Home / Sports / Devon Sculptor Carves Olympic Dreams in Italy
Devon Sculptor Carves Olympic Dreams in Italy
17 Feb
Summary
- Pippa Unwin competed for GB Snow Carving Team in Italy.
- The team secured second place in the snow sculpture festival.
- Sculptures depicted Olympic Fair Play and were 3m cubed.
A sculptor from South Devon, Pippa Unwin, has achieved international recognition as part of the GB Snow Carving Team, securing a second-place finish in Italy. The competition, held in San Candido, was part of the 2026 Winter Olympics cultural programme.
Unwin and her team were tasked with creating a sculpture from a 3m cubed block of snow within three days. Their creation, themed around Olympic Fair Play, depicted five athletes bursting through the Olympic Rings, a design Unwin described as "ridiculously complicated" but ultimately successful.
The event saw teams from around the world compete, with Unwin's team impressing judges to achieve a second-place victory. Despite facing challenging weather conditions like significant snowfall on the final day, the team's work earned them a "very exciting" result against strong international competition.
With a decade of experience in global snow sculpture events, Unwin draws parallels between her trade as a stone sculptor and snow carving. She notes that the fundamental technique of removing material to form a sculpture remains consistent, even with different mediums and scales.
