Alpha+Volf+-+Description+and+Materials

= Description =

Our ice sculpture will consist of three main components. These components are a table, a chessboard, and holiday-themed figurines; all of which will consist almost entirely of ice. The sculpture will be complimented by colored light emitting diodes and Christmas music, adding to the holiday theme of the sculpture. For a detailed description of each main component and its role in the overall ice sculpture, please see the paragraphs below.

The Table:
The table's base will consist of two blocks of ice, which will be formed by freezing water in a large flower pot twice over. These blocks will be stacked on top of each other in order to form a curved column, which will support the table top. The blocks will be stacked in a manner which will result in one wide end making contact with the tabletop, and one wide end touching the ground. This will give the tabletop a wider surface to attach to, as well as providing the overall table with a larger anchor to the ground, thus making it more stable. The narrow ends of the ice blocks will be frozen to each other in order to make the base of the table (the column) structurally sound.

The tabletop will consist of a square of ice* which will be one meter squared in size. The tabletop will be frozen to the top of the column of ice, and will be centered on the column so that the displacement from the center point of the square will be equal on all sides. This will be done by positioning the square of ice in a way which will make it's center point concentric with the column's vertical axis. This will make the table symmetrical from any viewing angle, which will make it aesthetically pleasing.


 * //If making the tabletop out of ice proves to be too difficult, we will make it out of a piece of plywood. We feel that this is a necessary precaution, as the tabletop will need to be sturdy in order to securely support the chessboard and pieces.//



The Chessboard:
The chessboard will consist of 64 individual squares of ice which will be frozen to the table surface adjacent to each other. Half of these squares will be coated with blue food coloring in order to give them a darker shade than the other 32 squares, which will be left as plain ice. These squares will be staggered in a traditional checkerboard pattern before being frozen to the table, thus making them into a large chessboard when viewed collectively.

Some of the white squares (i.e. the plain squares) will house colorful light emitting diodes within them in order to add a holiday feel to the ice sculpture. These LEDs will be parts of a holiday light garland which will be powered by a standard 115 volt power outlet. Between 4 - 6 LEDs will be used for this purpose.

The chessboard will have the same overall measurements as the tabletop (1x1 meters), and will be rooted into place.



The Chess Pieces:
The chess pieces will consist of varying holiday-themed images frozen to pieces of ice. Each type of image will correspond to a different type of chess piece:


 * Pawns -** Blue Christmas Trees
 * Kings -** 2 x Purple Santa Claus
 * Queens -** 2 x Red Mrs. Claus
 * Bishops -** Blue Elves
 * Knights -** See-through Snowmen
 * Rooks -** Gift Boxes

Pawns will be frozen onto smaller pieces of ice than the second tier pieces, helping viewers to recognize that the smaller blocks of ice are less valuable pieces. This size difference will also help viewers identify that the images on the blocks of ice represent chess pieces.