*updated 6/1/11
Check out the full design page for this piece

I’m taking a quick break from Alaska topics, but it won’t last long. This soaring eagle piece was designed simply for a brunch, as it’s a full size sculpture that requires less than a full block and is easy to lift and set up. It requires a half block slab (40”x20”x4-5”) along with an attached base piece. This piece was inspired by a sculpture done years ago by Signature Ice Sculptures (San Antonio, TX) and after I designed it, I realized that it also reminded me of a much larger sculpture by Aaron Costic and Tajana Raukur at the 2002 Olympic Arts Festival ice carving competition in Provo, UT.

I used a variety of reference photos of bald eagles from Google Image Search while I was drawing this piece and I found that I typically draw an eagle’s wings wider than they really are. A bald eagle has very long wings and to get better proportions, I drew the wings much narrower than I usually would. I also decided to put very little feather detail on the head and tail, but lots on the chest, because of the color differences. I also tried to get the wing feathers right, but I didn’t take it that far. For example, I didn’t count the feathers in the photo. However, the feathers at the tips of an eagle’s wings have a distinctive shape and I did make an effort to capture that. I did not worry much about the talons, as they don’t affect the design’s silhouette. In this particular design, they don’t need much in the way of detail, but they do need to be there.

Aside from the base, the design only requires one weld.



For the sake of better proportions, the design uses less of the available ice.



Possible backside detail:



If you have any questions about this piece, email me or comment below. If you would like to use this ice sculpture design or any other design on this site, please check the design usage guidelines. The design collection page lists designs on the site.

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Tags: animals, birds, aluminum welding method, Fourth of July