Dawson List
22 Years Experience
New Orleans, LA
Male, 52
For more than 2 decades, I've been an ice sculptor, mostly for events in and around New Orleans. This means that if it can be made of ice and it's fun, I've probably made it for some crazy all-out party. I am a gold medal ice carver and my teammates and I also have a Guinness World Record for the world's longest ice bar. In 2004, I was ohh, so close to winning a world championship in Alaska. Alas, we came in second...maybe next time. But want to know something about ice sculptures? Ask me!
Great question Stew! And a particularly relevant one, as I've not answered your question in a timely fashion, for related reasons! When I was regularly working on my large ice sculpting blog (now reborn, although it's still but a baby), I spent a lot more time online working on ice resources. That made it easy to answer questions like the ones in this thread. However, ice sculpting puts a lot of wear and tear on the body if you do it by hand, and decades of ice sculpting took a toll on me. I'm not going to get into the specifics, but right around when I stopped answering questions on this thread and also stopped working on my site, I thought that I might stop sculpting for health reasons. And the sculpting that I was doing then was taking a lot more time. Fortunately, I've since found workarounds and spent a bit of time fixing some problems, so that I can keep sculpting for the foreseeable future. And the pandemic has given me quite a break (however unwanted!) as well.
To answer your specific questions, I can't safely lift the same size sculptures that I could when I was younger. But I usually don't need to, because mechanical lifts are easy to come by, and I use them all the time. I wouldn't say dexterity has been a major problem so far. My brain is pretty familiar with the motions I've done so many times, and those motions are pretty automatic still. In some cases too, I now use a CNC machine. Human hands can't duplicate that level of precision, doesn't matter who you are. And a CNC machine is an excellent way to extend an artist's career. The artist just has to get over the idea that it's cheating somehow. By my way of thinking, if something helps you transfer the idea that's in your head to your medium, then it's simply a tool. You're still doing all the creative heavy lifting. One of the main advantages of a CNC machine is that you can rinse and repeat indefinitely, reproducing the same design. And that takes a lot of wear off an artist's body, particularly in a situation where there's likely not much artistic growth anyway. If you want to be a commercial ice sculptor (you know, AFTER the pandemic is over), get a CNC machine as early in your career as possible. It will pay dividends down the line!
Interestingly, you also ask about some of the mental aspects of ice sculpting. There came a time when I realized that I had a certain number of ice sculptures left in me. With this realization, I became less willing to "waste" the ones I have left. Sculpting the same thing over and over is one of the less exciting parts of the art. (That's one place where the CNC can help, see above.) When I'm sculpting, I want to be excited about what I'm working on, so much that I kind of forget that it's 19?F and that maybe my toes are cold. For that, I have to be emotionally invested in the sculpture, and that's tough to do when you're on automatic pilot. Certainly, you always keep in mind that the ice sculpture you're working on may well be the only ice sculpture a person gets in their WHOLE life, and that makes it a big deal! But when there's nothing new happening, I find it hard to stay completely engaged the way I'd like to.
So, to specifically address your questions, patience isn't a problem. That gets better, kind of via wisdom. Love for the art, on the other hand, is a problem. If I have my choice, I'm only going to do sculptures that I want to from now on. And I'm a perfectionist, so they better be awesome when I'm done! Of course, I don't always get to do what I want, so I'll still be making sculptures that are a little less exciting for me. But I'll go out of my way to make them more exciting and interesting, for sure.
I'll end this by tying the physical and the mental together for you. Delivering ice sculptures is one of the hardest parts of the art. If I could sculpt ice all the time and never have to move them when I was done, I'd be much happier. And like I said above, I'd rather only do sculptures that I really want to. Neither of these desires work well for a commercial ice sculptor, so I've started a new endeavor, or business actually, although it's not official yet. Maybe this is how I survive an ice sculpture crushing pandemic, or maybe it's how I eventually stop making commercial ice sculptures. Or maybe not. Either way, it's more artistically satisfying to me. Check the link in my bio if you'd like know more. I've only just started really moving forward with it, but hopefully my unusual idea will work!
Hopefully, you see this somehow Stew, but I won't hold my breath. You could certainly be forgiven for not waiting 5 years for an answer, lol! Thanks for the insightful question!
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Thanks for your question Jim! To start with, I'd say that I don't spend much time in extreme cold. Although, if you ask people here in New Orleans, they'd probably disagree with that! They start breaking out the parkas whenever the temperature drops to the low 50s, lol. (With the high humidity here though, it does feel colder when it's cold.) I usually work at only about 19?F. It it gets below 15, I start having trouble with my ice cracking unexpectedly and then I have to open the door or adjust the thermostat to warm things up.
So far, the coldest temperature I've faced was -29°F. That was when I arrived at the Fairbanks airport during my last trip to Alaska. I showed up in my New Orleans clothing (shorts and a polo), walked outside to see how bad -29 feels, and then quickly threw on my new jacket that was waiting for me! That was cold, but from what I hear, it usually gets to around -45 at some point in Fairbanks each year. When it gets that cold, it seems to be a thing to put on swimsuit and go get a photo in front of the sign that shows the temperature. Not for me!
During that trip, we spent almost a week sculpting in -20° or so temperatures. It was pretty rough, and it's understandable that they usually suspend the competition when it gets to -30. That's genuinely dangerous, and the risk of frostbite is very real.
I get frostbite a lot, but the burns that I'm talking about are just from working with dry ice (-109?F) and those burns are no big deal, usually. When you're worried about frostbite in a cold environment, you're definitely thinking first about your extremities: hands, feet, and head (face and ears, mostly). Since you're using your hands a lot while sculpting, your fingers usually stay pretty warm, as long as you're wearing good gloves with liners. There's one big caveat, however. Many of the power tools we use blow air on your hands, so that actually makes it worse. Your toes and feet have it pretty rough. They're not moving around as much and they're always on the snow. That's why many of the extreme cold boots you see have very thick soles with lots of insulation. Many sculptors use special boots called bunny boots or Mickey Mouse boots. They're military issue boots that have different layers and are very good in extreme cold. However, they make you look like you have cartoon character feet :) Apparently, the white ones are for colder temperatures and the black ones are resistant to oil and diesel fuel. From what I understand, you can't really buy new bunny boots anymore, so you're always looking for them at the surplus stores, or maybe ebay. For your head, you have to have a good hat and a face mask. Scarves are usually a no-no, because they're legit dangerous with power tools. You don't want to pull an angle grinder towards your face if your scarf gets caught up in it. Same for very long hair. But your ears and nose are the most vulnerable to the cold, so your hat and mask have to keep them toasty. After a while, you start identifying the other sculptors by their hats, etc. Some of them get pretty crazy! One famous sculptor has very distinctive ear muffs.
Here are a couple of general rules I've run into: layers and cotton kills. These are two things that you hear over and over again when it comes to cold. Layers, in particular, is very true. You don't rely so much on one very thick layer of clothing. Instead, it's better to go with a lot of thinner layers. And you add layers or remove layers depending on how cold you're feeling. If you get too hot, that doesn't help, because you sweat. And then your sweat will freeze, which is bad. That's also related to "cotton kills." Sometimes you'll hear that because cotton isn't very well-suited to cold environments. It tends to absorb moisture, which wipes out most of its insulating qualities. I wear cotton layers when I'm in my home studio freezer, but like I said before, it's only 19°F in there, which isn't that cold. When I'm in Alaska (or Northern China, or Sweden maybe), I wear layers of synthetics, because they're designed to wick moisture away from your body, keeping you warmer. Natural isn't always better. (Although wool still works pretty well. But itchy!)
Finally, I'll throw in one more observation. When I start getting cold, I usually take it as a sign that I'm too tired. I need a break. My body is having trouble maintaining my core temperature, even though I might have on plenty of layers. So, I generally listen to my body and stop for a while, if it all possible. Rest seems to work better than even sitting in front of a fireplace. Recharging reenergizes my body for the next go round and the greater focus and productivity is usually more than worth the lost time.
Thanks again Jim, hope this answers your question!
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Hi Nicki, thanks for your question! Really, without seeing the sculptures, I couldn't say. However, there are a few ways this could happen. Possibly, they froze drawings into the ice blocks while the blocks were being made. But if you're saying that the designs were sketched into the ice, then that doesn't sound like what they were doing. MAYBE you missed the seams, or even looked in the wrong place for the seams. I'm not saying that's what happened, but I couldn't know for sure without seeing them. Sometimes, seams are very difficult to find. Even knowing what I do, I sometimes can't find all the seams in a complicated sculpture if a sculptor is skilled or particularly clever. Finally, in theory, it's possible that after the designs were added, more ice was added via the freezing process and thus, no seams. This is the least likely possibility, because it's hardly worth the extra effort. It would be difficult indeed to do without risking the ice with the design in it.
There might be another way that I haven't thought about, but that would be highly unusual. Either way, I'm glad you enjoyed the sculptures! And my apologies for taking so very long to answer your question! Pandemics are at least good for helping you catch up on long neglected questions, it seems.
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Hi Jake! Well, the simple answer is, you don't. Lots of people have asked if we use a special kind of ice (sort of) or if the display tray keeps it cold. But really the only thing special about the ice we use is that it's purer and clearer than most ice. (That means it's more dense though, so it does melt more slowly than regular ice.) And the display tray does nothing to keep a sculpture from melting. It's only there to keep it in place, control the water melting off the sculpture, and possibly help light it up or show it off. Because it's at the bottom of the sculpture and cold air falls, it couldn't really help the sculpture from melting, unless it was ridiculously cold. And then it would only help some.
I will say that I try to keep clients from making stupid ice decisions. Like, no, it's not a good idea to set it up out by the pool in bright summer sunlight. (That's actually extra bad, because it gets the double whammy of melting heat and UV light, which tears the ice apart on the inside!) But clients sometimes insist. And then I just try to make sure it's as safe as possible. The other place that will make a sculpture melt faster is right in front of blowing air. Even if it's cool air (still well above freezing), the air movement will speed up the melting process.
When you move a sculpture though, you do want to keep it from melting as much as possible. I use sleeping bags. From WalMart. Just like a sleeping bag will keep you warm when you're camping, it'll keep an ice sculpture cold, up to a point. And since they're made from 100% unnatural materials, they don't get too smelly when they sit around wet for a while. They actually kind of suck at absorbing water, which is good, but they also offer padded protection while you're moving breakable sculptures. They don't hold up forever though (the zippers break), so I've bought A LOT of sleeping bags during my ice career.
Thanks Jake! On to your next question ;)
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Hi again Jake! Yes, that's me. And the ice and snow in my hair isn't just for frosty looks. That all came off of a sculpture while I was sculpting with power tools. Usually it's the angle grinder that throws the most snow, but other tools do too. You sculpt for a while in a small walk-in freezer and it looks like a snowman exploded! Snow is everywhere. It's not as bad as glitter or sand at the beach, but it's close ;)
Coincidentally, I tried to change my pic just a couple days ago. But it wouldn't let me. If it lets me next time, this answer won't make as much sense, lol
Thanks again for the question Jake!
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Hi Jackson, thanks for your question! Ok, the simple answer is 50/50. Weddings, for example, are a big part of most ice sculptors' events and corporate events are nice because they don't always happen on a Saturday, like private events tend to. Plus, they often have bigger budgets and are looking for a big wow factor. The 50/50 ratio fluctuates a lot however, even for specific sculptors. That's partly because trends come and go. Like ice luges, for example. When I first started sculpting, we didn't do those. But then, they became a big deal. Corporate events probably started using them first, but then later, weddings started incorporating them. Finally, I can only speak for myself. Other sculptors might be skewed one way or the other, especially if they have a special relationship with certain venues that focus on one type of event or another.
I hope that answers your question and my apologies for not answering like, 5 years ago. Literally :(
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Hi Kaylee, thanks for the question :) Honestly, I couldn't tell you for sure, but I can narrow it down. When I'm sculpting, I might be tired and a little cold, so I'd be listening to some sort of music that will energize me. That could be lot of things too; I like rock, hard rock, alternative, country...not too much hip hop or rap, but even some of that sometimes. The main thing I'm looking for is to get my blood pumping and keep me going. I always know that I'm too tired to sculpt when I can't stay warm.
If I'm not particularly tired, but I'm also not working on something terribly difficult, I might be listening to an audiobook or a podcast. Because sculpting some things is largely automatic, like driving a car, I can pay enough attention to both. But it could be a novel, Stephen King is a favorite, or it might be something non-fiction. Weirdly, and I suppose left over from my education in biology, I'm interested in stuff about pandemics and infectious disease. Well before the Covid-19 outbreak, I'd listen to books about the 1918 flu, Ebola, and other diseases. But I also listen to self-help books, like how to get better sleep and mundane stuff like that. I haven't yet run into anything on how to survive getting locked in a freezer, but if I do, that'll be my next listen ;) Thanks for your question!
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