Champion Carvers

Here is a cool story from GMANews.TV

Canada-based Filipino ice carvers Armando Baisas and his nephew, Ross Baisas, won first place in the 21st International Ice-Carving competition held in Canada on February 1 to 3, 2008. The duo's winning piece is Tunggalian (Encounter), which depicts the legendary battle of Filipino warrior Lapu-Lapu and Spanish voyager Magellan.

Their impressive ice sculpture placed first in the Pairs category and earned the People’s Choice award, besting 37 other participants in a grueling 30-hour challenge where they carved, chiseled and sawed blocks of ice into masterpieces completely frozen in time. Ross, who hails from the woodcarving town of Paete in Laguna, also brought home gold in the One Block Challenge, a two-hour competition where he transformed one block of ice into an icy sculpture to the theme of Arctic Art.

Armando is currently the chef instructor and sculptor instructor of Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa ’s premier culinary institute.

Prior to the 21st International Ice-Carving competition the uncle-nephew tandem has joined other sculpting contests.

In the 2003 Designs in Ice competition, they masterfully rendered, from ice, the life-size image of Frodo Baggins and White wizard Gandalf from the movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers where they won gold and $1,000 in cash.