Monday, March 29, 2010

The final meltdown

So-- first thing: The ice park people were thinking about placing our saguaro into the Ice Museum! That's a refrigerated building downtown that's open all summer, and where the tourists can go to get their ice-art fix. Very cool, though it would entail chopping the saguaro up, and rebuilding it in the museum. However, due to severe melting (see next paragraph), this may no longer be an option, though there's still a chance we may rebuild one there.

The ice park's final day was yesterday, and most of the sculptures lasted up until the very end. Well, the last day, anyway. Warm temperatures these last couple days, combined with breezes have chewed up some of the sculptures somethin' fierce. A few had fallen over, while others were highly eroded nubs of their former selves. One, a single block "Cell R' Ice" was standing when we first walked by (before the lights were turned on for the night), and had fallen by the time we made it back around later that evening. Several statues were making faint cracking sounds.

I'll put up a few before/after shots when I get the chance.

Saturday, March 06, 2010

That's a wrap!


Wow, what an amazing week. I can barely type, my wrists and trigger finger are so sore. After 5 1/2 days of redesigning, sawing, grinding, chiseling, prying, dragging, scaffold climbing, gluing, freezing, more grinding, and torching, create "Sonoran Sunset". Now, all we need to do is a little more cleanup and drop off the lighting diagram and we're Done! Done! Done!



I wonder what we'll carve next year....

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Day 4 - Saguaro stands TALL

What a great day! The wall is finally complete, we've lifted our sections (mostly cut by Tim) onto the saguaro, which now stands at approximately 18 feet. Katie came in and whipped out a baby javelina (off camera), the cougar is now taking shape in its' cave, Jill's prickly pear pieces are in place. It's amazing to see it all coming together.

We had a mad rush, and ended at 2am last night, because we needed to get all large pieces glued into place so we could start working them today. Today, all the rest of the elements will probably be in place, so that tomorrow we can spend the entire day going over our sculpture and texturing it.

Right now, we have nearly 2 unused blocks worth of ice... which will go a little towards our river, but will likely remain mostly unused. oh well... the desert doesn't need to be crammed full of stuff, anyway. :)

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

next day....

The saguaro midsection has been carved, but is off camera. Also, some prickly pear. Katie arrived in the evening as we were mounting the cougar cave. Feelin' good! and tired.
Catch the action here, or at icealsaka.com
http://kiska.giseis.alaska.edu/Input/celso/iceSB2010.html

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

multiblock - second day

A really quick summary: We built wall. We built wall from 10am to 1am. As usual, there were plenty of little hangups, like pieces that don't quite connect. But, the wall is essentially done, and we can finally move on to other stuff. Today: Tim'll probably work on the cougar, Jill will probably work on her prickly pear, and I'll be running around like a chicken with his head cut off.

Monday, March 01, 2010

First day Recap

We started working with our ice as soon as the 9am horn sounded. Jill and Tim started by trimming the orange marker marks (made during the ice harvest) from the edges of the ice, and then cutting the white ice off of a block or two. Meanwhile, I was trying to figure out which ice blocks needed to go where for the wall, and strode around the site with a measuring tape trying to figure what-goes-where.

After leveling the site (a futile effort I was to learn) we pulled our first block up into position. That big vertical block in the back is going to be the base of our cougar, and anchor for the background wall.

Another block we had moved into a vertical position to stage right. That is going to be the base of the Saguaro. Unfortunately, we learned after the first cut, the saguaro block is riddled with fractures. Actually, most of our ice is very fractured. This may be a side-effect of such a low snow year, because the snow, which cushions the ice as the forklifts push, pull, and drop each bock, was AWOL. We got to experience this throughout the day as each of our blocks were in turn abused and fractured. Mimi, a few sites down, had one of her blocks completely crumble.

SOoo, with the ice not behaving ideally, we spent some time wandering around our site trying to decide just how bad the damage was. Our tool: An iron which we used to clarify the blocks enough to look inside. Our answer: pretty bad, but we'll give it a go. If things get really bad, we have the option to get 2 replacement blocks of ice.

One of the challenges we face comes from the depth of the ice. Our ice is somewhat thick this year, and while that's nice, it also means that even our longest chainsaw can't cleanly cut through an entire block in any direction. That's why you'll see us circling the blocks with chainsaws, and cutting in at both sides.

Our next little setback was when we tried to split the third block in two. The resulting pieces were to be stacked upon each other, making up the wall right next to the large vertical block. The back piece fell over and shattered. (another victim of little padding). We had to split the remaining piece to make up for this. We opted, however, to do it in smaller sections. which would also go to make up the wall. As for the shattered bits? They'll make nice craggy bits to top our wall.

All this took quite a while. Meanwhile, off camera, one block had the edges rounded off of it. That block was destined to become a prickly pear bush. Another block was marked to become the middle section for the saguaro.

Somewhat near the end, we had a couple blocks pushed into place and glued.

Lessons learned yesterday:
  • Whenever a block is going to change orientation or has the chance of falling out, scoop lots and lots of snow to cushion it
  • Think ahead of time about what ice is going to fall where, and make sure that nothing else you care about is nearby.
  • Get scaffolding early in the competition. We don't really have any, as it's all doled out to other teams.
  • Move thicker blocks and wrench them into position to carve, rather than trying to move anything delicate.

Today's assault: Finish the wall, get the saguaro to level2, start saguaro #2, and get the prickly pear into position. We may even get to cut out a block specifically for the cougar/cave, and another couple blocks for the javelinas. Of course, this plan is subject to change....

Sunday, February 28, 2010

AAAAaand they're OFF!

We registered yesterday, and will be at site #7. Tim's got gloves, Jill *finally* got her chainsaw, and Katie will be joining us Tuesday night.

Somehow, after lots of planning (and continuing through this writing), we've finally survived to our first day. The blocks look thick, and the site is smaller than anticipated (20'x25'). NOW it starts, and you can expect this blog to get terser and somewhat less coherent as the week wears on.

Yesterday was mostly a break, with a trip to Chena Hot springs with other sculptors before we returned to the ice park for final registration and a safety briefing.

Today, if the camera is up and working, expect to see us clearing the area, scraping orange marker off the ice, and then cutting the large blocks of ice for the saguaro and backdrop. Catch all the action HERE: http://icealaska.com/videocam/10Cam/mb10/CAM10mb07.html
The camera will take a new picture every minute or so, so if we've been stationary for a while, refresh the browser.

Deep breath...

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Single Block in progress

But the ice-alaska webcam pages are messed up. Here's my own page that has the correct images for a few webcams.
http://kiska.giseis.alaska.edu/Input/celso/iceSB2010.html

Back to the desert


OK. So, I suppose it has been a little while since I reported upon our own ice preparations. Over the last couple weeks, Jill and I haven't touched much ice, but have been doing plenty of background work. We've been modeling in clay, modeling on the computer, sketching this & that, and working more on templates.

Of note, the puma/cougar/mountain lion will be hanging out in a cave near the waterfall. Instead of being completely exposed and open (where we'd have to carve the entire thing) he/she'll be chilling, paws crossed, taking in the action from halfway within a cave. The waterfall itself is changing (not present in this diagram), to be a smaller, split waterfall coming in on either side of a perched boulder. I'll add the sketches as soon as I find them.

Another positive thing: Some while ago, I'd discovered that the cholla will be best created as a table, with the various appendages glued on to that. It'll provide some more stability and allow it to be fluffier. An inital attempt at carving the cholla base was promising.

I'm ALSO contemplating the addition of an Agave plant. maybe multiples. I think they'll be good groundcover and will help to use up those inevitable diagonal ice fragments that get scattered everywhere.

- -
By now, a small amount of panic has set in: We start in just under 120 hours. Tim left Africa Yesterday, and will be arriving tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, Katie is coming in either next Tuesday evening or Wednesday to help with our final push.

Quixote's Nightmare, a study in Ice

The single block competition has started about 20 minutes ago and will continue through Thursday. Lars Hansen and Mike Ossmann (Site #40) are working on "Quixote's Nightmare", an evil windmill straight from the bowels of hell. I've checked out their clay models, and am excited for them.
Webcams should be accessible soon from: http://icealaska.com/10/10sbindex.html, but as of this post they're not quite there yet.

Of interest: Look for Lars's cool homemade tools, including the ice-lathe, "Bob" the boiler, and a slab cutter that is made from bicycle wheels, a car jack, and a washing-machine engine.... Then, there are always the hockey-stick chisels.

The story of their creation is told on Mike's Blog. PS, don't tell them I added Quixote. -- though I'm not responsible for the other alteration...

Friday, February 05, 2010

What's safe about ice carving?

Nothing, really. This comes to mind as I ponder all the tools we'll be using to create our "masterpiece":1 - 14" electric chainsaw
3 - 18" electric chainsaws
1 - 42" gas chainsaw
6+ - long handled chisels (~3' long)
2 - angle grinders with uber-aggressive disks with guards removed
3 - die grinders with more uber-aggressive bits
2 - (1'x1') Scratch pads (with either hundreds of nails or other abrasive item)
2 - Mallets
1 - 5' breaker bar
? - misc small chisels
2 - small saws
1 - broken iron (stuck on)1 - weed burner
oh, and 54,568 pounds of ice!

Another clay session

Jill and I got together to work the clay some more and pay closer attention to the structural aspects of our creation. This time around, we concentrated on plants.

From 2010 World Ice Championships preparation: Sonoran Sunset


Prickly Pears: ~ 3+' tall (to ~ 5'?)
We decided that trying to attach individual pads would be infeasible for a bunch of reasons: The pads themselves are heavy, gluing the ice can be a finnicky process. Picture a bunch of misshapen dominoes crashing to the ground. Instead, we're opting to create a base (think "lips"), which will have several pads etched into it, with a few pads rising up out of it. Additional pads would be created in 2's, 3's, 4's, whatever, and attached to the base. The extra advantage here is that there will be more surface area available for attachment, and also multiple surfaces. This produces a stronger bond.



Cholla: ~4-5' tall
The cholla presents some challenges, too. In reality, the plant is a series of connected nodules (picture ovoid tubes) covered from one end to the other in nasty terrible spines. The real plant would (again) be a nightmare to try to recreate, with a noticable lack of support for the tubes. In our version, the plant would be supported by a stable pedistal topped by a multi-armed star and additional vertical support. Tubes will be cut with bob-the-boiler in long shapes, and then will be "segmented" by etching with powertools. Textures will also be added by drilling lots and lots of tiny holes into them.then, they'll be assembled like one of those geodesic hemispherical playground climbing bars.. Hopefully.



Barrel Cactus: ~3'tall
~2' diameter cylendar, tilted somewhat, deeply etched with many crenelations. I've played around with the idea of spines, but am still unconvinced if I'll even bother. We'll try to do flowers on top, and see where that leads.






Saguaro #1: 20' tall, arms start at 6'
In the photo, toothpicks represent places where block seams will go. A person, then will be as high as the skinny green toothpick. The saguaro has been made skinnier, giving it a more svelte outline, and taller feel. The arms will go to 10' to 12'. yipes. I'm both excited and apprehensive about this piece. Once fully erected, we're not going to want to be anywhere under it.

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Into the future!

While 10 blocks of 6'x3'x4' ice may seem like a lot, it won't feel like it. Much ice will be lost to irregularly shaped scraps. Some will be lost to shatterage. Most of it, though, will be taken up by the sculpture. The saguaro alone, will be responsible for most of 3 blocks. I'm using the CAD program "Google Sketchup" to help me figure out block usage and create templates. All this pre-work is incredibly important... it's no fun to stand around in -30 weather, scratching your head, trying to figure out what to do next, while the clock continues to mercilessly tick down.


Here's the site, under construction


Here's the details for our Momma Javelina

Thursday, January 28, 2010

New toy!

I picked up a Makita die grinder (GDO600) from AIH yesterday. This would be neat, but not too exciting, except that I also received two of the bits that I ordered, a Roscoe Bit, and a V-bit. A quick test proved that the roscoe bit (a thin, long bit) carves through ice like a warm knife through butter. It'll be used for details, and should be uber-handy with creating creatures.

The V-bit is a wide bit that will be heavily used with texturing and will likely be used for creating detail within the cholla.

Now, I'm just waiting for the super burr and burr bullet that I have on order. With those, there'll be Ice Mayhem.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Dreaming of tools

Last night, I broke down and ordered some ice-carving bits for the Die Grinder that I don't yet own. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I shouldn't have found a sponsor....
Meanwhile, were still collecting a pile of tools a saw here, grinder there, and a cool now melty device that Lars has created.

Friday, January 22, 2010

Designed to WIN

Here's the design sketch I submitted on our behalf. We're paid up, have turned in our bios (mostly) and this sketch. It's really going to happen now!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

uh-oh

A couple days ago, I put chisel to ice for the first time this season. Oh my. 15 minutes with the chainsaw and angle-grinder, and my wrists are spaghetti. No doubt about it, this is going to take some conditioning.

In other news, I'm still thinking about the layout and order of things. I figure the saguaro will have to be assembled at the END of the competition, 'cause of the danger it would pose to those of us working around it. Plus, I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts about the bats. Tim's fighting hard for the cougar, and I'm beginning to wonder how much time would be sunk into the bats, which have a great chance of breaking anyway. We'll see.

I grabbed small cougar figurine and a Toob of desert wildlife and as models for sculpting. As a bonus, there's a roadrunner in the pack. hmmm... a roadrunner would be cool. coyote? oh, where to stop? The one thing I wanted, a Javelina figure, seems to be unattainable up here in AK. Maybe I'll entreat upon one of my AZ friends to send me up one....

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Icecarving team taking shape

It's official! Tim's coming up from the Congo to help carve. That's a guaranteed 3-member team, with Katie probably coming up to lend a hand. With that knowledge in hand, I've formally submitted our application. On the to-do list: just about everything. (sigh)

Monday, January 11, 2010

First brainstorming - clay model


Yesterday, Jill came over to put a chisel to ice. The weather was cold and windy, and there was plenty of other modeling to do, so instead we worked on a clay model and discussed some possible carving techniques.

At right, you see the fruits of our labors. There's a mountain in the background that wraps around, with a waterfall (green clay) leading into a pool at which a few Javalina (mom & babies) are drinking. Crossbedding will show that the mountain is actually fossilized sand dune. A small saguaro flanks the scene (right), with a damaged spot showing the internal ribs. There's a large saguaro (probably ~18' when completed), jackrabbit, and mouse poking nose out of saguaro. The yellow ribbony thing represents a bat-flight, exiting a cave in the background, and looping around behind the saguaro (this will be tricky). There's tracks on the ground (as represented by the yellow blotch of clay), and plenty of prickly pear cacti. The pile of tubes represents a cholla plant, and a barrel cactus sits off to the left. Stanchions are small prickly-pear plants.

The items within the clay model are not to scale yet.

Next: The figures within the model have to be scaled out, so we know how much ice we have, as well as the size of each item within. Also, we need to figure out how things will be manufactured.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

'Tis the season (again)

The Icealaska world ice art championship is right around the corner, and being the fool that I am, I'll be leading a team in the Multiblock competition (28 Feb - 5 Mar). We get to carve up ten blocks, each approximately 6' x 4' x 3', turning them into some sort of scene.

My team was likely to consist of Jeremy Harbek, Jill Shipman, Tim Macintyre, and myself. It turns out, though, that Jeremy has his nose to the grindstone throughout the spring, as he's trying to graduate, so a replacement is needed. Tim happens to be in Africa, but brief email exchanges thusfar make me optimistic that he'll be able to tear himself away for the competition. While, as far as I know Tim doesn't have any ice carving experience, he's been known to wield the chainsaw and I'd bet he is at home with heavy equipment. Jill has carved in the Amateur competition a couple times, but has never competed.

I'm currently hoping that my friend and previous carving partner, Katie Hessen, will be able to take the mantle from Jeremy. The only problem is that she's in Africa right now (coincidence), and has a real job. She's got tools and has worked on just about everything that I've carved, including "Ahab" from a previous multiblock competition.

As for me, I've carved in the multiblock once: lots of chainsawing, and basically just following directions. I've also carved in the single-block once, and have done several other sculptures in the amateur competition, the kid's park and a couple other places. This'll be my first captaining of such a large project.

The project itself: "Sonoran Sunset" (or some such name). I've recently returned from a trip to the deserts around Tucson, where I managed to gather some resistance to our weather (currently -32F ), as well as gained inspiration for this project. A mock-up photo (1st really-really-rough draft) is included here.

Within the photo: Saguaro cacti, cholla cactus, barrel cactus, plenty of prickly-pear, and javelinas drinking at a desert oasis, with a small waterfall cascading off some rocks (fossilized sand-dunes). In the original mock-up, I have a mountain lion looking on... he might reappear, but I actually envision a bat-flight instead. The cactus may have a creature ot two poking out, and there may be tracks in the "sand" nearby.