BRATTLEBORO-Artists, winter enthusiasts, and builders of all ages and experience levels have been working for weeks in garages, workshops, and backyards to design and build their entries for "Artful Ice Shanties." The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) and Retreat Farm invite the public to see the results of this creative labor during the annual outdoor exhibit through Feb. 23 at Retreat Farm.
Now in its fifth year, "Artful Ice Shanties" has become a signature Vermont event celebrating artistic talent, creative ingenuity, and New England's rich ice-fishing heritage. Each year, thousands of people visit the exhibit of imaginative ice shanties created by groups and individuals.
"'Artful Ice Shanties' started in 2021 and quickly became a Brattleboro wintertime favorite," BMAC director Danny Lichtenfeld said in a news release. "A wonderful mix of two Vermont passions - art and outdoor recreation - this fun event spotlights the delightful possibilities of winter in New England."
Shanties range from the traditional to the conceptual, from functional to whimsical, from the scientifically inspired to those that feature culture and history. Among this year's shanties are a dome-shaped "Cosmic Energy Portal," created by Brattleboro artist Cynthia Parker-Houghton as a place to meditate and connect with nature, and a "Yurt John," by Mike Iacona and a group of Guildford wood crafters, that contains a composting toilet for turning human waste into fertilizer.
Parker-Houghton, who works as a ceramic mural artist, fashioned her "Cosmic Energy Dome" by forming steel rods into hoops, which she overlapped and connected to create a symmetrical dome. She adorned it with tinsel garland, strands of metallic beads, and small transparent spheres.
"I wanted to create something that feels good, inspiring, and peaceful, because we all need some peace," Parker-Houghton said. Inside the dome, visitors can sit on a stool and play wind chimes using an "activation rod of intention." She added, "I also wanted it to be fun-I think we can connect more directly to feeling peaceful by having fun."
With welding and drilling help from fellow artists, Marie Formichelli and Marta Bernbaum, and "a lot of math," Parker-Houghton appreciated the challenge of making a large-scale piece that can withstand Vermont's winter weather. "It feels like this is the beginning of a new artistic path for me, and I'm excited about making more of these types of structures," she said.
Iacona's "Yurt John" is made from slab wood from a local sawmill. "It will look like a tiny wooden yurt, and I hope it will be beautiful," said Iacona, who says the shanty is a collaboration among Sloyd Sunday of Southeastern Vermont, the Rich Earth Institute, the Society for the Preservation of Outhouses, and Dickinsons Reach Yurts.
A wood crafter himself, Iacona likes the idea of taking waste wood from the sawmill and transforming it into a functional structure that will in turn collect human waste and turn it into fertilizer for fruit and nut trees. "After all, waste is really just a resource that's out of place," he said.
Local elementary school students are hard at work on a shanty to raise awareness about the endangered and threatened plants and animals of Vermont. Fourth graders at NewBrook Elementary School worked together to create and paint wall panels depicting the environments and seasons of Vermont, and painted and sculpted plants and animals that live there.
Visitors can scan a QR code on the shanty wall to view slideshows the students created and learn more about protecting Vermont's flora and fauna.
Other Artful Ice Shanties will include an ocean-themed shanty built using repurposed household plastic, PVC pipe, playground structure pieces, and other found plastic; a rainbow-inspired shanty that resembles a circus tent; a cozy toadstool home highlighting the important role that fungi play in forests; and the "Soup Shack," a shanty in the shape of an oversized can of tomato soup.
"The variety of entries is always impressive," Lichtenfeld said. "The creativity, the connection to the landscape and history of Vermont, the pure fun that builders have-it's an event that helps us appreciate what it means to live in this beautiful place."
Admission to the exhibit is free. The exhibit is open daily, dawn to dusk. At an outdoor awards ceremony on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 2 p.m., prizes will be given for notably artistic, inventive, fun, or thought-provoking shanties.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.