A young artist from Marchand is being paid to build snow forts.

Jakobi Heinrichs says his experience as an ice-sculptor got him recognized by the right people and he has now spent the past week and half building three warming huts out of snow and ice along the Forks River Trail for the Winnipeg Art Gallery.

While most warming huts on the river are part of an annual creative competition, Heinrichs says his shelters are the exception. He is not building to win a juried contest but as an extension of the art gallery itself.

“The Winnipeg Art Gallery is adding on an Inuit wing,” explains Heinrichs. “These warming huts are designed by the same architect who designed the addition and are meant to commemorate this wing going up.”

The architect Heinrichs is working for is from California, and the two have never met each other. However, Heinrichs indicates that he is planning on stopping by sometime this week to inspect the progress and help out. “Once they get here we’ll really kick things into top gear and start cruising!”

In the meantime, Heinrichs says he has been frequently visited by other family members from the Steinbach area who have given him a hand. “My dad has been out here for fun, some of my uncles have been pretty helpful, and my brother and his girlfriend are kind of like my employees.”

Heinrichs says they use a variety of tools when they work including handsaws, chainsaws, machetes, and mending plates to cut and sand blocks of snow into the desired size. From there, the blocks are arranged into big cylinders and carved into shape.

“When they are finished they look kind of like chess pieces made with a lathe, but there’s no roof: they’re opened up to the sky,” comments Heinrichs.

According to Heinrichs, the shelters are all supposed to be completed by late next week, a deadline which he expects to make. Until then, Heinrichs says he will enjoy his unique winter employment.