**Previously in this article, I’d indicated that Artistic Ice Design was “associated” with iceculture, inc. It’s actually a division of iceculture, inc. In addition, Clear Memories in California also markets machined sculptures that appear to be from the same machine, with some of the same designs and the same tool marks.**

    In general, I assume that at some point in the future (perhaps very soon), most ice carvings are going to be made almost completely by machine. For some ice businesses, that happened a long time ago. Companies that focus on small serving pieces, logo work, and other engraved pieces and have a CNC machine probably don’t put out many hand-carved pieces. Newer machines are starting to cut into “sculptured” piece work also.

    My primary CNC experience is with Dean Carlson’s I-sculpt software and iceculture branded hardware (an early version). But I’ve worked briefly with newer models and it’s clear that fully machined sculptures (as opposed to engraved pieces) are very possible and are likely to be widely produced with Dean’s machines soon.

    What prompted this entry, however, was a story about the Ice Box in the UK. Their site mentions fully machine produced sculptures. Now, the product photos are identical to those from Artistic Ice Design, which is a division of iceculture, inc., but it’s unclear if they have a machine in the U.K. or are getting distribution from Canada. I’m not sure if that matters though, because Artistic Ice Design promises global availability of “top quality detailed sculptures previously found only in hand-carved pieces by world class sculptors.” Their grammar ain’t so good, but the sculptures in the galleries generally look very good. Interesting to note are the machine marks all over a few of the pieces. It doesn’t detract from the look of the sculptures, but it indicates the extent of the machine work. I’d known of the existence of their machine for a while, but they’ve recently added more photos to their galleries, which indicates that they’re moving right along.

    Also important is the packaging that the site talks about. Sculptures are protected for transportation and stacked storage, so if you haven’t run into one of these sculptures yet (I haven’t yet myself), then it’s a good bet that it will happen fairly soon. The site shows testimonials from Canada, New York, Detroit, and Orlando. I’d be surprised if that were the only places they’ve shown up, so I’m going to keep an eye out for some of the designs in the galleries.

    Custom, limited production pieces would seem to be the weakness of this system, as some of the text on one of the sites indicates that a “model” of the sculpture first has to be produced. The system may not yet incorporate software that allows for full-blown computer based design. This would definitely increase the turnaround time and might make repeated refinements to existing designs difficult. Also, the process looks like it focuses on single-block sculptures, making pieces that don’t fit in a standard box troublesome as well.

    Still, it’s a far cry from 1989 (the year I started carving.) If carvers can’t find a way to work with or live with these types of machines, well, then they may have to find another occupation. Low price seems to be a major focus for Artistic Ice Designs and the Ice Box. In tough markets, this will present challenges for some.

The following comments were on the original blog entry. After some technical difficulties, the blog had to be reconstructed, and this was the only way to keep the original comments.

Stephan Koch

Dawson,

This brings to mind an interesting point.  I think you are right about the industry moving to a much more automated and mechanized way of doing ice sculpture---which I think is just fine---it's all a part of progress in a still young industry.  What I think is interesting is that a person can carve a sculpture and a machine can carve a sculpture and even though the machine-carved piece may be more technically accurate the human-carved sculpture looks better to most viewers.

I've often wondered why this is---is it that the machine carved piece just looks too stiff and that strikes discord within our human spirit?  I think that may be part of it.  But also I think that when we look at art we want to see that slight imperfection or that indication that there is an element of risk or chance associated with the art.  I'm still formulating my ideas on this--i just think it's interesting that I'll always choose a skillful human sculpture in aesthetics over a machine-carved sculpture.  This is not to say that I won't move toward a 3D CNC machine myself someday--still I think that starting a sculpture with a machine and finishing it by hand is the perfect marriage.  Comments?

Stephan Koch

Friday, August 24, 2007 - 09:53 PM

Dawson

Stephan,

I think it has to do with the computer/human interface. In any situation I can think of, there's always at least two tools between the person and the carving when automated carving is involved. In each one of those tool steps, you move further away from direct contact with the ice. Like photocopying a copy, it degrades the hands-on  touch. In hand carving, there's only one tool between you and the ice. However, I think that the advantages, in most cases, outweigh the disadvantages. With time, the software will get better and you will be able to add subtle nuances and even "mistakes" that will address this issue. Should be interesting; thanks for your input and feel free to add more.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 - 11:07 AM