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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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....

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)

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.

'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.

That just about wraps it up

Sunday, August 31, 2008 : Seward to Fairbanks
We were incredibly lucky on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous. The water was flat. The winds were calm. Today, rain threatened, and finally made good on its threats. We spent the morning in the Sea Life Center, where mom was thoroughly entranced by the puffins.

After lunch, we high-tailed it back north. We zipped along up the Turnagain, past Anchorage, and onward. Night finally overtook us as we ate pizza in a small shop just south of the Entrance of Denali. Then, we passed through glitter gulch, and high-tailed it back home. We arrived back at Belfair at about 1am. Hurray!