a leaping dolphin that gave me a little trouble

*updated 12/27/11



From time to time, every carver makes mistakes while carving. However, the fact that you made a mistake isn’t as big a deal as how you deal with the mistake. While carving the dolphin shown above for a brunch, I broke the lower corner of the carving. I actually fractured the corner of the carving because I was experimenting with a different chainsaw that’s apparently not suited for carving ice, but that’s another story. Originally, the dolphin’s position was supposed to be more vertical. When the corner broke off, I was faced with the task of repairing a well-tempered piece of ice. That would have taken time that I didn’t really have. I did start the repair, but after I cut the jagged surface flat, I realized that the carving was more dynamic if I used the newly cut surface as the base. After that, I just took some weight off the front of the dolphin so that it wouldn’t tip over when it was set up for brunch.

Now I’m not claiming to have made some fantastic discovery in ice sculpture design. In fact, if you look at the picture below from my regular website, you’ll notice the dolphin in a similar position. I’ve carved this design before. When I was carving the latest dolphin, however, I had a particular pose in mind. When I broke the ice, I was able to adapt to the situation because I was willing to change the design when circumstances warranted it. In this case, I probably ended up with a better carving because of it.



You’ve heard the phrase: “Necessity is the Mother of Invention.” With regard to ice carving, whether it be because of a break or because there’s only a few minutes left before a competition ends or an event begins, this phrase can become very important. If you’re having trouble with a carving and you’re under the gun, step back for a moment, take a deep breath, and try to decide if you have any other options that would work for the situation that you’re in. You might end up with a better sculpture and a very happy boss or client. Best of luck!



You might also find photos and info from this entry on the ice carving secrets facebook page and you can comment there as well as below. Thanks!

Tags: sealife, accidents, competitions, problem solving, chainsaw