Faux can be fabulous, provided one has chosen either a high-quality imitator or something that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Artful artificial blooms can look stunning and, in some cases, do things Mother Nature cannot. You’ll never hear me criticize anyone who chooses moisenite, cz, or cut glass over real diamonds. Poly blends can stand in for silks wonderfully, depending on the frock. I could go on, but I think you get my point.
But faux ice? Fake carved frozen water that in some cases cost a great deal more than a traditional ice sculpture? I understand that the company behind it is marketing its product mainly to caterers and party venues who go through ice like I go through handbags, but it does suggest that friends of the general public “will be amazed at the exquisite UnReal Ice centerpieces [they] provide for each and every party.”
This reminds me of those neon ice balls you could buy in 80s-era supermarkets so that your drink wouldn’t get watered down by your cooling mechanism. I wonder if these operate on the same principle… There are some more photos behind the cut as well as a snapshot of an ice sculpture made of actual water for comparison.
At least your food isn’t going to get wet, right?
Now compare that swan to the ice swans made of real ice:
Do you think you’d be able to tell the difference without using your hands?
Yeah, that’s a big difference. Especially since *no one* is going to think that’s a real ice sculpture sitting on the bare wooden table.
Then, again, I don’t really get the point of ice sculptures anyway. I mean, they can be pretty but… there are a lot of decorations I’d rather spend my money on.
This one definitely goes on my shortlist of wierdest things ever…and I watch Project Runway and have been known to attend science fiction conventions.
Then again, like Claire, I seem immune to the charms of actual ice sculptures, so it’s unlikely these would appeal, either.
I’m no big ice sculpture fan either, Claire and Twistie. They actually make me sort of sad, as strange as that is. I guess the telltale sign of artificiality would be the utter lack of drip catchers in sight!
I think the point of ice sculptures is their ethereal quality, the idea that the sculpture exists for one moment only. Perma-ice misses this entirely.
Plus, ice sculptures can be dangerous. I do think they’re beautiful and like to look at them, but I saw one come crashing down after melting too much. If anyone had been standing next to it, they could have been quite hurt, especially a child.
Wait a few decades and it will be retro cheese for the masses.