One day, not long after I moved to New Orleans, I had some time to kill at a part-time job. To keep myself busy, I drew out a gator head design that I thought would be fun to carve and fit in well at many New Orleans-style events. For a reference, I used a postcard that I’d picked up at one of the many nearby souvenir shops. Since then, I’ve carved this piece many times for events across the Gulf Coast. It even showed up in a big-budget movie. All in all, it’s likely one of the best ideas I’ve ever had for a sculpture.

    Over the years, I’ve refined the design some as I’ve tried carving it a number of different ways. And even now, I’m learning more about alligators in an effort to make my sculptures better. For example, I recently found out that gators rotate their eyes so that the pupil keeps a vertical orientation (as shown in the drawing) much like a compass needle always points north. I also found out that I’ve been only giving my gators about half the number of teeth that a real gator would have. My design has 42 while live gators have 70-80. Because the teeth have to be left a little larger to allow for melting at an event, I probably won’t change that much, but it’s useful information if I decide to carve a gator at a cold weather competition. If you’re interested in learning a little more about alligators, the sources that I’ve been looking at recently are here and here.

    For this design, the templates are a bit different than the norm. Most ice sculptures are cut and viewed primarily from the 40”x20” side of the block. In this case, two blocks (at least) are combined and the sculpture is cut largely from the 40”x10” side of the blocks. The 40”x20” template shown (below, first rectangle) ends up being the TOP view of the sculpture.

    Also, you’ll notice that the top view doesn’t use the whole width of the block. I usually use 17-18 inches of the block instead of the full twenty, partly because I’m often not sure what kind of tray will be used at the venue. EPI trays (the common clear acrylic trays with the white lightboxes) are only 17 inches wide at the bottom. If I use all 20 inches of the block, I might well create a sculpture that would have to be modified to fit into the tray. Besides, this sculpture is heavy enough as it is!

    Before I try to aluminum weld the upper jaw onto the lower jaw, I try to cut away as much as possible from the snout end of the upper jaw. If this done properly, it’s usually not terribly difficult to weld the upper jaw into place because the upper jaw will be heavy enough near its base so that it won’t tip over. However, just in case, the drawing below shows a couple of methods to make the welding process easier. The red section on the back of the gator’s head shows ice that should be left in place until after the weld is completed. This extra ice will act as a counterweight to keep the upper jaw from tipping. If that extra weight is not enough, you might consider welding additional ice on as well. Also, in the gator’s mouth, a strut has been added. The strut is cut from an extra piece of ice and wedged into the gator’s mouth. It also will help keep the upper jaw from tipping while it welds. I used to leave this strut in place during transport, but I eventually decided that it wasn’t necessary as long as I got a good weld. You can use it if you feel it’s necessary, but if your welding skills are good, I wouldn’t worry about it. The jaw weld is a pretty big weld.

    Some additional notes. The design shows an additional platform welded onto the bottom of the sculpture. This gets the gator head up over the edge of the tray a bit and is a good idea, but means that the sculpture requires more than 2 blocks. Also, at the base of the back of the neck, I usually cut a handhold as this piece can be difficult to move and put into place. Finally, I usually will cut drain holes into the lower jaw so that water doesn’t pool. Most of the time, this sculpture is used as part of a shrimp display. Once in while, other kinds of food will go in the gator’s mouth. (like strawberries, below)

A gator head sculpture on the set of “All the King’s Men.” (starring Sean Penn, from 2006)

Originally, they had asked for a pelican sculpture to hold the strawberries, but they changed their mind after they saw the alligator head sculpture on my website.

    If you have any questions about this piece, just leave a comment below. If you would like to use this design or any other design on this site, please check the design usage guidelines. The design collection page lists designs on the site.