Plainfield Couple Creates Polar Bear Family With Snow

PLAINFIELD, IL — As Chicago saw its biggest snowstorm of the year over the weekend, an artistic Plainfield couple decided to create a unique spectacle on the front lawn.

Debbie Vitha-Nolan, who lives in the Champion Creek Subdivision, said that a snow plow dumped a giant mountain of snow and "we wondered how long it would be there before melting."

"We started imagining what artistic sculpture we could mold from it for the subdivision people that walk their dogs or for families to see," she said. "It seemed to lend itself in shape to a polar bear lying down on iceberg."

With the help of her husband Jim, Debbie spent about five hours over two days and made a large polar bear first, followed by a few baby bears.

The couple used coal for the eyes and foam boards for mouths.

"We used a shovel and a knife for carving, but mostly just our hands for molding," Debbie said. "The snow was very soft and very hard to form. A lot of packing and molding went into it."

This is not the first time the Nolans have created art for the community. They did chalk walks for the kids and families in the neighborhood since the pandemic began.

"We did it to cheer people up, get them out of houses and to get kids walking on our long 300 feet sidewalk in front of our corner house," Debbie said, "to spread some joy during the pandemic, to make some people smile during these times. The polar bears were just an extension of that mission."

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