The Iceman Carveth
After using a hand-held industrial die grinder to etch a design into the face of a 300-pound ice block, James Ottens goes to work.
The three-horsepower Craftsman chain saw in Ottens’ hands rooster-tails a frozen plume of shavings away from the crystal-clear slab of ice that is dripping onto the garage floor. Within minutes, the block’s shoulders drop away with a thump. Roughly shaped tail feathers emerge, followed by rounded bodies and heads. In little over an hour, a pair of beaks appear--touching, as if in a kiss--and the centerpiece for an upcoming wedding reception is completed.
Ottens’ ice carvings are fleeting. Once the 39-year-old Anaheim resident retrieves a $40 block of ice from a local supplier, he begins a race against time and temperature. Finished pieces sit cheek-by-jowl in a small, walk-in freezer that registers a constant 22 degrees. But Ottens prefers to work quickly in a cramped studio where an air conditioner struggles to keep the temperature at 65 degrees.
Some elements, including the swans’ beaks, are thicker than need be in order to ensure that the decorative pieces last through weddings and corporate receptions where his works often serve as centerpieces. He wraps ice sculptures in blankets and plastic for delivery and waits until the last minute to install colorful lighting fixtures that breathe life into his work.
Yet, even with the hotel banquet room’s air-conditioning running on high, the ice swans soon will be reduced to little more than a puddle.
“People ask me why I carve something that’s going to last for such a short time,” Ottens said. “I tell them it’s the same thing as having a beautiful flower that you know is going to wilt, or a fine gourmet meal that will be gone as soon as you eat it.”
Ottens, who retired in June after 20 years in the Marine Corps, is about to find out if there’s enough cold cash in ice sculpting to form the foundation of a new career.
Early signs are not encouraging. During the first month since Ottens retired, the telephone and fax machine stopped ringing.
“The business died,” Ottens said. “I’ve only had two orders this month. A busy month would be 10 to 15 orders. And I’d like to see it at 20 a month. But I still want to keep carving, even if I have to get another job.”
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He formed Crystal Creations, a one-man ice-sculpting company operating out of his home, in 1991. The company’s four-color catalog includes graceful unicorns, elaborate hearts and huge butterflies. The kissing-swans sculpture, which includes a carved base, costs $350. A single swan without the base would sell for $200.
At the moment, his freezer also holds an order from a college fraternity--a pair of three-foot tall tiki torches with a channel cut through the middle where partygoers can ice down shots of liquor.
But carving a career out of ice is difficult. The 600-member National Assn. of Ice Carvers estimates that there are 2,000 ice carvers in the country, but that only 200 make a living at it. The two largest companies, located in Chicago and New York, each generate about $1 million in revenue. Most ice-carving companies, however, are one-man shops.
Ottens has a friend in the business who claims to have grossed $80,000 in the last year by carving sculptures for parties, store openings and weddings. But Ottens, a veteran chef who earned his spatula by preparing meals for Marine functions at the now-closed El Toro and Tustin Marine bases, knows that he might have to fall back on his cooking skills to make ends meet.
Ottens’ ice career began in the 1980s when he was cooking for Marine functions. As with most practitioners, he gravitated toward ice sculpting after first testing his mettle with carved fruit bowls and decorative pastries.
He tackled his first ice sculpture in 1984 after returning from a cooking school where he learned rudimentary carving techniques. An officer asked him to carve a rendering of the U.S. Marine Corps’ insignia for a base function.
The soft-spoken Ottens grins when asked if he felt up to the challenge: “No, but I was willing to give it a try. It took me five hours in the freezer at 10 degrees below zero. . . . The only tools I had were a six-prong ice pick, a flat chisel I’d bought at a swap meet and a garden pruning saw. Back then, I was afraid to use a chain saw.”
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Ottens, who has won awards at culinary shows in Southern California, dreams of one day entering an ice-carving show in Alaska where participants work their magic on three ice blocks that each weigh five tons.
“You’re working outside in February or March, and you have three days to complete your design,” Ottens said. “It can be a really grueling contest.”
Purists from another era might shake their heads at the growing use of power tools, but Ottens maintains that quality of work doesn’t suffer from using tools that also help to cut costs by reducing the time needed to turn out a sculpture.
The ice-carving association says that tools of the icy trade have evolved dramatically in recent years as artists have moved from hand tools to electric equipment. Ottens’ small studio attests to the change. He has half a dozen tailor-made ice chisels with tips of hardened steel. But the studio’s walls are filled with high-speed grinders, sanders and the ever-present chain saw.
Ottens, who says ice is much easier to cut than wood, has modified his chain saw by filing down its teeth and removing a safety flap that would quickly be clogged with ice. “Craftsman wouldn’t like what I’ve done,” Ottens says with a grin.
While carving, he wears rubber boots, a waterproof apron and gloves. Most days, he wears earplugs to blunt the chain saw’s roar, and safety glasses to guard against flying ice chips. His electrical equipment is specially grounded to prevent shock.
Two broken toes and numerous bumps and bruises have taught Ottens to respect the huge blocks of ice. His advice to would-be carvers: “Just keep it safe is what I tell people.”
