As I mentioned in an earlier entry, “mascots”, college themed ice sculptures seem to be getting more popular at weddings. So it was that I carved the University of Alabama script “A” logo for a recent wedding reception. While I was carving, I took pictures of the process so that I could post it here in the blog and also to add another sequence to the carving sequence galleries. Immediately below is the line art of the final design and for creating a template.

the sculpture design, with an attached base

in addition to the pieces above, the sculpture also requires a base piece measuring approximately 20x10x4 inches

   The carving sequence begins below. The piece was cut from a ClearBLOCK ice block which is a standard sized block made in a new machine from Buffet Enhancements. Somewhat larger photos of the process are available in the carving sequence gallery.

a raw ClearBLOCK, scored before a 4.5 inch slab is removed

the slab that will be used for the sculpture

the slab with the design template applied

a dremel fitted with an ice needle is used to transfer the design to the ice

after the design has been transfered, part of the template is removed

(this carving was done in a very cold freezer, so the template comes off rather easily)

the tail of the A has been cut free and now the fit is checked

(note that extra ice has been left at the bottom of the tail)

flattening the weld surfaces prior to welding

welding the tail on

cutting the bottom straight and flat and readying the base for attachment

(the base was cut from a separate piece of ice)

the sculpture after the base has been attached

(note the aluminum, water, and syringe that were used to attach the base)

the outline of the sculpture, roughcut with a chainsaw

the edges of the sculpture have now been smoothed with a bullet burr, which explains the snow all over the place

the outline of the A is engraved to a uniform depth of a little over an inch with the dremel and ice needle

the A is rough chiseled out

after the A is chiseled out to a uniform depth, the rough chiseled area is cleaned up

the sculpture lying flat, ready to be snowfilled

the piece has been snowfilled with fine “snow” generated by power tools.

cold water is poured into the snow, a little at a time, so that the snow freezes up and will last longer

the snowfilled piece, after freezing.

it was overpacked some, so that the white portion will be slightly raised after the excess snow is removed from the clear ice border

the finished sculpture, after excess snow has been removed

a red-lit shot of the sculpture in the freezer

the sculpture in place at the reception, complete with mini versions of Alabama’s elephant mascot, Big Al

  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.