“A snowman is an anthropomorphic snow sculpture of a human. They are customarily built by children… in celebration of winter.” –Wikipedia
Anthony Giglio’s four-year-old son Marco spent last Sunday afternoon improvising his first snowman in Jersey City’s Overlook Park.
Once he had rolled and stacked three giant snowballs, he hunted for natural scraps around the park to bring it to life. Here is the mysterious process of Marco shifting his original creation into one that more fully expressed his vision:
“The first smile he fashioned was from the thickest stick, and he described it as a mustache covering a smile…
…Then, as we searched for bigger branches for arms, he found this u-shaped branch and yelled: Daddy, this is the smile branch!
…After he swapped the ‘stache for the smile, he said the mustache could be the corn-cob pipe. Also, we found a piece of coconut shell (no idea how THAT got into the park since there are no palm trees in Jersey City), that he said was a beret.”
…a snow man with a beret!
A few days ago, when I took a walk down quiet street to view the new snow almost a foot deep on everything – trees, fences, cars – I was looking through the eyes of a lone adult at all that beauty. Marco reminded me of a whole other view: of the possibility for expression with this amazing free – and fleeting – art material that drops from the sky. I could easily have made a little sculpture right then and there…
The next big snow, what are you gonna make?
Thanks Anthony!
What a wonderful post! I’m always amazed at the power of the stick figures that my son draws to show incredible detail and suggestion of the human form in action — it’s weird how just a few lines, a few sticks, placed here or there can show emotion and intellect or lack thereof…