When the snow falls, snowmen are seen as popular, but what Ashton Rider creates is beyond a simple snowman: she creates snow sculptures. So far, she has made seven snow sculptures, including a woman, a puppy, a mouse, a wolf, a tiger, a polar bear, and a penguin.

Ashton first started making her sculptures in 2015. Her works take roughly three hours, but states that they can take longer, depending on complexity.

As Ashton says, her sculptures have a much deeper meaning to her than just a simple snow sculpture. She explains, “The tiger was really a symbol of someone who was in my life, but is no longer there. It was a sign of peace and good feelings towards a bad situation. It was a statement of independence for me.” She then went on to say that she most loved the peaceful stare it had as it watched the traffic go by.

With her polar bear, Ashton says she wanted to express her love of cartoons, so her style was very cartoon-ish in nature.  She described the polar bear as “A reminder of past friendships that drifted away through alienation.” While Ashton was working on the polar bear, a random family member driving along the road pulled into her driveway and asked to take pictures of the bear while it was in the middle of the process.

Ashton’s most recent sculpture is her penguin; it took her four hours to sculpt and was highly requested by her friends. Ashton goes on to say, “My inspiration for the penguin was the support I got from everyone, and the stories from random strangers that told me that my art brightened their day.” The support she gained from everyone got her a lot of attention and encouragement. Ashton recalled how cars would beep at her while she worked and how much she was startled by the sudden beep from another passerby.

Whether it be a simple snowman or a realistic penguin, winter can be used for many creative things. As Ashton’s sculptures demonstrate, get outside and find the creativity waiting to be sparked!