There are many ways that you can create Ice Sculptures. I will share some little snippets on the different ways ice carvings are created in todays day and age.
Ice Moulds
This is a good way to start off. But there is a lot more to this method than you may think. It's not just fill it up and put it in the freezer. There is a lot of fiddling around - especially if you want to get the ice to be clear. To achieve this, you need to add pumps into the water to circulate it so that it is moving. If you don't add the pumps, then the sculpture will come out a white colour - just like ice cubes do when you freeze water in the freezer. A positive with the moulds are that you can add food dyes into the water to create coloured ice carvings. The downsides to moulds are: They are expensive (around $2,000 per mould), They take up a lot of space (you need storage space) and lastly, you can't cater for everyones needs (you have a horse but the client wants a unicorn!!). A great way to start and is relatively easy to do.
Carving using Chisels
Traditionally, Ice Carvings were created using chisels. This method is a little bit harder as you need to understand form and have a picture of what the finished carving is going to look like in your mind. This method is also very hard on your hands and wrists as you are chipping away bits of ice over and over. A longer way to ice carve but is where the roots of this art started from.
Carving using Modern Tools
In todays modern world, we have been blessed with the development of tools and technology that aid us when carving ice. Tools like chainsaws, die grinders and sanders can be used to create ice carvings. These tools help to cut down the time needed to create each work of art. I generally use this method the majority of time with a little bit of chisel work if needed.
Machine Carvings
If you have a spare $30,000 you could go out, buy yourself a large freezer room, a ice block maker and a CNC ice dog machine that will do all of the hard work for you. An expensive outlay but this machine literally carves everything to the tee. All you have to do is put your drawing of what you want in the computer, set up all the measurements etc for the whole drawing and press go and the machine will do the rest.
As you can see, there are many ways to carve ice. In my next blog post, I will talk about how to get crystal clear ice.
To check out some amazing ice sculptures, check out Angel Ice Sculptures - http://www.angelicesculptures.com.au
Ice Moulds
Carving using Chisels
Traditionally, Ice Carvings were created using chisels. This method is a little bit harder as you need to understand form and have a picture of what the finished carving is going to look like in your mind. This method is also very hard on your hands and wrists as you are chipping away bits of ice over and over. A longer way to ice carve but is where the roots of this art started from.
Carving using Modern Tools
In todays modern world, we have been blessed with the development of tools and technology that aid us when carving ice. Tools like chainsaws, die grinders and sanders can be used to create ice carvings. These tools help to cut down the time needed to create each work of art. I generally use this method the majority of time with a little bit of chisel work if needed.Machine Carvings
If you have a spare $30,000 you could go out, buy yourself a large freezer room, a ice block maker and a CNC ice dog machine that will do all of the hard work for you. An expensive outlay but this machine literally carves everything to the tee. All you have to do is put your drawing of what you want in the computer, set up all the measurements etc for the whole drawing and press go and the machine will do the rest.
As you can see, there are many ways to carve ice. In my next blog post, I will talk about how to get crystal clear ice.
To check out some amazing ice sculptures, check out Angel Ice Sculptures - http://www.angelicesculptures.com.au
