ABHA, 15 August — Seeing your artwork melting in front of your eyes would be the most difficult thing for you as an artist.
Or so you might have thought.
But there are some artists who revel in the transience of their creations.
The maximum life span of the ice decorations sculpted by Reggie E. Guina is as long as it takes for guests to have a look at them.
A native of Pampanga in the Philippines, Guina has a wife and three children.
Making ice artwork to attract guests to food festivals is Guina’s job. He works in the Allied Maintenance Company as dining hall supervisor and his duties include food presentation. The company is responsible for the maintenance of numerous compounds where Europeans and Americans live.
He has a fiery imagination and is a wonderfully skilled artist. To create an ice sculpture, Guina takes one hour. Then it goes into a freezer, only to be brought out for the exhibition. When it emerges again, viewers have only four hours before it melts into water.
Guina used to work in Riyadh Palace Hotel. His art was displayed at many festivals arranged by a host of countries.
He has received letters of appreciation and certificates of merit from distinguished individuals and ambassadors in Riyadh.
In Khamis Mushayt’s Redico compound, he is getting the encouragement of Americans and Europeans. In most of their parties he is responsible for decorating the food.
Although he is happy here, he feels that his job is not as challenging as it might be because he is doing the same thing over and over again. His goal is to work in big hotels or cruise ships, where he can constantly exhibit new and different creations.
Born into a family of artists, Guina was inspired by the artwork of his sister. He started exhibiting his sculptures and paintings when he was in elementary school, where he drew a picture of his class teacher which drew great praise. That incident gave him the confidence he needed to pursue his career as an artist.
