Whale of an ice sculpture contest brings out best in snow artists

GRAVENHURST — What would you do with a block of ice that would perfectly fill the back of a pickup?

If you’re creative — and you like cold and snow — you stick with what you know.

And here in the land of the Muskoka Lakes, it’s water creatures.

Not exactly the kind you find ice fishing Gull Lake.

But the larger and more exotic kind.

First place in the adult category of last weekend’s Gravenhurst Winter Carnival ice sculpture contest at Gull Lake Rotary Park went to a familiar figure.

Figuratively speaking, that is.

Andrew Petrov took home another $100 for his sea mollusc, titled ‘Nautilus.’

Last year he won for a grand carving of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

This year he stuck closer to home, as in at least the Eastern seaboard.

His winning ice sculpture was an intriguing, intricate carving of the sea creature, a marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae, the sole extant family of the super family Nautilacease and of its smaller but near equal suborder, Nautilina, according to Wikipedia.

As a warm-up, he threw together a dozen frozen blocks into an imposing 10-foot inukshuk.

Maybe he could build a wooden or rock one to last all year in the park

James Bellanger continued the nautical theme with simply blue-tiful whale for second place adult.

Complete with a white star that appeared to come out of its air blow-hole.

Its dark blue hue was a perfect complement to the ocean-blue sky under which it emerged out of the frozen ice block, surfacing as it did from a white lake.

Skating coach Beverly Monsegue took third place for her ‘Glide-ability’ sculpture.

Equally ambitious was a snowman and fireplace, by the Parsons kids Callee, Aylin and Kaedy, and their mom, Gail.

It stood out for its simplicity, with stick arms and black pork pie hat that won them first prize in the children’s category.