Behind the Lights

Ice Wonders: For  a Limited Time Only

In the very back of a freezing cold studio in Astoria, icicles hang from the edges of tables and door handles, and the roar of a chainsaw breaks the icy silence.

Wielding the saw, Takeo Okamoto tears at a seven-foot tall block of ice, chiseling the fine details of a giant stiletto heel encasing an actual shoe. With a swift swing of his pick, he finishes the last detail on the shoe, making it seem as if the ice is mimicking the embroidery on the actual shoe.
After carefully wrapping the 7-foot Louboutin shoe in insulation blankets, he rushes the sculpture into his refrigerated truck, he quickly jumps into the driver’s seat and jets over to the fashion show that commissioned the work and quickly and carefully unloads the ice shoe.

Minutes before the first model walks down the catwalk, before the curtain even rises, Takeo vanishes and leaves in his place an ephemeral work of art.

When you think of ice sculpture, what usually comes to mind? A tragic, half-melted swan at a  wedding you probably wouldn’t want to attend? As it turns out, the world of ice sculpture  extends far beyond waterfowl, and the right ice sculpture can add a sense of elegance and  fantasy to any event. Their limited lifespan lends them a sense of extravagance, and in the right  hands, a piece of ice can become a chic choice of centerpiece.

Many ice sculptors generally have a background in a completely unrelated field, but usually it is  something that has helped them hone an eye for detail and a steady hand.

“I was tired of playing with my food,” said Okamoto, a former sushi chef in Japan. “One night I was asked to add ice to food presentation and I fell in love.”

Okamato, owner of Okamoto Studio in Astoria, had studied culinary arts and minored in cuisine design and presentation in Japan. Several years ago, he decided to start his new ice sculpting business far from home, and moved to Alaska.

Sculpting ice presents a number of difficulties because the medium becomes very delicate as soon as it is taken out of a freezing environment.

Sculptors must be careful from start to finish, the slightest bit of extra force can crack the ice and not only weaken its integrity but also affect its aesthetic if not outright destroy the object d’arte

“We have to calculate everything, and we’re not math people,” said Shintaro Okamoto, co-sculptor and contractor for Okamoto Studio and son of Takeo Okamoto. “It’s happened that we cut a centimeter too close and we’ve lost half a day of work, there’s even a viral video where a sculptor miscalculated with one of his works and when he sawed off the support the entire thing just fell apart.”

Ice sculpting, while an unusual and quirky art form, is being sought out, not only by brides, but also by companies for corporate events and trend-setting bars.

Ice can be manipulated to nearly fit any need. Color can be added, special shapes can   be requested, objects can even be placed inside the ice for onlookers to admire.

The goal is not always to start with clear ice. White ice blocks are sometimes chosen     to give a “snowy” effect. Ice sculptures can be adapted to fit a variety of occasions and     serve several purposes.

A major trend with ice sculpting lately has been inserting whole objects to better            emphasize both design and clarity of the ice. Okamoto Studio has worked with major    fashion designer Zac Posen on past fashion shows. “He wanted a world of jagged, rough ice,” said Shintaro Okamoto. “Just pillars jutting out on stage, and I suggested incorporating past looks from his collections into some of these pillars and there it was, Fall 2007 fashion week’s best show.”

Ceido Morales, an independent sculptor, has been making a living off of corporate events and parties for eight years, and has worked for major motion picture studios and celebrity parties. “This kind of business is almost recession resistant, after tools and overhead for your studio, all you need is ice, and water’s practically free,” he said.

While he was originally a car detailer from Florida, doing custom jobs for car clubs, he grew tired and moved to New York in search of a different medium. He found inspiration in his youth, reminded of the times he would come to Syracuse to visit family during the winter.

“I spent a lot of time making things out of snow, people, forts whatever I could,” said Morales. “It was something I liked to do, and ice was the closest I’d get to working with snow.”

Though often the sculpture functions simply as an artful centerpiece, the ice may also be carved into a “luge,” which is decorative funnel used to chill and serve drinks. It may even be used as a platter to keep food cold. While each request varies in price, the cost for ice sculptures ranges between $400 to several thousand dollars.

Morales’ most expensive commission to date was an “ice bar” carved out of 13 large blocks, sporting an intricately carved design that spanned across the front of it. “It was my Sistine Chapel. It was for a lingerie party, and I basically carved a lacy detail into the front and the back of the bar, and they had to match up evenly so that it stood out more,” said Morales.

It had earned him $4,500, though he did install it himself and took full responsibility for any damages the bar had incurred. “I was looking at about $700 in damages, it was mostly hard profit,” Morales said.

Some sculptures can be completed in as little as 10 minutes if the carver uses power tools such as chainsaws or a die grinders fitted with specialty bits. Ice sculptors generally use razor-sharp chisels that are specifically designed for the task of cutting ice. As various technological advances are adapted for use with ice carving, many sculptures are now created largely by machine.

These machines and “molding systems” are especially useful when crafting complicated logos, but the carvers at Okamoto Studio admitted that, in some cases, they have to improvise to find the right tool to complete the task.

“We actually have a tool we made out of screws, a leather strap and a dog bowl,” said Shintaro Okamoto. “A bar had requested ‘ice balls’ for drinks and we have no way of making them perfectly round, so we found a way.” By taking different sized dog bowls, and adding nails around it they managed to find a way to make different sized spheres, or “ice balls.”

An ice sculpture’s lifetime can range from mere minutes (in extreme conditions) to months, depending on several factors: the size of the sculpture, the amount of detail, its surface area, the temperature where it is displayed, and, of course, the purpose for which it is used. The artist’s studios generally have to be cold to maintain and preserve ice blocks as they are worked on, and industrial sized refrigerators and freezes are installed in the studio to act as a sort of holding pen for finished pieces.

While it helps to have a slightly lower temperature to help “soften” the ice before it’s sculpted artists have to be quick and precise about what they do. Waiting too long after adding detail to a melting sculpture will negate the artists’ work. Delivery of these pieces is also a challenge.

Ice sculptors are generally in charge of finding a means to deliver whatever it is they make, no matter how large it is.

It is common practice to construct separate sections of a large sculpture, and then later fuse them together with water.

Upon reaching their destination these sculptures are carefully placed and installed, often enough moments before the event begins in order to keep the ice sculpture as new as possible.

“We transform running water into works of art, not the other way around!” Takeo Okamoto said.