East End carnival ice sculpture hot topic across North America,
People across North America have been touched by an angel.
She has warmed hearts across the continent although she's made of ice,
leaning tenderly on the shoulder of an exhausted New York firefighter who is
holding a U.S. flag, It's all part of an ice sculpture created to pay
tribute to the courage of emergency workers in New York on Sept. 11.
Since images of Darlene Racicot's entry in the South Porcupine-Porcupine
Winter Carnival ice sculpture contest were posted on the City of Timmins
municipal Web site, The Daily Press has received a flood of e-mails from
across the continent requesting information, including how to contact and
thank Racicot for her thoughtful and moving artistry.
The desire to thank Racicot motivated many to work hard at backtracking the
image.
Susan Blanch of news information radio station WCCO in Minneapolis,
Minnesota, covering "the five state area," received the image in an e-mail
from a friend.
She called the Daily Press, Thursday, in order to contact the sculptor,
Racicot, for an interview.
"I was blown away, not only for the meaning behind it because of what
happened Sept. 11, but because it was a true piece of art," said Blanch, a
producer. "It sends emotion through you just like art is supposed to do.
"I thought it was a really powerful, beautiful piece. It was enough to see
the firefighter, then after looking again and seeing the angel, I thought
'Wow!' Just the detail on the angel alone was incredible."
When her friend e-mailed Blanch the web site on the East End carnival in
response to her aroused curiosity, Blanch was "really shocked" to find it
was an amateur competition.
Before that she'd even wondered if it "had been commissioned (paid for) —
who knew?"
That's high praise indeed, as Minneapolis has a long tradition of winter
carnivals and ice sculpture contests which are open to all, but "entered by
a lot of artists," Blanch said.
The fame and viewership of the sculpture is poised to grow exponentially
with Blanch's coverage.
Some people won't be content with virtual viewing.
How did the artist responsible for such an outpouring of appreciation get
her inspiration? It started as it has grown, with an e-mailed image from a
friend, a photo of an actual New York fire fighter at ground zero, with an
angel digitally added, said Racicot.
"It was so touching — it really moved me when I saw the picture. I thought
maybe it would have the same impact on people if I did it three
dimensionally"
She hoped to touch others as, "my husband and I felt really helpless when
(Sept. 11) happened.
"We gave blood and donated to a fund, but being this far away what can you
do? You wanted to do so much to help, but you can't. This is my way of
giving back a little bit, letting them know we're thinking about them here."
The sculpture made a great impression locally as well.
"I've had phone calls like you wouldn't believe, people bringing me things
like gift certificates and baking. Everybody who came here to look at it
knocked on my door to say how moved and touched they were.
"I was overwhelmed — I really didn't think it was going to have that much of
an impact. I was happy it did, but it was unbelievable."
Ironically, Racicot, who had won first place for a number of years, had
thought she'd sit this year's competition out, to allow others their place
in the sun. When she saw the picture, she was so moved she felt she had to
act on it.
She had allowed the Timmins Press to print her email and her home addy. Being as I do not have her permission, I have omited them from the story.
