this is kind of an extreme example of a regular old ice bowl π€£ It’s a giant champagne bowl (before the bottles are added) at a wedding in Nola. It’s based on a design by Mark Daukas.
finished last update 10/6/23 with a lot more info, links, pics, seo, and more. This update totally changed the post.
ice bowls: not just bowls made from ice
Did you know that iceculture inc., possibly the most successful ice sculpture company of all time, started by just making ice bowls? I mean, they didn’t stay that way for long, but that’s a long way to travel: from making ice bowls locally to a company shipping ice sculptures all over the world π³
A basic ice bowl is one of the simplest “ice sculptures.” It’s just what it says it is, a bowl made from ice. But if it’s really a bowl instead of a shape, it should hold stuff: food, liquid, trinkets, something… So that way, it’s both sculptural and functional.
However, just because it’s a bowl, it doesn’t have to be simple. In this post, I’ll look at some ways to take ice bowls to new levels of function and awesomeness!
level 1: plain vanilla ice bowls
Here you have your basic ice bowl: either a molded bowl or a cut-from-an-ice-block bowl. (I like my cut bowls square instead of round; SO much easier!) You of course can decorate an ice bowl to make it stand out more. I have a beaded ice bowl design on the site where I did that. (I think I was bored π₯±)
here’s a simple ice bowl by Ice Pro Ice Sculptures, sitting in one of the Florida ice bars, probably Icebar Orlando.
when I have molded round ice bowls, I usually use those, but if I’m out and the bowl shape doesn’t matter, then I’m definitely cutting a square bowl!
Now regarding the giant Daukas-designed ice bowl at the top of the post. That’s not really the kind of ice bowl I’m talking about in this post, but it’s pretty good for dramatic effect π
That bowl showed up in a wedding publication years ago and that of course made brides want it. It was a monster to create and move, since you absolutely HAD to move the main lower bowl section as one frozen together piece or it won’t stay together. In case you don’t know, big round ice things are awful to move because they’re hard to grab.
Looking at the pic, I think the one that I made required at least 11 pieces of ice: 2 for the base, 4 for the bowl, and 5 bubbles. It’s about a 3 1/2 block sculpture. That was right on the edge of what the table and the display tray could handle. Not fun, lol.
level 2: freezing stuff into ice bowls
If you’re freezing stuff into ice bowls, it’s a lot easier to have a dedicated ice bowl machine or system. I have an old-school ice bowl machine that has “Creative Ice Bowls” printed on the side. It’s basically a freezing tank that you fill with a propylene glycol solution. The water filled mold for the ice bowl sits in the glycol and the ice freezes from the sides of the mold until the walls of bowl are thick enough. You circulate the water just like in an ice block machine so that the ice freezes clear.
I’ve also seen others that have glycol tanks or makeshift tanks made from chest freezers.
The hard part of putting together your own ice bowl machine is getting the ice bowl mold. All of the ones that I’ve seen have been specially fabricated out of metal or possibly fiberglass. (I’m not sure what mine is made of.)
Getting things to stay where you want them in the bowls can be tricky. Some things don’t like to stay where you put them, especially stuff that floats. There are a lot of possible solutions for that, but I don’t know that I’ll get into that here. One possibility is to combine wires, clamps, and alligator clips.
a rose bowl from Ice Pro Ice Sculptures
you can freeze a lot of things into ice bowls. Here’s a New Orleans-themed ice bowl with Mardi Gras beads frozen into it.
level 3: ice bowl beverage dispensers
here’s a simple molded ice bowl, converted into a level 3 ice bowl: an elevated beverage dispenser with a college’s initials
Many ice sculptors have either carved or seen a punch bowl beverage dispenser like the one above, especially if you have access to an ice bowl machine (or have your own ice bowl freezing set up). I like them and I think they are a neat idea. They’re a bit like self-service ice luges where the drink actually stays in the ice long enough to get a little cold. Unfortunately, I don’t sell a lot of them, because I would like to; they’re pretty easy to make and could be lucrative. I think the reason that I don’t sell many is that they’re missing an element of excitement.
this ice bowl got turned into a diamond! Plus, it’s a diamond with alcohol inside π³
I had to come up with the diamond ice bowl beverage dispenser above in the midst of a Mardi Gras rush, so I didn’t quite get the finished look or the photos that I was hoping for, but you get the idea. It was a pretty simple thing to make a molded ice bowl into the bottom of a diamond. Much of the faceting was already there, it just needed flattening. And then, all that was needed was a top.
I’d like to take this idea further as well. One of the first things to come to mind is adding pearls, perhaps lots of them made with an ice ball press for a diamonds and pearls themed event. (That theme comes up a lot in my area.)
I know that there are a variety of ways to make ice bowl beverage dispensers or just ice beverage dispensers. I totally hate those terms, by the way. I think that’s part of the problem and the lack of excitement: a crappy name. “Luge” is much sexier and so much better! Can we come up with a new name, please? Sorry, off topic. Anyway, I’ve certainly seen other shapes such as tall rectangular tubes and such. But I think that taking them in a sculptural direction is the most interesting and exciting way forward. (see level 5!)
level 4: ice fountains!
this is the classic ice fountain and incorporates an ice bowl as the main reservoir, presumably for an alcoholic party drink. The tubing drains below the bowl, through a pump, and back up through the “dolphin.” The pump and additional tubing can be hidden in the base ice.
While I was working on updating this post, for a bit, I had ice fountains as the highest level, level 5. That’s because they’re a bit intimidating and the plumbing takes a bit of work and possibly testing. But really, the ones I have here are just an ice sculpture, an ice bowl, and some plumbing. They’re tricky, but not as tricky as level 5 can be. Plus, I’ve never felt like ice fountains are really elegant ice displays. Very cool, and pretty functional, but not super elegant.
I do talk a little more about ice fountains in the Baroque dolphin ice sculpture design post. In fact, that post was kind of a side effect of updating this post. Possibly later, I’ll do a post exclusively on ice fountains, since going through their plumbing could certainly be helpful. I certainly could have used a little help when I was working on my peeing dog fountain below.
not your typical ice fountain! Most ice fountains that I’ve seen incorporate an ice bowl or 2, like the classic version above. This has the bowl, but then it takes a…turn. It was actually a fun sculpture that I tried for some friends. It was my very first ice fountain, so I thought a dog peeing might be an unusual way to start ππ€¦ββοΈ
level 5: ice bowls that you sneak into sculptures
uh, looks like just a logo with an ice basketball and a net that’s too small for it to fit?
But wait! There’s more!
Now this idea, to me, has a bit of excitement. The functional aspect of these designs might not be immediately obvious, but it’s there. Also sometimes, that’s part of the excitement: when you discover something that you didn’t notice right away. In the pic above, I’m talking, of course, about the basketball atop the “net.” Just like the punch bowl dispensers, it’s a beverage dispenser. Instead of just a punch bowl on top of a pedestal, however, it’s a sculpture that dispenses drinks. I’m not sure that it’s a match for an ice luge in excitement generation, but it’s a big step up from just a punch bowl with a tap.
Below, I’ve included a diagram that details the anatomy of the basketball beverage dispenser, in case it’s not immediately obvious. The only difference from the equipment that the punch bowl requires is that I cut away some of the edge of the plastic bowl insert that helps keep it in place. I wanted to leave more room to weld the top of the ball on.
Also, I carved a slight inset for the plastic liner so that it sits a bit low and doesn’t interfere with welding the top on. The ball top is attached after everything is in place and even after the drink is added to the bowl. If more drink needs to be added though, there’s a hole in the top of the ball. I’d advise using a tube and funnel to add more, lest the drink flow down the inner surface of the ball top and not necessarily into the plastic insert in the lower half.
I know it’s hard to see the tap, but it’s there and that type has worked well for me so far. Aside from the tubing itself, the only other thing required is the connector that connects the plastic bowl insert to the 1/2″ I.D. tubing. I’ll have to add a link for that later.
the basketball itself is made from two ice bowls. They were temporarily frozen together and carved into the ball. Once the ball was carved, they were separated and the lower part of the ball was attached to the net pedestal for transport and delivery.
this innovative Christmas ornament piece combines 2 bowls and some additional ice for something above and beyond. Is it a sculpture? Is it a shrimp bowl? It’s both! Courtesy of Stuart Grayson
If this idea were limited only to basketballs, then it would be kind of a lame idea. All sorts of balls is better, but not much. Any sort of sphere gets better still. How about Christmas ornaments (see above!), globes, planets, stars, disco balls, or even…the Death Star!? You could freeze items into the bowls too and that would offer more possibilities.
I’ve also been intrigued by the idea of moving away from the sphere shape altogether. The best idea that I’ve had so far in this vein was the diamond dispenser that I included earlier in the post. But that wasn’t really much more than an ice beverage dispenser.
level 6?
What would level 6 be? I’m sure there is a level 6, but I’m not sure what it looks like. Multiple ice bowls somehow interconnected maybe? I don’t know. If you figure it out, let me know!
links and other boring things
I’ll add more links later, assuming I don’t forget that this page needs more links. There are quite a few links throughout the post though.
You could also find photos and info from this entry on the ice sculpting secrets Instagram account or the facebook page. You can comment there as well as below. And if it won’t LET you comment below, then definitely comment on fb and/or IG. Thanks!
