diamonds: Can a diamond be an ice sculptor’s best friend?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:07:26 -0500

Here’s the second contribution from Joe and Lianne Rimer at Ice Pro. The article turned into a collaboration when we both happened to have diamond projects going on. Thanks Joe and Lianne!

Everyone has heard that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. But do diamonds have other friends? As an ice sculptor, if you’ve ever tried to carve a diamond, you might not have been on the friendliest of terms with your creation by the time you finished. Diamonds are hard! And not in the “hardest substance in the world way,” but in an “extremely difficult to properly execute” way. This article looks at hand carving a diamond and creating a diamond on a CNC machine.
The well known “four c’s” for rating diamonds are carat, color, clarity, and cut. In making an ice diamond a carver has our first “c,” carat, down, well…cold. Let’s say, from a 300 lb. block of ice, a carved diamond weighs, without the base or any other extraneous elements, about 75 lbs. If it were real, your diamond would be about a 170,000 carat stone! Next, “color” isn’t much of a problem, as pure ice doesn’t have any.* If your diamond needs some, then all you need is the right colored lighting. “Clarity” can be more troublesome, as not all ice is clear and free of fractures, but if you’re using a Clinebell or similar type of block, then you’re probably in good shape. (We’ll address another clarity issue, welding, below.)
The last “c,” of course, is “cut.” And for ice carvers, it’s almost all about the cut: how it’s cut and how well it’s cut. In creating an ice diamond the two most important aspects are the design (the how) and accurate symmetry (the how well).

* thicker ice will often have a blue color, because yellow and red light are absorbed as light travels through the ice, leaving proportionately more blue light

Anatomy of a diamond

According to AM-Diamonds, most diamonds are round brilliant cut diamonds, with 58 facets. Seen from the side, they look something like the drawing below.

The round part comes in when you look at the diamond from the table/crown vantage point.

Now that we’ve seen what a typical diamond looks like, the difficulties in sculpting a diamond become much more apparent. The first problem is a rather common one in ice carving: the block is too thin for a fully rounded subject. A standard block of ice is only half as thick as it is wide while the top view of the diamond clearly demonstrates the need for a much thicker block. Certainly, you could cut a diamond that was only 10 inches in diameter in all directions, but generally, you want to make a diamond as large as you can so that the facet details last as long as possible. There are at least a couple of solutions to this problem. First, you could weld two pieces of ice together to make an ice block with sufficient thickness. This is the preferred solution from a realistic point of view, but it creates a lot of technical challenges as well as a clarity issue. (Welded ice is not as clear as unwelded Clinebell-type ice, which is a problem for a diamond sculpture, where the clarity is more important than usual.) A simpler solution, and the approach that we’ll take here, is to focus on the sculpture’s silhouette and detailing (rather than its proportional accuracy) to create a presentation that viewers immediate recognize as a brilliant faceted diamond.

Hand cutting a diamond sculpture

First, you need a very clean line drawing of your design. From this design, you’ll create a template to apply to the ice to guide your cuts. In creating this design, you do not want to overdo the number of facets in the diamond. In fact, you may want to go with a rather simple facet pattern for your diamond, such as the drawing below. Fewer facets means larger angles on the surface of the sculpture. As your diamond melts, larger facet angles will last longer. Shallower angles (resulting from more facets) will fade quickly.

So far, we’ve looked at drawings that have essentially “ideal” diamond proportions. These proportions are designed to control the passage of light through the diamond, maximizing the amount of light that exits through the crown of the diamond and therefore in the direction of the typical viewer. Diamonds with ideal proportions are more “brilliant.” From an ice carver point of view, however, maximization of the diamond’s size may take precedence as the crown isn’t the usual viewpoint for an ice diamond, so we’ll stretch our design vertically (220%).

As we’ve discussed, for a standard one block diamond you want to create the effect of it being fully 3 dimensionally round when viewed from the front and back. The side view will not be accurately to scale but if you create a great looking front and back viewed piece this probably won’t be much of an issue. The process is as follows:

• Come up with a design for your diamond. (Use one of the designs below or create your own.)
• Create two full-size templates based on your design. There are several methods to blow up your design to template size including going to a print shop, tracing from a projected image, or printing from a regular printer.
• Apply the templates to both sides of your block. When applying the templates to the block it is imperative that the templates are sealed to the block accurately (straight up and down, centered, and with the templates properly oriented to one another).
• Trace the design into the block with a chainsaw, dremel, or small end mill, and remove left over templates.
• Straight cut away the sculpture’s outer edges (silhouette) with a chainsaw, and then cut your facet angles on both sides.
• If you are not happy with your facet corners, you can carefully cut shallow straight lines along all the facet edges with a v-chisel, v-bit, or chainsaw. (You’ll have to clean up the chainsaw lines, however.) Remember, straight lines and symmetry are vital for a diamond!
• For finishing this piece, a small aluminum plate or an iron is generally more effective than other tools.

This design’s base can be used for messages as in the sculpture at the very top of this entry or you can give it some sort of pattern or apply a rough texture to contrast with the diamond’s clean lines.
If you have any questions about the diamond designs above, just leave a comment at the bottom. If you would like to use these designs or any other design on this site, please check the design usage guidelines. The design collection page lists designs on the site.

Cutting a diamond sculpture on a CNC

In creating a highly symmetrical sculpture with clean, straight lines such as a diamond, a CNC machine offers numerous advantages. The process isn’t without pitfalls, however, so here’s a list of design suggestions based on experience.

• Base your design on clear, symmetrical line art or photos.
• To create the facets, we’ve found it more effective to spiral pocket different depths and not attempt to create angle cuts on the design.
• Deep cut lines into your design along the “facet edges” to help the illusion of detailed facets. The cuts should remain for the length of time that the sculpture is on display, ensure little loss of detail during the event. Use a 1/4” or 3/16” bit; a 1/2” bit is too big while an 1/8” doesn’t usually cut deep enough and leaves lines that are easily clogged with snow.
• Slightly angle cut your exterior facets by hand when you’re finished machining. On a good design this should be the only detailing necessary after it comes off of the CNC.

Using a CNC to cut a diamond sculpture is certainly worth the effort, but there are a number of technical issues in creating the design. Contact Joe Rimer at Ice Pro for more advice on the subject.

Additional notes

Besides the single block diamond sculpture, Ice Pro has more than once been called upon to create a very large diamond sculpture (see the Sysco sculpture at the top of the page). These sculptures are created by welding together oversized CNC-ed components and then finishing the sculpture by hand. Heavy equipment is required to get these massive pieces into place.
Also, Lianne Rimer of Ice Pro was formerly a manager for Columbian Emeralds International in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands and her previous work experience with diamonds came in handy when she created the CNC designs used for the single block and the Monster block diamond sculptures.

About Ice Pro
Ice Pro produces CNC ice work for the following quality ice sculptors
Ice Carvers Choice, serving Memphis and the Mid South
ice dragon, serving Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle
Arctic Ice, serving Greater Tampa Bay
All Star Ice, serving Orlando and the Florida East Coast
Brentons, serving Naples and Ft. Myers, FL
And we directly produce sculptures for the Florida West Coast from Sarasota/Bradenton south

If you are a quality sculptor interested in affordable high quality CNC product shipped to your location please visit our web site at www.iceprofl.com and/ or contact us at Iceprofl@hotmail.com

We also have Clinebell ice blocks and ice bowls available, as well as our specialty oversized Monster ice blocks.

ice bar idea: tigers vs. gators

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:29:24 -0500

I know I’ve talked about mascot ice carvings a lot lately, but this one just fell in my lap the other day. LSU and Florida have a football game coming up in Baton Rouge and I was asked to come up with some ideas for a private, night before preparty. The rough sketch of the bar above was one of my ideas. They didn’t go for it, but I felt like I’d come up with a pretty good idea that I can use in the future for other similar events.
Structurally, the bar would be plenty strong because I elected to cut the mascots off above the knees. This eliminates two typical weak points for figures, ankles and knees. And by making them shorter in this way, I can also make the body parts that are left larger, meaning that the bar will be stronger and last longer. The large base rectangle at the bottom represents the drainage trays and/or ice for the base. I hadn’t completely worked that part out, but it wouldn’t typically be much of a problem.
Now the heads take up a lot of bar-top real estate, but I felt like the sacrifice was worth it. By adding important elements above the bar surface, you add interesting and accessible elements to a design that may suffer visually in the midst of a crowded party. In other words, when that party is going full tilt, nobody will really be able to see the whole ice bar because there will probably be a lot of people standing in front of it! I’d have to take special care to get the bartop thickness right because if it’s wrong, their heads would end up in the wrong spot.
Another important consideration is how to deal with the tails. I think I would probably transport the figures with most of their tails already attached, using a transport strut to keep them from breaking off. Once set up is nearly complete, I’d add the very tips of their tails and then cut the transport struts out.
I won’t get to make this bar this year, but LSU and Florida play every year, so maybe I’ll get another shot. Besides, this idea is highly adaptable and there’s no reason to think that I (or you) can’t substitute in some other mascots and change the date. Heck, I might even try to sell it for when Auburn plays Florida, since they have a tiger mascot too!

Alabama “A” design, step-by-step

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 10:32:54 -0500

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.

2010 World Ice Art Championships dates set

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 06:03:22 -0500

I recently checked the Ice Alaska site and noticed that the dates for the 2010 World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks have been announced. The single block and multi-block competitions are the featured events, although there are many other events going on as well. Sculptors can enter either the Realistic or Abstract category in each competition, depending on their sculpture design.

Single block competition (60 hours, 1 block, 1 or 2 person team): Starting February 23 at 9 am and going until February 25, at 9 pm.
Awards ceremony: February 26 at 8 pm
Multi-block competition (132 hours, 10 blocks, 2 to 4 person team): Starting February 28 at 9 am and going until March 5th at 9 pm.
Awards ceremony: March 6th at 8 pm.

Blocks for the Single block competition measure about 5’x8’x3’ while the multi-block blocks measure about 4’x6’x3’. If you’re interested in competing in ‘10, keep checking the Ice Alaska site for entry forms as they haven’t been posted yet. Any of this information could easily change, so you need to check with Ice Alaska to make sure of the dates and times if you’re making any travel plans.
If you’re competing and would like to have your sculpture professionally photographed, contact Patrick Endres as early as possible because he told me that he only has limited availability for new clients. You can see samples of his work on this site as well, which should give you an idea as to why he’s so busy. He also took the photo above.

intriguing competition in Russia announced

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 13:39:45 -0500

Early next year, there will apparently be an interesting two stage ice competition in Russia. Competitors will complete a sculpture in Moscow, then travel to St. Petersburg and complete a sculpture there. I’ve posted the information that I was sent below. Questions should be directed to Valery Gromov at info@icestudio.ru and the relevant website is at www.icestudio.ru. Here’s the info, as sent to me, with some slight formatting changes and a note:

Russian Grand Prix in Ice Sculpturing
January 3-12, 2010
Moscow – St.Petersburg, Russia

Vijgovey-2010 Christmas Symphony 2010

Two traditional Russian ice festivals held in Moscow and St.Petersburg will be united in one project in 2010. They are the Moscow International Vijgovey Contest and the theatre-contest called the Christmas Symphony in St.Petersburg. Both capitals contributed greatly to the establishment and development of the snow and ice creative work in Russia. The construction of the Ice Palace to the design of the chief city architect Pyotr Eropkin in St.Petersburg in 1740 under governing of Empress Anna Ioannovna actually started the ice creative activity as art. At the end of the last century the ice Vijgovey festivals held in Moscow initiated the current establishment and development of the ice creative work in Russia.

PRINCIPLES OF HOLDING THE
RUSSIAN GRAN-PRIX IN ICE SCULPTING

1. GENERAL:
Such united contest is going to be held for the first time. The main mission of the contest is to demonstrate the best work of the Russian and foreign ice sculptors and to popularize snow and ice creative activities in Russia.
The distinctive feature of the contest is to demonstrate the individual craftsmanship of the sculptors. Ten competitors will be chosen by the organizers to take part in the contest – five Russian and five foreign participants.
The contest will be held in two stages.

The first stage called Vijgovey will take place in Moscow on January 3 to 8, 2010.
The second stage will be organized in St.Petersburg on January 9 to11, 2010. It is called the Christmas Symphony theater-contest.
The main award – Russia Grand Prix – will be awarded due to the results of both festivals.
These two competitions will be held according to different regulations.
Moscow. On January 4 to 7, 2010. Ice festivals Vijgovey. The competitors can use 20 standard (1.0 х 0,5 х 0,25 м) ice block. The theme of festival is free.
Saint-Petersburg. On January 10 to 11, 2010. the competitors take part on 24-hour ice marathon Christmas Symphony. They can use 10 standard (1.0 х 0,5 х 0,25 м) ice block or 2 ice block (1.0м х 1.0м х 0,4м ). The theme of festival is free.
In very short period of 24 hours the sculptors should present their ice compositions accompanied with sounds and light to the audience and adjudicators judgment. The professional board of judges formed from the organizers of the similar contests and professional ice engravers who don’t participate in this competition will evaluate the sculptures of the competitors.
Each participant should present musical illustration and light illumination of the ice composition. Music should be submitted to the organizers the day before the contest and the organizers should provide the participants with the illumination equipment.
NB!
1. Due to unstable winter weather in Moscow and St.Petersburg the competitors have to be ready to work at the temperatures above 0. The contest will take place under any weather conditions.
2. The ice compositions presented earlier in other contests are not allowed.

NOTE: Snow elements made from snow got after the mechanical treatment of provided ice are appreciated.

APPEARANCE CONDITIONS:
2.1. The sculptors who decide to participate not later than 01.10.09 (note the international date format; it’s November 1, 2009) should send their applications to the organization center the following documents:
- the participant’s application form (See Appendix No.1);
- the future sculpture sketch,
- CV;
- the passport copy;
- the competitor’s photo.
* Note: the organizers leave the right to select the participants.
The number of teams will be 10.

2.2. The competitors selected will be formally invited by the team or organizers

TEAMS:
Number of members: one ice sculptor.
Number of teams is 10.

CONTEST PROGRAM:
January 3: arrival and accommodation arrangement in Moscow;
January 4, 11.00 a.m.: opening the Moscow contest stage;
from 12.00 to 15.00: professional competition beginning;
January 5, from 16.00 to 16.30: work of the professional judges board;
from 16.30 to 7.00: prizes awarding;;
from 20.00 to 24.00: awarding the prize of Spectators’ Sympathy and banquet;
January 8: special cultural program in Moscow;

January 8-9: transit to St.Petersburg;
January 9 : arrival and accommodation arrangement in St.Petersburg;

January 9, from 10.00: special cultural program in St.Petersburg;
January 10, 11.00 a.m.: children’s competition;
from 14.00 to 15.00: finishing the children’s competition work and closing ceremony;
from 16.00: professional competition beginning;
January 11, 16.00 p.m.: work finishing;
from 16.00 to 16.30: work of professional judges board;
from 16.30 to 17.00: St.Petersburg stage prizes awarding;.
from 17.00 to 17.30: Russian Grand Prix awarding;
from 20.00 to 24.00: awarding the prize of Spectators’ Sympathy and banquet;
January 12: participants’ departure.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT:
The team will be provided with a ladder, a water tank, a spade and a set of illumination equipment. The rest tools and equipment should be brought by the participants themselves. The electric equipment is supplied with 220 V, 50 Hz.

PRECAUTIONS:
Each competitor should have his personal medical insurance and he is responsible for taking all safety precautions.

BOARD OF JUDGES:
The representatives of the similar organization teams of the local and foreign contests of the same kind and some professional ice sculptors who don’t participate in the competition will be included into the board of judges. The audience will award their Prize of Sympathy. .

PRIZES AND AWARDS:
Russia Grand Prix is US $3000.
Moscow Vijgovey main prize is US $1000.
St.Petersburg Christmas Symphony main prize is US $1000.
Sympathy Prize will be provided by our sponsors
Special sponsors’ prizes are as follows:
- for illumination solutions;
- for musical illustration..
Each participant will get the appearance fee of US $ 200, the participants diploma and presents.

ORGANISERS PROVISIONS:
- meeting the participants and seeing them off;
- professional interpreters, if necessary;
- accommodation in the double rooms in the 4 to 5-star hotels;
- three meals a day;
- cultural program in Moscow and St.Petersburg;
- technical support of the carving process.

Note: Transport fares are at the participants’ expense.
Transfer from Moscow to St.Petersburg and back is at the organizers’ expense.

CONTEST ORGANIZERS:

The Vyugovey Cultural Center (Moscow),
The Russian Snow, Ice and Sand Sculptors Community) Moscow),
The Ice Studio Art Center (St.Petersburg),
The International MASTEROK Ice and Sand Creation Developing Center Independent Non-commercial Organization (St.Petersburg).

Organizing team address:
Russia 195043, St.Petersburg,
25 Kovalyovskaya Str.,Of. 33
tel: + 7 (812) 929-02-60, +7 (812) 994-16-33
fax: +7 (812) 527-93-77
mail: HYPERLINK "mailto:info@icestudio.ru" info@icestudio.ru
www: icestudio.ru
Contacts: Mr.Valery Gromov and Mrs. Svetlana Mikheeva.

APPENDIX No 1

RUSSIA GRAND PRIX
IN ICE SCULPTURE  
January 3 to12, 2010
Moscow & St.Petersburg

APPLICATION FOR COMPETITION

Country _____________________________________________________________________
Surname, given names _________________________________________________________
Gender______________________________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________________________________
Telephone number_____________________________________________________________
Fax_________________________________________________________________________
E-mail_______________________________________________________________________
CV (competitive experience)_____________________________________________________

This application form should be submitted to the organization team not later than 15.10.2009.

Contest organization team:
Russia 195043, St.Petersburg,
25 Kovalyovskaya Str., of. 33
tel: + 7 (812) 929-02-60, +7 (812) 994-16-33
fax: +7 (812) 527-93-77
mail: HYPERLINK "mailto:info@icestudio.ru" info@icestudio.ru
www: icestudio.ru

mascots

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:01:22 -0500

I recently did sculptures for a wedding at a large country club in Jackson, MS. It was a big wedding and they wanted eleven ice sculptures. Eight of the sculptures were monogrammed stands to hold floral arrangements, one sculpture was a monogram luge, and another was a monogrammed three tier tray for seafood. These ten sculptures were brand new designs, and shared similar design characteristics to give the ice a consistent and elegant look. The ice was a featured decoration as the guests entered the reception and by all accounts, these ten sculptures were a big hit.
But it was sculpture number eleven, tucked away in a corner room, that people talked about the most.
In fact, the coordinator told me that the groom was reluctant to leave that room because of the sculpture. What was this sculpture that made such an impact? It was Colonel Reb, the traditional mascot of the groom’s alma mater, the University of Mississippi.
This is not the first time that I’ve carved a mascot for a wedding. For one wedding near Baton Rouge, I did a tiger head luge and there was a big screen tv nearby because the LSU game was on. Another Mississippi wedding featured the Southern Miss eagle (below). For this weekend, I don’t have a mascot sculpture to create, but I do have an Alabama “A” to deliver, which is pretty close.

At least in my part of the country, mascot sculptures seem to be a minor trend at weddings, especially for young couples recently out of school. So far it looks like a mascot sculpture is usually for the benefit of the groom. I guess the mascots have graduated from the groom’s cake to full sized ice sculptures. And the brides don’t seem to mind. In fact, at an event that is mainly about her, she’s apparently happy to include something just for the groom.

So what happened to Colonel Reb in the end? Some might have guessed what I also suspected would happen: the groom and his groomsmen tried to take the Colonel with them when they left. Alas, tipsy young men in tuxedos can rarely handle a melted and delicate sculpture, so the Colonel quickly made his way to the carpet. I didn’t witness the actual fall (I thought it was best to pretend I didn’t know what they were trying to do), but I got to pick up the pieces after the fact. There was less ice left than I expected, however, so maybe they got away with enough of Reb to keep them happy...

Vivat & Art Hongpong: a new gallery of photos

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 01:43:22 -0500

In case you haven’t guessed, I am, and have been for some time, something of an ice geek. I will read just about anything I can find about ice carving and I will study photos of sculptures to see how they were done. Long after everyone else is bored, I’m still happy to talk about some spectacular ice carving, from somewhere, done by some fantastic sculptor. When I was just starting out in ice carving, back in the very late 80’s and early ‘90s, I was particularly hungry for anything I could I could get my hands on. My fascination with ice was new and raw.
I started carving ice in Albuquerque and San Antonio, neither of which have ever been ice carving hot spots. All of the “action” was going on in the Upper Midwest, Northeast, in Florida, and out west in Vegas and California. There wasn’t much of an internet yet, so it was, when NICA’s On Ice newsletter showed up in my mailbox, I would immediately read it front to back and study the smallish black and white photos. Then I would wait a month or so for the next issue, while I carved whatever ice I could get a hold of.
Some of the first issues of NICA’s On Ice that I got talked about the new National Championships and how intense the competition was. Mark Daukas won both of the first two championships, in ’91 and ‘92, but right behind him was another master sculptor, Vivat Hongpong, who took 2nd both years. The Nationals is a two day event and in both years, Daukas won one day while Hongpong won the other. Daukas’ cumulative score narrowly proved to be the difference in both cases. Reading about Daukas and Hongpong inspired me to try harder to master this fantastic art.
In 1992, in my first NICA competition, I qualified to compete at Nationals by earning a bronze medal. Of course, I never made it to the ’92 Nationals; I only read about it. But I did make it to the ’93 Nationals. There, I met one of my new ice carving idols, Mark Daukas, and, just as I expected, he won his third straight National Championship. My other idol Hongpong, unfortunately, was not there that year to battle Daukas and I would have to wait some time to meet him.
Two years later, in 1995, I went to my second Nationals. This time, Hongpong was there (Daukas was not). Yet again however, Hongpong narrowly missed his chance to claim the National title, this time taking second place to Kevin Roscoe. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to talk with Vivat, partly because I had a tight schedule with a big project going on back home.
Several years later, I finally got a chance to meet and talk with Vivat when by chance he came down to the Gulf Coast to work on a big project for one of the Mississippi casinos. But I didn’t see him again at a competition until 2002, at the Olympic event in Provo, Utah. I don’t know if Vivat was at all driven by his three near-victories at Nationals, but against the strongest field of ice carvers that I’ve ever witnessed, Vivat and his son Art came out on top and won the Gold. I would imagine that most carvers would readily trade a National Championship, or even a World Championship title for the much rarer Olympic Gold. So it must have been particularly sweet for Vivat that he was able to achieve this goal teamed with his son.
The Gold medal might turn out to be Vivat’s crowning achievement. On the other hand, the Gold is a lot for Art to live up to in his young career. Art, however, seems up to the challenge and has obviously inherited a strong dose of his father’s talent. He’s been winning awards for his ice since he was a teenager, and if he carves into his fifties and sixties like his father has, the sky’s the limit! More recently, in 2007, Art carved himself a place on the team representing the U.S. at the 2007 World Pastry Cup. And while Vivat continues to run Vivat Ice Classics in New Jersey, Art has started his own ice carving company, Cold Fusion Ice Designs, in Washington D.C.
I am a big admirer of both Vivat and Art and I am very pleased to be able to post pictures of their work here on ice carving secrets. I hope you’ll take the opportunity to check out their gallery and perhaps experience a tiny bit of the awe that I have when I’ve looked upon a Hongpong ice sculpture...

new Brice seminars scheduled for Seattle area

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:37:12 -0500

*UPDATE 10/7/09*: Unfortunately, these seminars have been cancelled. However, Steve will be teaching at the Academy of Ice Carving and Design in Fresno from December 27th-29th. Check the site for more details.

Heather Brice recently sent me some welcome information and photos. Here’s the info and the photos will show up around the site (see one example above). If I can, I’ll go to this seminar because it’s definitely worth the price of admission!

14 TIME WORLD CHAMPION and NICA CERTIFIED MASTER
STEVE BRICE

SEMINAR IN SEATTLE AREA

Where: Kent, Washington, Creative Ice Studio of Steve and Justin Cox
When: October, 19th -24th
Workshop Program: Oct. 19th-21st – Face and Hands - $750.00
Oct. 22nd-24th– Human Anatomy - $800.00

Each session will involve hands-on sculpting and detailed instruction in the freezer, Only four to five students will be accepted per workshop.
EARN 10 NICA POINTS PER CLASS

Please e-mail Steve at stevebrice@gci.net and include your phone number.

Required deposit to secure a spot is $350.00

Brice and Brice Ice Sculptures 310 Baranof, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701 (907) 455-4519 (907) 322-7189 (Heather Brice's cell) www.stevebrice.net

ice bed: cool place for a nap

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 19:49:37 -0500

“You made your bed, now you have to lie in it.” Well, we made this ice bed and, as I recall, I did lie in it, but not for very long and I couldn’t tell you if anyone got a picture.
The ice bed was a very cool project that I got to help out with in New Orleans last year on Halloween. In this case, I worked with AdrinAdrina to build the bed. She’s an artist that works in a number of mediums, but many of her works start with quilts that she makes or other items of fabric and cloth. In describing herself, AdrinAdrina calls herself artist curator facilitator orchestrator conductor advisor instigator. I’d have to agree, but I wonder how all that fits on a business card...
At its most basic, the bed kind of acted as an usual and attention getting frame that showcased one of her quilts. However, the overall vision was to create a piece that was greater than just the sum of the quilt and the ice. Because New Orleans rarely gets below freezing, this was going to be a one-night-only showing.
Over the course of several weeks, we discussed the project and talked about the design. On Halloween night, it all came together at an outdoor venue right on the Mississippi River called the Brickyard (it’s an actual brickyard, witness the stacks of bricks in the photo above) Several other artists were showing their pieces there that night as well. In fact, the show at the Brickyard was part of a series of Halloween art events in New Orleans, all organized by KKProjects.
Behind the bed, another artist had built a mirrored shed and a river of fire. As the fire raged, it reflected off the shed’s mirrors, making for an impressive display that suggested that the shed itself was on fire. Another display used orange trees and oranges to portray the artist’s vision while still another artist hung elaborate fabric structures from the ceiling of an abandoned building. In amongst the artworks, there were makeshift bars that served unusual cocktails. The displays were spread about the yard, but the outdoor lighting was spotty at best. So under a nearly new moon, tipsy guests did their best to navigate around any leftover brickyard hazards while wearing crazy costumes. This was truly a New Orleans event!
If I were asked to explain the work that we created, I would have to defer to AdrinAdrina. After all, I was just doing what I’m usually doing, which is to make ice into the requested shape or structure, which in this case, was a bed. But I did enjoy the unusual challenge of using ice to frame and enhance another piece of artwork while trying to achieve AdrinAdrina’s concept. And when all was said and done, I was also able to take the time to enjoy the obvious effects of her vision on the guests. It was definitely a fun and memorable experience and I hope similar opportunities come my way in the future. AdrinAdrina was truly a pleasure to work with and I hope we can work together again!
For more info and better photos from this event, check these links on AdrinAdrina’s website and on ArtForum (link courtesy of AdrinAdrina.com; the bed and AdrinAdrina show up a ways down)

Ed Tillotson and Elegance in Ice

Thu, 6 Aug 2009 19:35:23 -0500

Just as I now have the pleasure of adding photos of his work to ice carving secrets, some years ago, I had the pleasure of teaming up with Ed Tillotson of Elegance in Ice at an Orlando competition. At that competition, we attempted to qualify for the 1998 Olympic event in Nagano, Japan. We didn’t do as well as we hoped we would, but we had a fun and exciting “learning” experience, so not all was lost.
The Orlando event was comprised of at least two competitions (it might have been three), a single block, single carver competition and a multi-block two-man team competition. The winners of the team competition would earn a spot in the Nagano event. Ed and I were competing together in the team event and we were carving a piece that depicted an approximately life-sized Michael Jordan standing on top of a small globe with a lettered banner around it. I arrived in Florida a day or two early and we were able to get a little practice time in on the piece, but not as much as we would have liked because Ed had gotten some last minute sculpture orders.
The team sculpture was Ed’s design and it was a challenging and somewhat precarious piece; just the sort of piece that does well in competition. He was responsible for the Michael Jordan portion of the sculpture, while I was working on the globe and base. Somewhere near the end of the competition we had pretty much gotten the sculpture together. Jordan was standing atop the world and we were working on adding the finishing details. However, we were a little rushed and uncertain; our lack of practice time probably had caught up to us. I was working on the globe down below and I was perhaps stressing the ice a little bit more than I ought to have been. Meanwhile, Ed was working on Michael above, adding finishing touches. Between us was the crucial weld that kept Michael on top of the world, which was apparently not as strong as we were counting on. Suddenly, that weld failed, and Michael began to topple. Fortunately, Ed was more concerned for my safety than Michael’s, so rather than make a desperate and likely futile attempt to keep Jordan from falling off, he pushed the ice away from me. As Jordan crashed to the ground, we saw our chances of going to Nagano smashed into a thousand pieces.
In the end, Aaron Costic and Matt Williams earned the trip to Nagano. However, some of their thunder was stolen by a dramatic underwater scene that Mike Palumbo and Erik Cantine had created. Were it not for a few problems (small, but important pieces left unattached, for example) with Cantine and Palumbo’s piece, we might have seen a different outcome. But that is part of the nature of ice carving competitions: it’s all about what you’re left with at the end of the competition, not what could have been.
On a final note, at this event Ed earned the dubious distinction of perhaps being the only ice carver to crash beyond repair three times at one event. In this case, the event I’m describing is comprised of more than one competition. And for non-carvers, a crash is just what it sounds like: your carving crashes to the ground along with your chances of winning. You see, in the single block, single carver competition that came before the team competition, Ed was carving another dynamic human figure piece. He had some problems with it and it collapsed beyond repair. Then, we had our crash during the team competition, which made two. But about the same time Jordan was crashing to the ground, a carver on another team had the misfortune of getting his die grinder stuck in his hand, so when he went to the hospital, his teammate was left to finish their piece alone. In a highly unusual move, the organizers and judges allowed Ed (they might even have suggested it) to join the solo carver’s team so that they could finish the piece. I believe this unusual situation occurred because the judges and organizers felt that the piece was not in the running for a top prize. As it turned out, they were right. The piece was apparently doomed before Ed got there, but for the third time, Ed had a role in a crashed sculpture.
When we talked about that event recently, we had a good laugh about how things had turned out. I don’t remember that Ed was laughing much at the time of the event though. However, Ed, like all competition ice carvers, knows that if you don’t ever crash a sculpture, you’re not pushing hard enough. Competition carvings should be right on the edge and sometimes, you go over that edge. Ed just had a bad run of luck and his experiences would help him at future competitions. In Ed’s gallery, you can see a few examples of his competition sculptures since then, all of them intact and very impressive. Thanks for the pictures and the experiences Ed!

Icebar Orlando photos

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 10:49:05 -0500

During a trip to Orlando earlier in the year, I got a chance to see one of the first ice bars in the U.S. (it’s either the third or fourth) when I visited Icebar Orlando. I’m sure the experience would have been even more fun if I could have gone with a group, but it was fun anyway. The bartender was a very cool guy, and unfortunately, I’ve forgotten his name. But he was helpful with the pix and did a good job with the drinks. Thanks! Click here to go to the gallery.

heart and doves design

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:42:06 -0500

This is my version of the classic ice sculpture design. Many other carvers have their own versions and you’ll see a number of variations, but the basic idea is the same. The first time I saw this design was in Mitsuo Shimizu’s book “The New World of Ice Sculpture, Vol. II.” (the green book) I was later able to carve it for the first time for a friend’s wedding in Dallas. Over the years, it has become easily one of the most popular pieces that I carve for weddings.

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.

beaded bowl design

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:02:29 -0500

I have a client who regularly challenges me to come up with new designs and new versions of designs that I’ve done before. In this case, he asked for an elegant and unusual ice bowl that he could fill with frozen ice cream treats at a birthday party. This beaded bowl was the result.
The design makes extensive use of the specialty die grinder bit from Steve Brice called a “bubble bit.” This bit does just what it sounds like it does: it makes little bubbles on the ice.

Unfortunately, it’s tough to make effective templates for a piece such as a bowl. In this case, the best option is to make two templates, one for the top side of the bowl (on the left, below) and another for the bottom of the bowl (on the right). These two templates, each measuring 20”x20”, are lined up and applied to either side of a 20”x20”x10” piece of ice

Based on the templates and the overall design, you should try and replicate the piece shown in the photo below. Once you’ve made the outside of the bowl as smooth and as symmetrical as you can, the “bubbles” are applied to the areas between the ridges while the bowl is upsidedown. Depending on the size of bubble bit that you use, you may find that bits of ice stick up between the bubbles. These can be removed with a small chisel (usually, the smaller, the better).
At some point, perhaps just before the bubbles are added, the bowl must be hollowed out so that it will hold something. Try to make the inside surface of the bowl smooth and uniform. A Junichi saw is very helpful at the end of this step. By the way, it’s important to know what will eventually go in the bowl. If it’s punch, then the bowl needs to be treated like a food product or be fitted with a plastic liner. If it’s going to hold something like wrapped frozen ice cream treats, then it’s not necessary to use a liner. It is, however, then necessary to cut a hole in the bottom so that the meltwater can get out. Otherwise, you’ll end up with semi-frozen ice cream treat soup.
After the bubbles have been added and the bowl cleaned up, the last major step is to add a small base to give the bowl a little more height and stability. A piece of ice approximately 12”x12”x2.5 inches will do nicely. And finally, after the bowl was attached to its base, I added some short v-cuts to the lower part of the bowl’s rim. I did this partly to add some detail to an area that I though was lacking and partly to hide some mistakes that I’d made while carving.

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.

first look at new ClearBLOCK™ ice block machine

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:03:07 -0500

Most of the time, when somebody comes up with a new idea or a new machine for ice carvers, I have to either wait a while or take a trip to get a look at it. This time, however, the ClearBLOCK™ ice block machine showed up in my backyard. I had to go only a little over half an hour out of my way to take a look. The machine is made by Buffet Enhancements and produces a single standard 40” by 20” by approximately 10” block. Because of the innovative configuration of the machine, however, the block has no clip marks; the block slides out of the machine instead of being hoisted.

like a Clinebell machine, this machine uses pumps and a plastic liner

the side of the tank is removable, allowing the block to be harvested by sliding it out
(this particular block is a little thin because we harvested it early)

in this photo, the block is being removed with the ClearBLOCK Ice Mover, which safely controls the block

with the Ice Mover, the block can be easily rotated into a vertical position

this was the sculpture that I made from the block above. I had no complaints, the block was very clear

later, I made this fleur-de-lis luge sculpture from another ClearBLOCK ice block

finally, this is how the machine usually looks, while it’s making an ice block

I like the machine. It’s very clean looking and its smaller size, light weight, and heavy duty wheels means that it will fit in places that other machines would not (like in a kitchen). I’ve also so far been very happy with the blocks that I’ve seen from the block maker. Hopefully, I’ll be able to carve more ClearBLOCK blocks and I’ll share more about the machine as I learn more about it.

diamond ring luge design

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:39:09 -0500

This design is very similar to another design on this site, the ring luge. Oddly enough, when I first designed the ring luge, I didn’t make the connection to a ring that you would wear on your finger, I just though it was a cool way for the drink to flow through the luge. Since then, however, I had one of those “duh” moments and realized that it could easily be adapted into a design specifically for weddings. I may have had some help from another ice sculptor; I can’t remember exactly how the realization hit me. But I do know that it occurred sometime after I had carved the original ring luge design for several weddings. Sometimes obvious is not my specialty...

The main portion of the carving, shown above, is cut from a 40”x20”x4-5” slab of ice. You’ll also need an additional base piece, perhaps 20”x10”x4” stabilize the sculpture. Notice the thin piece of ice connecting the two supports at the bottom. Regardless of when you attach the base, it’s usually better to remove this portion after the main piece is firmly attached to the base. Below, you’ll see a diagram of the luge track, as shown from the back of the sculpture. This particular diagram was taken from the regular ring luge design, but the track for this design is nearly identical. Below that are photos of the luge tubing that you’ll freeze into the sculpture from the back to make it functional.

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.

saxophone luge design

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:19:22 -0500

This was one of three musical themed double luges that I recently designed for a particular event. The other two were the stylized piano keyboard luge and the trumpet luge. Each sculpture had the funnels hidden in the back of the sculpture. I’d meant to take a photo of the funnels in the back of the sculptures so that I could illustrate how it was done, but I forgot when I had the opportunity, so I’ll have to come up with a drawing in the near future.

I was, however, able to get a quick, low quality photo of the finished piece with my cell phone. (see below) The other mistake I made was to leave a real camera at home. But even if it’s not a great photo, it’s still useful down the road for reference.

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.

trumpet luge design

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 23:34:55 -0500

Like another recent design, the piano keyboard luge, this piece has the luge funnels in the back of the sculpture. I’ll add photos if I get some good ones. While doing the weld for the end of the trumpet, you’ll likely want to leave some extra ice around it until the weld has set. Also, making the trumpet a little thick front to back will help its longevity.

this earlier non-luge trumpet sculpture was the starting point for this design

not surprisingly, my cell phone did not get a great photo of the finished piece in the darkened venue

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.

piano keyboard luge design

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:23:13 -0500

This week, I have a music themed event that will require three different double luges: a stylized piano keyboard luge, a trumpet luge, and a saxophone luge. I’ve done a version of the piano luge before, but the others will be essentially new designs.
In each design, the luge funnels are on the backside of the sculpture. When I get photos of the sculptures, I’ll be sure to take one of the funnels and tubing. I’ll add those photos as soon as they’re available. Take a look at the photo of the original version to get an idea of how the keyboard effect is done with snowfill.

here’s the original version of the keyboard luge; notice the luge starts at the top

and here’s the new version; sorry the photo’s not a little better

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.

innovations in Provo (2002)

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 17:53:11 -0500

As I’ve said before, when Louis Manzoni was snapping pictures at the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival ice carving event in Provo, UT, he was taking the photos that I’d like to think I would have taken too. Not only was he taking lots of pictures of the sculptures, he was getting photos of the tools and techniques that the sculptors were using. And at an event like this, the world class ice carvers weren’t holding anything back; any useful trick, tool, or technique would be used if necessary.
From Louis’ photos, I’ve selected a number of them that I thought demonstrated the use of interesting or unusual tools and techniques at the 2002 event and posted them in a new gallery. For the most part, I let the pictures do the talking. Questions or comments about the gallery can be added below, as they can’t be posted on the gallery itself.

in Cantine & Butauski’s finished sculpture, titled “Marksman,” you can see the weld lines in the bowstring where they surprisingly used many smaller pieces of ice to build the delicate structure

brown pelican design

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:46:46 -0500

Just as I generated a lot of Southwestern-themed designs when I lived in New Mexico, my time on the Gulf Coast has generated a lot of Louisiana and southern-themed designs. These aren’t always the most useful designs for carvers in other regions, but hey, the flamingo design was put together for a carver in Alaska, so you never know.

this photo came from Wikipedia; conveniently the pelican has adopted a similar pose

Brown pelicans are a favorite of mine. They’re widespread along the Gulf and they fly quite close to cars driving along bridges over the bays. They make for a dramatic sight as they wheel and dive into the water after a meal.
I changed the original design somewhat to make it more realistic, but some things couldn’t be changed because the sculpture requires adequate support. The pelican’s legs need to be shorter and thicker and make sure the tail is firmly connected to the piling
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.