Sculpting chefs turn ice into art at Auburn’s annual Winter Festival

AUBURN – It’s not exactly timeless art.

John Grieve can put about five hours into shaping, carving and polishing a 900-pound sculpture. And on a warm summer day, he can see all those efforts melt before him in less time.

But the passion for ice sculpture probably has less to do with longevity, and more to do with the sheer fun of it all.

“I saw it, and I said, ‘I want to do it,'” said Grieve, who was busy Saturday putting the finishing touches on a 4-foot-tall, 2-foot-wide ice monkey at Central Maine Community College.

Grieve, who was working with Massachusetts-based Images In Ice during Auburn’s seventh annual Winter Festival, has been carving for 22 years. It’s really more of a side project to his work as a chef in some of Massachusetts’ finest restaurants.

“Actually, we’re all chefs here,” said Craig McConnell, owner of Images In Ice.

McConnell, who’s been ice sculpting for 17 years, learned from a well-renowned sculptor while working at the Ritz-Carlton.

“You learn by doing, McConnell said. “You learn by your mistakes. If you do it over and over again, you get better.”

The ice blocks are made at McConnell’s studio by a machine that freezes the water clear, without any frost or feathering.

The first step is to draw out a plan for what the sculpture will look like. A silhouette is created first, and then McConnell will grab a chain saw and begin slicing off chunks and doing most of the main sculpting.

Once that’s finished, a Die Grinder is used to etch in detail, such as pupils or fur, and an angle grinder, brushes and a torch are used to smooth it all out.

This is the fifth year that Images In Ice personnel have brought their touch to the winter festival – work that culminated Saturday with the creation of a mammoth ice throne at Lost Valley Ski Area.

The festival concludes today with, among other events, ski, mountain bike, and snowshoe races, wagon and sleigh rides, music, a barbecue and skating.

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