Ice Wrangler's Blog
2016 Wintercraft Photo Contest Results!
The Results are in . . .
So many entries! We will get the the GRAND PRIZE in just a minute . . .
Creativity Award
. . . but first, our new "Creativity Award" offered the judges a puzzle . . . Should the prize go to someone with the best technical photo or to the person with the most creative ice creation? Good question.
Fortunately, ice lantern enthusiasts Mary Arneson and Dale Hammerschmidt helped us out. For the last several winters, this husband and wife team have made many, many ice lanterns and have helped at the Middlemoon Creekwalk for the last 2 years. But it was Mary's "Arare" Globe Ice Lantern that caught the judges attention. The fact that Dale captured a photo of it, sealed the deal. So there you go, the simple answer to the perplexing problem - team winners! And she has agreed to put the how-to into Ice Luminary Magic, our book about ice lanterns that will be released later this year.
Honorable Mention for Creativity
We would feel remiss if we did not do a shout out to Becky Stolinas. If we had offered an award for the MOST PASSIONATE ICE LANTERN CREATOR, it would have gone to Becky. I believe this is her first year making ice lanterns and with 6 photo submissions showing amazing experimental work, we are quite excited to see what new she'll come up with next season! Check out the square ice lantern - extremely fun!
First Place Indoor
The 1st place award for Indoor shots goes to by Tracey Haun of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA who really loves taking closeup photos of the Globe Ice Lanterns that she has made. All the better to see the magical nuances! This lantern appears to have been melting so that rivers of water etched the ice. With the candle behind it, all those lines reflect the light. Beautiful!
First Place Outdoor
The 1st place award for Outdoor Shots has been awarded to Stephen L. Garrett who is a recent transplant to Minnesota from North Carolina. As a professional photographer and videographer, when he learned of the Middlemoon Creekwalk, he came and brought his camera! He captured a photo of a globe ice lantern that we had hung next to the creek with one of our fishline macrame nets. Because he came at dusk or the "blue hour", the architecture of the globe can be seen as well as the glow of the candle. Beautiful shot!
And finally, the Grand Prize . . .
The year the judges almost unanimously chose a photo taken by Thea Schmidt of Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. She snapped this photo with her camera phone and posted it to Instagram where I found it and reposted! I don't know if she did any retouching, but the color is fantastic and the quintessential beauty of a Globe Ice Lantern came shining through. Congratulations Thea!
A final word . . .
Thanks to our inclusive rules which enters photos posted of Globe Ice Lanterns on the Wintercraft Facebook page, Instagram or are sent directly by email, we had scores of entries to peruse for 2016. The directive was given to the judges to vote for photos that "captured the magic and beauty of Globe Ice Lanterns" and I think you will agree that these photos do just that. The exciting news is that next year we will be expanding the contest to also include additional categories featuring other shapes of ice lanterns. Stay tuned for details . . in the meantime, have a wonderful summer!
Congratulations to all the winners!
Enjoy the Glow!
Jennifer Shea Hedberg - The Ice Wrangler
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©Wintercraft. All Rights Reserved. This blog post may be linked to and credited, however, the contents including all photos, videos and text may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.
Hanging Globe Ice Lanterns - a Winter Craft Takes Off!
Globe Ice Lanterns are so beautiful sitting in a nest of snow, greens or flowers, but here's a mind bending question . . . Can a Globe Ice Lantern defy gravity and hover in the air?
The answer is most definitely, YES!
In the January of 2014, I read an article in the New York Times about macrame pot holders over my morning coffee. My mind immediately imagined Globe Ice Lanterns hanging in a tree. So, I whipped one up using garden twine for the Middlemoon Creekwalk that night. People loved it!
The following year, a client asked me to hang multiple globes from a majestic oak tree for a holiday party, but requested that the string disappear. So, I bought several types of fish line and started experimenting. I soon discovered that 50 lb fish line is the best and it is a quite a bit trickier to work with than twine, but the effort was worth it - the effect was stunning. When the sun went down, it really looked like the Globe Ice Lanterns were floating in the air.
So, my time for experimenting was done and the production of 30 macrame fish line hangers became the issue -- that and how to hang the lanterns in the higher branches?! The answer to the high wire act was my son and a tall ladder :) Together, we hung about 30 globes in that old oak . . .
When the sun started to go down, we lit them all up - it was ethereal and magical!
So, whether you use fish line, twine or something completely different, I hope you will make the attempt to . . . defy gravity with Globe Ice Lanterns!
Enjoy the Glow!
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©Wintercraft. All Rights Reserved. This blog post may be linked to and credited, however, the contents including all photos, videos and text may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.
Wintercraft Photo Contest 2015 RESULTS!
The summer of 2015 has come and gone in a flash, and we are excited to announce the outcome of the Wintercraft Photo Contest for 2015. Special thanks to the judges for reviewing the submitted photos. Below are reflections by Jennifer Shea Hedberg, Wintercraft founder, on the winning photos. Also, visit wintercraft.com/photocontest - we'll kick off the 2016 contest soon! Have some fun and share the beauty of ice lanterns! Here are the winners!
THE GRAND PRIZE
($100 Wintercraft Gift Certificate) is awarded to Gail Murton of Finland, Minnesota. This photo has so many wonderful elements, but I will start with the inventive use of a Globe Ice Lantern. I had never heard or seen anyone use a Globe Ice Lantern as a bird feeder before, and I love it! My father is crazy about birds and I am looking forward to building him an icy bird feeder for outside his window this winter. I am imagining a few stacked on top of each other with the top globe positioned in the traditional display mode with the bottom side up, as Gail has done. The stack of ice should make a slippery surface for invading squirrels :) The beauty of this photo is self evident--the bird captured in mid-flight and the sun shining through the ice--simply wonderful. A big thank you again to Gail for posting this image on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology Facebook page and mentioning Wintercraft--so thoughtful!
FIRST PLACE OUTDOOR CATEGORY
($50 Wintercraft Gift Certificate) is awarded to Bob Hayes of Minneapolis, Minnesota who wandered down to the Middlemoon Creekwalk last March and captured this stunning rainbow effect in a globe ice lantern amidst some shards of ice glass (the ice lantern was I believe made by my husband Tom). Amazing! I will add that this image did bring up the topic of whether the photographer is required to make the globe ice lantern him/herself. The rule for the Wintercraft Photo Contest 2015 pertaining to this issue states: "All photos must contain one or more Globe Ice Lanterns made using Wintercraft® products." Given that Tom Hedberg of Wintercraft made this globe, we know for sure that it was made with Wintercraft products!
FIRST PLACE INDOOR CATEGORY
($50 Wintercraft Gift Certificate) was awarded to Michele Klein of Morton, Illinois. A huge part of my personal enjoyment of Globe Ice Lanterns is that they can be brought inside, so I always look forward to seeing how other people do so. Michele created a stunning globe and set it off with a floral arrangement of roses and sparkly bits as a centerpiece. Beautifully done, Michele and congratulations!
We did not plan to give Honorable Mentions this year, but we had so many amazing photos submitted . . . so to honor all those that were too honorable not to mention, we created a VIDEO with the winners plus all the Honorable Mention photos. I also think we should seriously consider offering a Creativity Award for 2016. I would love to honor those that incorporate fun new ideas for making and displaying Globe Ice Lanterns as it exciting to see the varied uses, regardless of the photographic outcome.
Enjoy the video!
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©Wintercraft. All Rights Reserved. This blog post may be linked to and credited, however, the contents including all photos, videos and text may not be reproduced in any form without written permission.
How to Light a Globe Ice Lantern - BASICS
What to Give with the Gift of Light?
Through the years, I have found that EVERYONE loves receiving a Globe Ice Lantern as a gift . . . for any reason. It doesn't seem to matter if they are celebrating the return of the sun, the birth of the Son, or any of the other celebrations at this time of year. Firelight caught in a sphere of ice will bring them joy--simple, magical joy.
