They are friends who grew up together and sculpt together.
Tim Friesen and Massey Nomura have been making snow sculptures together for years. Recently, Friesen settled in Lake Cowichan, where he has been coming for years to visit with his cousins Steve and Mona, who own Friesen’s Meats.
Nomura was visiting Friesen when the snow hit on Sunday, Dec. 16. It was too much of a temptation for the two friends, and the next day they started work on a sculpture at the Friesen’s property in Honeymoon Bay.
“We didn’t know what it was going to be when we started,” explained Friesen. “Then we found this rack in the back of my cousin’s place, and we decided to use it for the sculpture and make a moose. We thought it would be kind of funny, because there are no moose on the island.”
The technique Nomura uses for his ice sculptures is somewhat unusual because once it is built, they finish it off by spray-painting the whole thing to make it more life-like.
“My buddy is pretty much the main talent in this thing,” said Friesen. “He’s the real artist, I just help him with them. We’ve been doing them for years.”
The two friends grew up in Ladner, and over the years, when there was a big snowfall, they would sculpt some objects out of snow. One year it was hot rods, and another year it was superheroes, Friesen told the Gazette.
They have another project in mind, which veers away from the current wildlife theme. Keep on the lookout for an octopus in the area in the new year, Friesen says.