with tall, symmetrical pieces such as this lighthouse ice sculpture, it’s crucial that there’s no lean to it. Spend extra time during carving and set up to make sure that it’s as straight up and down as possible.
updated 7/14/23, mostly for seo
a Mississippi Gulf Coast lighthouse ice sculpture
With this single block lighthouse ice sculpture design, you end up with a simple, elegant lighthouse. The design is based on the Biloxi lighthouse in Biloxi, MS. This lighthouse has been around awhile, and has survived some devastating storms. It’s apparently now the last standing lighthouse on the Mississippi coast. One of the reasons it’s so strong is that it’s made largely of cast iron. It’s also the second oldest cast iron lighthouse in the nation. I’ve driven by it many times and as soon as I can find it, I’ll add a pic to this entry.
We can be certain that an ice version of this lighthouse won’t last nearly as long, but it should hold up well as long as it’s assembled properly.
A major reason that I included this lighthouse ice sculpture design is to illustrate how you can make the most of the ice that you have. If you were to carve it straight up and down, you would get a 40 inch high lighthouse. By carefully cutting the block apart and reassembling the parts, you end up with a lighthouse that’s about 54 inches high, meaning you get a 34% increase in height (see the illustration below.) You also get a more substantial sculpture, which means it will last longer. But you have to work for it a bit.
Take care that your template isn’t too large and that the block that you’re using really is 40 inches by 20 inches. Another concern with tall, tower-like sculptures is that it’s really straight up and down and not leaning like the one in Pisa. Check this frequently while you’re carving. Incidentally, if you think the template is crooked, it’s not. It’s an annoying optical illusion created by the angled design. I checked several times to make sure.
Finally, what’s a lighthouse without a light? You can drill a hole in the top and put a light if you like. If you’re using battery-powered lights, have backups, as even bright little LED battery lights will dim significantly, especially if they have cheap batteries in them. But just make sure whatever you’re using is waterproof 🙄
links and stuff
I also have an anchor design, lying around somewhere, to continue the nautical theme. And if you have any questions about my lonely lighthouse ice sculpture design, email me or comment below. (It might not let you though.) 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.
You might also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets Instagram account and you can comment there as well as below. Thanks!
