The fleur-de-lis is one of the symbols of New Orleans.

This entry doesn't necessarily fit into an ice carving techniques blog, because it's not about ice carving per se, but it is about ice carvers. One of them, me, had built his business on the Gulf Coast over a period of several years. Over a period of a few hours in late 2005, my business was wiped out because most of my clients got wiped out.

We were luckier than most. We were able to to get out the day before the storm and had a relatively easy drive to Arkansas (get-outta-Dodge drives like this can last up to 24 hours or more if you go the wrong way at the wrong time), which became our home for the next several months. I was able to work in Memphis and wherever else I could find. When I finally was able to get back to New Orleans, I found that most of our possessions were okay and only my father-in-law’s apartment had been flooded. Our rented house and my studio were both in the 20% of New Orleans that was unflooded (about a 1 in 25 chance of that happening, as they weren’t in the same part of town). I found out months later that people I knew had lost loved ones, but compared to many we had done okay.

After a while, some of my old clients started ordering ice sculptures for events again, kind of on a here and there basis. Even though we lived in Little Rock, Arkansas (seven hours away), I would usually take the jobs, knowing that we would eventually return to the coast and that I would need as many clients as I could get. Several months ago, we finally did return to the coast permanently and got to work on restarting our lives here.

I mentioned that this entry was about ice carvers, not just me, and so it is. Along the way, we’ve gotten a lot of help from a lot of people. None of them asked for anything in return, they just helped us. I’ve listed some of the ice carvers that helped us or offered help below. If I forgot someone, I’m sure I’ll remember to add them later, because I often think about the help that we’ve gotten. Thank you all for helping or offering to help me and my family. It means a lot to me!

Joe Rimer
Scott Delarme
Jeff and Michelle Stahl
Alice Connelly
Mike Vosburg
Robert Bifulco
Walter Odermatt
Jim Shields
Brad Green
David VanCamp
Dave Romines
Dean DeMaris
Michael Woodberry (not a carver, but still a big help!)
and finally, the member of the National Ice Carving Association