A Race Against Time: The Art Of Making Ice Sculptures
Ice sculptors have a very finite time in which to work. In just three to twelve hours, artists create beautiful and elaborate works of art with intricate details. Taking any longer risks the ice melting and the artist sacrificing the strength and integrity of their ice sculptures.
Ice sculptures for wedding receptions, conferences, holiday parties, special occasions, and culinary presentations add an elegant and ephemeral flourish. Guests may admire the intricacy and beauty of custom ice sculptures, but very few of them know exactly how they are made. Here is a rare look at what it takes to craft ice sculptures for wedding receptions and dinner parties.
What Goes Into Each Ice Sculpture?
The first step of ice carving is creating or procuring the ice, and there is more to it than you might expect. Most artists prefer to use the purest, clearest ice. There are a few ways to achieve this look. Sculpting companies may use big machines to circulate the water and air, ultimately filtering out air pockets, vaporous gases, and any stray particles for the most pristine ice possible. For small sculptures, it is possible to get the same effect by boiling water several times over before freezing it.
With ice at the ready, creating ice sculptures for wedding receptions and special occasions now entails carving and shaping these big blocks of clear, glistening ice. A sculptor, trained specifically to carve ice or in the culinary arts, may use picks, hand saws, heat guns, nail boards, chisels, and grinders to carve his or her piece. Mark Daukas was the first to popularize the use of power tools for ice carving in the 1980s and 1990s. While these tools help remove larger portions of ice and more quickly create a suitable canvas, small details often require the use of a very careful hand, a very small power tool, or a chisel. All the while sculptors are working, they may be in a room that is chilled up at 20 degrees Fahrenheit or below!
Mistakes happen. Any imperfections, fissures, or breaks need to be fixed by welding. Welded pieces are not as sturdy as the rest of the structure, so artists tend to use them relatively sparingly.
How Are Ice Sculptures Used?
After all that work, what are the most popular ways to display ice sculptures?
Wedding Dinners and Receptions
Ice sculptures for wedding receptions are very popular, with the most common choices being hearts, swans, and doves. Doves are famously a symbol of peace and love, while swans symbolize remaining faithful and monogamy. The adventurous couple may choose some of the more recent and daring uses of wedding-themed ice sculptures. Modern ice sculptures for weddings include pillars (yes, pillars!), punch bowls, champagne-dispensing sculptures, and displays for arranging flowers, food, or glasses. Ask artists about sprinkling rose petals inside for a romantic and textured look. A simple but elegant design popular with couples is to have their names or Mr. and Mrs. carved into a heart or block sculptures to commemorate the event.
The Ice Bar
Gaining popularity in recent years, ice bars are now a wow-worthy addition to weddings, dinners, conferences, and special events. Most ice bars feature, of course, a bar made entirely out of ice. In addition to the bar itself, punch bowls, serving bowls, and buckets to cool champagne can be carved directly into the ice. As with wedding centerpieces, couples or event organizers can request decorative elements added to the bar as well--whether that means added color or opaque pieces, small sculptures, or rose petals along the edges.
Carving ice is an incredibly involved process, and it is an involved process that must be completed in a relatively short time, too. Wow guests at wedding receptions and special events with elaborate ice sculptures and the fascinating facts about all the work that goes into them.
