As any ice artist knows, a huge amount of time, effort and skill goes into the creation of an ice sculpture. Many hours are spent in the preparation phase as well as the actual ice carving phase, with intricate carving and sculpting done to get that polished end result that wows crowds and enchants audiences. Live ice carving demonstrations are particularly stressful for the ice carver, with the added pressure of a live audience watching their every move as they try to ensure that nothing goes wrong.

A recent ice art mishap at an Orange County Fair in California was captured on video, causing many ice artists and fans to be shocked to the core as a reporter accidentally destroys eight hours of the ice carver’s work. Was this video real however, or was it a clever publicity stunt conducted by the Real Orange news team?

While the initial reaction of viewers was one of shock and anger that a reporter could so casually destroy many hours of work, many began to wonder if the video was perhaps a staged stunt. Some of the main reasons that caused suspicion included the following:

• Many critics noticed that the reporter was a bit too quick to put the microphone back over to the sculpture after the incident, and the carver’s reaction was also not as outraged as one would expect.
• The sculpture was not created or displayed on a base as most professional sculptures of ice are usually placed on – instead, it was done on the ground, in the middle of a busy fair.

Whether or not the incident was real or a clever publicity stunt remains to be seen, but in the real world, mishaps such as this are not entirely unheard of. Some of the biggest causes of ice sculpture mishaps include time delays that result in melts, chipped corners, bad lighting or poor positioning on unstable surfaces. Ice artists wanting to prevent mishaps should consider these tips for live ice sculpting:

• Always keep back up tools and equipment on hand, within easy reach – drip trays, blow torch, nylon brush and chisel are essential to fix up any problems quickly and easily.
• Always ensure that you have done a test for lighting, to ensure that the lighting is not too hot or placed too close to your sculpture.
• Always do as much work as you can in a freezer or walk in cooler room environment, and keep your sculpture in the cold as long as possible.
• Always wear protective clothing when you work to prevent injury or accidents from ruining your performance.
• Always ensure that your ice sculpture is placed on a secure block, and that it is stable and not in the way of anything that could cause it to fall.

Here is another Ice Sculpture Fail