from the ski lift station we slept in.
And here's lookin' right back at ya.
The technical team would use these large balloons which they would cover with snow and when the snow hardened into a mass they would deflate the balloons to reveal an empty void which would become the rooms and corridors.
Here is a corridor just after they removed the balloon. Some shaping was then needed to make it safe and comfortable.
Smits and I would then start and try to fashion some sort of a design in the rooms including a bed. We had around a day per room and they were all based around a central theme, in this case, Africa.
Here are the contents of my tool bag. You have to travel lite but with this collection of chisels, saws, and grinders you can make pretty much anything.
Safari
Here are some half-finished pieces I made. A Rhino burst out of the jungle and rammed a jeep on safari.
Drums
This was about the music of Africa. with different drums entering a big ear and a waveform background.
Fugarwe
I know there was more I did and I will make a post if ever my other images show up. We made a bar with giraffes and other animals an area with interesting plant life and Maasai warriors. I hope the images come back to me. I am sure Smits has some.
This is the last room I have for you and I called it the Fugarwe room. It was based on a little-known tribe of pygmies in the jungle. Apparently, they are very small and spend their time lost in the dense foliage. Popping out every now and then to say 'We're the Fugarwe'.
That's all I have for you. I am sure if I had all my images they would jog my memory about other things that happened on this trip. But one thing is for sure I had the usual frustrating fun.
Ps
Thanks for reading. I use PeakD to document my work as an ephemeral Sculptor of sand, snow and ice, amongst other things. This will hopefully give it a new life on the Hive Blockchain. Below you will find some of my recent posts.
All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace Nativity - sand sculpture
Snow White - Snow/ ice sculpture
I hope you'll join me again soon
I am also starting to create NFTs of my sculptures and welcome you to my gallery where you can own a bit of ephemeral sculpture history.