Corry Wood is a true ice artwork competitor. But the only person he competes with is himself.
Within the last decade, Wood has built architectural wonders on his front lawn. He freezes H2O into small ice bricks and over a period of weeks builds an artwork on his front lawn.
The St. Albert resident’s first endeavour was a whimsical pond with penguins skating on it. Next he attempted a majestic pyramid in the style of Egyptian pharaohs. Then came a miniature fairy-tale town complete with a church, bridge and schoolhouse.
The year his mother battled cancer, he constructed a massive cross. After taking a short break, he created an abstract, and last year passersby viewed a massive fireplace lit from the inside.
This season’s marvel is a 10-foot bell tower that is 30 inches wide and 24 inches deep, lit on several sides to highlight the ice brick facade.
Hanging from the cupola is a golden bell his wife Kelly discovered. While Wood sketches and builds the ice art, Kelly often contributes playful accessories to complete the visuals.
“Next year, I’m building another bell tower. It will be way bigger, about 20 to 25 feet,” he said. It will also be his first interactive project with an opening in the tower allowing people to enter and ring a large metal bell.
Wood, an avid summer rider on his Suzuki M109, was inspired to build a bell tower after seeing freestyle motocross rider Robbie Maddison jump across the London Tower bridge. During the insane no-handed back flip, the Australian rider soared nearly 100 feet over the Thames.
Both men are cast in the same mould. Although Wood’s contributions are tamer, both have a compulsion to challenge themselves, always one-upping past efforts.
Kelly nods her head and in a tongue-in-cheek moment says, “He gets pretty OCD. From the moment he draws a sketch until it’s built he’s compulsive. And that takes place over months. How can I complain? He’s not at the bar. He’s in the front yard freezing his ass off.”
In fact, Wood, who is a carpenter by trade and co-owns Taurus Woodwork, has already applied his building skills and meticulously laid out plans for next year’s massive bell tower.
He’s even putting out a call to the public to see if anyone has a metal bell approximately 20 to 24 inches that could be temporarily loaned for the project.
“It will only be there for a month or so and then the bell tower will melt, never to be seen again.”
For safety, the bell will be hung and buttressed with wood. Anyone with information about a loaner bell is asked to email Wood at [email protected]. The 2019 bell tower is on display at 48 Fawcett Cres.
