A Red Deer County woman’s colourful igloo has many smiling with delight.

Self-taught snow sculptor Amanda Swainson recently created a rainbow igloo and snowman in the backyard of her home in Red Deer County, just west of the City of Red Deer.

“I thought it’d be a fun art challenge for me,” said Swainson, who saw similar projects online before deciding to embark on this artistic endeavour.

Swainson said she’s received rave reviews from her family – the neighbours have also expressed their admiration for her creation.

“They love it, especially when it’s lit up at night,” she said.

“When I showed it to the neighbours, they really loved it too.”

To create the two colourful art pieces, Swainson made the trip to a local dollar store and bought a bunch of tin foil pans. She filled those pans with water and colouring to create rainbow-coloured tablets.

“It was hard to get it done all the way around. I had to hold them in place to let them free. It’s a good thing it was a cold when I did it in the beginning of January because it was easier to keep it together,” said Swainson.

“It did give me sore hands. But it was worth it.”

As a whole, the project took about a week and a half to complete.

Even though the weather has been warmer in recent weeks, the igloo and snowman are still standing.

“I had to put it under the shady spots so it wouldn’t melt or so the sun wouldn’t shine on it and make the colours fade,” said Swainson.

“I protected the igloo and snowman with tarps as well.”

The first time she created snow sculptures was in 2021, when she made a number of characters, including Olaf from Frozen, Batman, a unicorn and more.

“I just love to create art,” she said.

“I thought why just make a snowman? Why not create any sculpture you want?”

sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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