I’m going back! In 1999 I became the first sculptor from any country to be sent to Antarctica, and now, after a four-year slog through the bureaucratic tubes, I am being offered another chance. The day after Christmas I head for New Zealand, and The Ice.

More photos Click to enlarge

Both of these trips are courtesy of the National Science Foundation, which is devoted to science, of course, but also has a small program called "Artists and Writers in Antarctica" embedded in the Office of Polar Programs. The word ‘small’ is even something of an understatement: Only about 55 have "graduated" since its inception some 20 years ago, while thousands and thousands of scientists have been deployed.. It is quite difficult to get into it, but once there one is treated very well.

My first trip was largely sea-based. I lived for seven weeks on the largest non-nuclear icebreaker in the world, the USCG ‘Polar Sea’. As she went about her various duties in McMurdo Sound at the bottom of the Ross Sea south of New Zealand, I had the chance to see various land- and icescapes that were profoundly inspirational. Almost all substantial icebreakers carry helicopters for scouting the ice ahead and other duties, and this one is no exception. As a result, I was able to spend numerous hours observing and photographing from the air, another point of view that has informed my work ever since. About half the time the ship was tied up at the main base in Antarctica, McMurdo Station (about 1000 summer inhabitants), and as a result I was able to interact with some intimacy with some of the most accomplished scientists in the country in a variety of fields. This too had a great effect on my work, since I have become more overt and confident about the art-science interface.

It was a life-altering experience, resembling the first time one falls in love. It became a huge part of who I am as a person and as an artist, but I somehow felt there was unfinished business. I hope to discharge some of that next trip.

This time there will be no seaborne component; I will live primarily at ‘Mactown’. I will engage in activities I didn’t last time. They include:

-- flying to the south pole as ‘cockpit observer’ in a LC-130 (a large, ski-equipped military cargo plane). The pole is bound to be fascinating, but the real treat for me will be the opportunity to observe the ice of the polar plateau at about 10,000 feet as it is strained through the Transantarctic mountains, descends to sea level in gigantic glaciers such as the Beardmore, and forces itself into the Ross Ice Shelf.

-- descending into crevasses on Mount Erebus (accompanied by professional mountaineers. I would like to come back alive...)

-- briefly residing at a science camp in the Dry Valleys. It is my hope that the forced intimacy will allow me to see things a bit through the eyes of the scientists, broadening my vision.

-- more ‘helo’ flying for observation and photography, focussing on crevasse patterns. I have a generous allotment of dedicated helo hours.

-- other unforseen opportunities. Folks there are very generous about extending invitations to accompany them on various fascinating activities.

During this experience, which is bound to be astounding, I will from time to time be sending dispatches back to the Providence Journal. These will be on various topics, depending on what I have been doing, and will be accompanied by photos. I hope you travel with me in this way, and that you find the ‘last continent’ as iinteresting as I do.

Gabriel Warren lives in Wood River Junction, R.I..