Every year in Fairbanks, Alaska, the World Ice Art Championships takes place, and it is no cute little side hobby. Praised as one of the world’s largest ice sculpting competitions and exhibitions, the World Ice Art Championships has grown into a month-long event featuring more than 70 teams from around the world. The works are stunning and often massive in both size and visual appeal.

I would like to tell you why many artists, who like me, have painted portraits and landscapes in oils on canvas, worked with acrylics, watercolors, and pen and ink drawings, have turned to the art of gourd carving.

American artist Kim Keever did new abstract creations for his exhibition “Across the Volumes” at the Waterhouse & Dodd in April 2014. From a mixture of paint and water, kinds of colorful volutes appear in the air, under the shapes of clouds, mushrooms or jellyfishes. His work is to discover in the next part of the article.

A model showcases lingerie during a lingerie show on International Women's Day at a shopping mall on March 8, 2011 in Qingdao, Shandong Province of China. The official theme of International Women's Day 2011 is “Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women”. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images). QINGDAO, CHINA – MARCH 08 2011

Rescuers work at the traffic accident site on April 1, 2011 in Xi'an, Shaanxi province of China. A truck collided with a bus at a cross on Friday morning. As the truck headed for the sidewalk, it collided into a pedestrian and 6 vehicles which were stopped nearby. As a result 16 people were injuried, one currently has severe injuries. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)