Her Valentine's Day ice sculpture on Dundas Place might melt your heart

As an ice sculptor, Danielle O'Rourke has to overcome many challenges.

Ice can be a tricky medium, a rock-hard material that requires a chain saw as the main shaping tool. 

Then there's the size of the frozen work, many of the carvings she creates weigh a few hundred pounds a piece.

O'Rourke was busy Friday positioning a sculpture as part of the Valentine's Day events on Market Lane off Dundas Place in downtown London.

It's an impressive work with the word "Love" etched in stacked capital letters over two hearts.

Usually, for an outdoor installation in southwestern Ontario in mid-February, she wouldn't have to worry about her work melting away so quickly. 

This week though, things are different. 

"I imagine it will last here through today (Friday)," she said. "Hopefully, if the weather drops down cold tonight, it will firm up and be good for Saturday too, but it depends on the weather, that's for sure. 

"It does make it more challenging with the sun and the warm weather," she said.

O'Rourke also works with wood, serving clients at her sculpting business Hur Ice & Wood Design. Her work adds a touch of art to everything from weddings to birthdays to corporate events. 

Whether she's working in wood or ice, she said the approach to sculpting is similar but the cleanup of each medium is very different. 

"Wood is really messy, lots of dust, this stuff just melts away," she said.

This week, Market Lane, the alley that connects Covent Garden Market with Dundas Place, will have a lot of love-themed art on display. The alley is being renamed Lover's Lane with Valentine's Day coming on Wednesday.