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!
Thank you Michelle; glad you like it! I have written ebooks about ice sculpting, but they're more along the technical, how-to line than ice sculpting as an experience and an art. But maybe someday...
As for your question, oddly there's a fairly simple answer: $5000. That's apparently the accepted big prize amount for a high profile ice sculpting competition. Now I'm not saying that it can't or won't be more or less, but over the last decade or so, that seems to be the number, most of the time, for the "big" events.
But one really BIG event isn't part of this equation and that's been a problem for some carvers. Until recently,... Read More +
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The timing of your question is very good; I was working on a blog entry earlier where I touched on a very similar question. I'd have to say that it's tough to get excited to carve things that you've carved over and over again. Especially if they want it "just the way you carved it last time." Sculptures that fit in this category for me include fleur-de-lis's (very popular in New Orleans), hearts with doves, and hearts with swans. All of these are very popular for weddings in my area. While I appreciate that the ice sculpture is important to them since it's a very big day for them, sometimes I wish for a little more creativity. But hey, nobody's... Read More +
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Yes, I do lots of custom work. To me, custom work is often the most interesting part of the job because you're facing new challenges and it requires that you're completely engaged and not just on autopilot. But it can also be the most stressful part, because you're occasionally not sure if what you're doing is going to work.
Regarding sculpting someone's head from ice, yes I get to do that occasionally. Lots of fun and again, stressfull. I know it's going to "work" in this case, in that it won't fall down or something. But creating a likeness is tricky and the goal is recognition: Will people immediately recognize who I've sculpted?... Read More +
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Ok, here are your answers: yes, no, and then, maybe.
Kind of a crappy answer, huh? All right, I’ll continue.
Yes.
You can ship ice sculptures, but it can be a little risky. There’s sometimes little guarantee that your ice sculpture(s) will end up intact at the other end. Most of the time, it works out fine, as long as the sculptures go by cold transport. And it can also turn out well without refrigerated transport as long as the ice is packaged properly and dry ice is added to the mix. I played a role in a perfect example of this that showed up on A&E’s Shipping Wars reality show (Season 4, episode... Read More +
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Definitely not a dumb question! I used to wonder about doing the same thing. However, adding color to ice is trickier than you'd think. When we freeze the ultra-clear ice blocks for sculpting, the ice ends up very clear because it's very pure. There are very few impurities like air or salts in the ice blocks because the ice wants to build a pure ice crystal and there's no room for other stuff. As it turns out, it means that it's difficult to color ice blocks because dyes or food coloring get forced out as well while the clear block is freezing. So, to make a colored block, we also add milk to help keep the dye in place and then the water... Read More +
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Hey Cory! Yes, that has absolutely happened! Usually, it's due to some miscommunication ahead of time or a necessary delay of the event start. However, I've had situations before where the client wants the sculpture delivered by a certain time and apparently fails to realize that it's too early for an ice sculpture. I try to avoid that by talking with the client and getting all the event details, but sometimes it happens anyway. In every situation where the event is delayed and I'm worried about a sculpture lasting, I'll take SOME sort of action. It can be as simple as leaving the sculpture covered in insulation, which can make a big difference.... Read More +
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Hi Dan! Thanks for your question! I really had to think about how I'd answer it. And truthfully, there are a lot of ways to answer it. If I take the simplest approach, my least favorite thing to sculpt would probably be buildings or something similarly highly symmetrical and precise. Sculpting windows on a skyscraper is pretty much the most boring thing I can imagine in ice sculpting, at least by hand. My favorite thing to sculpt would almost certainly be figures; the human body is ridiculously challenging to sculpt since everybody can recognize when something isn't right. I'd group faces and expressions in there as well.
Taking another... Read More +
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