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Icy art

Julia Csanko sprinkles flowers in the suncatcher she’s making to display at the Winter Carnival Ice Palace next week, demonstrating the easy and creative project outside her art studio ArtRise on Sunday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

SARANAC LAKE — There’s still a little time to create colorful suncatchers for Winter Carnival next week. These dazzling decorations will be put on display by the Ice Palace, and though the deadline to submit them is coming up soon — Feb. 4 — they’re not hard to make.

Diane Miller’s been making these frozen pieces of art for years, hanging them up on her back porch where they sparkle in the sun’s rays. She thought they would be a good artistic fit for Carnival.

Miller pitched the idea to the Winter Carnival Committee this fall, and members excitedly accepted the event as a new addition. There is space for 96 suncatchers set aside to the left of the Palace.

The icy art is easy and quick to make, but has lots of opportunities for experimentation.

They can be carved, decorated to look like a nature scene or abstract work, filled with fruit, colored with different dyes, left clear, hollowed out and filled with water, or a combination of all of these.

Julia Csanko demonstrates how to make a frozen suncatcher outside her art studio ArtRise on Sunday. Diane Miller brought the creative craft to Winter Carnival this year and the deadline to make one for display by the Ice Palace is Feb. 4. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

“It’s art, so there’s really no right or wrong way,” artist and ArtRise co-owner Julia Csanko said Sunday as she demonstrated how to make one.

She placed ice cubes she had dyed with food coloring into a pie tin filled with water. As the water began to freeze in the 13-degree weather, the ice cubes also melted slightly, leeching their color into the whole piece.

At the top, a hanger hole was created with a small weighted-down glass. Miller fills her glass with beans to give it weight. Csanko placed a crystal on top of hers in the hopes that it will give her suncatcher “good vibes.”

Some of these she decorated with flowers harvested from plants at home and the art studio.

Miller said people can freeze anything they want in the suncatchers, but she asks that they stick to things that are biodegradable and natural — anything that won’t become trash when they melt.

Julia Csanko holds up a frozen suncatcher outside her art studio ArtRise on Sunday. Diane Miller brought the creative craft to Winter Carnival this year and the deadline to make one for display by the Ice Palace is Feb. 4. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

Miller said her friends have told her they can’t just make one. They keep experimenting with new colors, objects and methods to perfect the art’s look.

Finally, the suncatchers are frozen into one solid piece, either outdoors if it’s cold enough or in a freezer.

Miller is offering a $100 cash prize for the “People’s Choice Award” sponsored by her business, Prescription Sewing. The community will vote during Carnival on their favorite piece and the winner will be announced on Feb. 16.

Suncatchers should be delivered to the Palace on Feb. 4 between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. or 4 and 6 p.m.

There’s a 12-inch diameter limit on the suncatchers, so none should be too heavy.

Julia Csanko holds up a frozen suncatcher up to the sun outside her art studio ArtRise on Sunday. Diane Miller brought the creative craft to Winter Carnival this year and the deadline to make one for display by the Ice Palace is Feb. 4. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Cerbone)

A video Miller made demonstrating the process can be viewed at https://bit.ly/3ga7kH2.

A registration form can be filled out at https://bit.ly/32KsLeD. Slots for suncatchers are limited.

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