On the fifth (and 1/2) day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
Five… more… snow… man… rings,
Four carved from a nut,
Three disc men,
Two simple blocks,
and a snowman family straight from the sea.
We’re talking tectonic minimalism here. The question of the day is, “what is the bare essence of a snowman?” Do we need eyes, buttons, scarf, pipe, etc. to capture that essence?
The answer: Something round and sporting a top hat appears to be the bare minimum that most people perceive as a snowman. Adding a carrot puts it on firmly on solid ground.
The next question: how many ways can you place the carrot and what does that do to the design?
Finally, does adding color reinforce the design or detract from it?
It’s obviously subjective, but I lean toward the purity of the unfinished, sculptural snowmen shown below.
Something fun to ponder: Notice the visual difference between the two snowmen below. It is entirely due to the position of the carrots. With the carrot positioned at the top, the wood ring appears as a body, while at the bottom it appears as a head. It is so cool that such a minor alteration causes such a major impact!
Click here to see the fifth day of Christmas.