Jeff Stahl in competition, step by step
Jeff Stahl, formerly of Artic Diamond in Cincinnati, OH is an ice sculpting National Champion (2007) and also captained a team that took second place in 2007 in the Realistic Multi-block portion of the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, Alaska. Prior to both of these events, in January of 2007, Jeff competed at the Hunter Ice Festival in Niles, MI.
Few knew at the time that his Niles Pegasus sculpture was a sort of dress rehearsal for the National and World Championships, as his pieces at both of these demanding events included a flying horse as a main element. Fortunately, Jeff graciously allowed photographer Janet Crouch to record the process of carving and assembling his sculpture at the Hunter Ice Festival. Ms. Crouch has continued that spirit of goodwill and has allowed 17 of her photographs to be posted here. Her website is at www.itsphotos.com.
So that you can understand what I mean when I refer to this sculpture as a dress rehearsal, I’ve included a photo by Patrick Endres of Jeff Stahl’s (and his teammates) work in Fairbanks, “Elijah,” as well as three photos taken by James Ottens of Jeff carving at the 2007 National Championships. The sculpture in Alaska is obviously much larger (more than 20 feet tall!) but you can definitely see the similarities in the design of the Pegasus, particularly in the position of the legs and wings.
At the National Championships, Jeff took an abstract approach to the design and changed the pose somewhat, but there are similarities in the design as well as the process. Jeff is not the only world class ice sculptor to “practice” pieces at earlier competitions; it’s a smart way to approach difficult, high level carving events. Thanks to Ms. Crouch’s photos (and Patrick Endres’ and James Ottens), we get an insight into how successful ice sculptors prepare for success at world class competitions. Thanks Jeff!
The blog entry related to this sequence is here.
Janet Crouch, James Ottens, and Patrick Endres retain the copyrights to their respective photographs. These photos are used with permission. James Ottens’ site is at www.icesculpturing.com and Patrick Endres’ site is at www.alaskaphotographics.com. Jeff Stahl has given permission for images of him and his artwork to be included here as well. Duplication or republication of these images without permission is prohibited.
Jeff Stahl work on the head of a big fish in Alaska. (not from 2007 though)
related galleries
Once I get most of the galleries restored to the site, I’ll start linking to related galleries in this section. Hopefully soon then?
oops, nothing yet
oops, still nothing…
still?!
I probably still have to add something here too…😬