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Ice in their veins

For the Firths, the sun is never far enough away to suit their ice carving addiction

Photo Submitted to Times Observer A bald eagle ice carving created by the Firth family.

To some, ice is annoyance that they have to deal with in the winter.

To the Firth family, ice is art.

The Firths, originally from Warren County, have mastered the art of ice carving, leading to a 2016 BP World Ice Art Championship won by the father-and-son team of Ben and Barnabas Firth.

Started in 1990, the World Ice Art Championship in Fairbanks, Alaska, has drawn competitors from around the world, including China, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Australia, France, Mongolia and, of course, Iceland. In the single-block competition, artists from 17 countries participated.

In the single-block competition, artists work with a single block of ice that’s 8-feet-by-5-feet-by-3 feet. Ice comes from a pond near the ice carving site. Artists can choose their work site, but must take the ice given. In the 2016 competition, “Nature of Conflict,” the Firth’s creation, took home first prize in the single-block division.

Ben Firth and his wife Melanie are originally from Lander and Russell, respectively. After leaving the area for Alaska, they and their eight children – Aurora, Barnabas, Sarah, Silas, Josiah, Anna, Aspen, and Haven- started carving ice in 1999.

“Ben and I started in ’99 when we lived in Fairbanks,” said Melanie, whose family now resides in Anchor Point, Alaska. “Ben is an artist, and when he saw people carving ice, he just had to try it. So we started carving on our own, and it just grew over the years.”

What started as a hobby for the Firths quickly turned into more than that. While it’s not their full-time job, ice carving is something that “definitely takes time,” according to Melanie.

“It’s a lot more than just showing up to the competition and sculpting the ice,” she said. “There’s a lot of planning that goes into it.”

To plan out the carving, the Firths often draw a sketch of what they want the final project to look like. They also use different techniques to put a pattern on the ice itself.

“Sometimes we will just draw a paper pattern on the ice,” said Aurora, who often competes with her brother, Silas, in single-block competitions. “Other times, we will iron the pattern on to the ice. People always stare when they see us using the iron.”

To actually carve the ice, the Firths will use “pretty much everything,” according to Melanie.

“We usually start with the chainsaw,” she said. “From there, it can go a few different directions. We use chisels, hand chisels, and lots of power tools that have specialty bits for carving.”

Most carving competitions take place outdoors. Certain conditions are better for carving than others, according to Melanie.

“The sun is our enemy during competitions,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s 20 below zero, if the UV rays are high, the ice will melt. We also don’t want to carve in a snow storm, it’s tough to finish the sculpture then. Ideally, we want it to be cold and cloudy.”

While competitions are the Firth’s main reason for carving, they have also partnered with businesses to create unique carvings.

“We have done work with businesses and some advertising,” Melanie said. “We’ve worked with Dodge Ram, Linden trucking, and others. Some folks want logos, those are really quick to do. Some people want something more artistic. In those cases, we typically stick to creating Alaskan wildlife carvings.”

When the Firths do enter competitions, they always work together. Aurora and Silas have become quite the team, according to their mother.

“It’s fun to watch them work together,” Melanie said. “There isn’t much said when they are working together. They both know what they have to do, and they do it.”

“There isn’t ever much disagreement between Silas and me,” Aurora said. ‘Sometimes we’ll disagree about what to put where, but that’s pretty much it.”

Silas says he’s been carving ice since he was “five or six” years old. Aurora participated in her first competition at age 16, but had been carving “for several years before that”.

Ben and Melanie typically work together, although Melanie sat out the 2016 World Championships so Barnabas could work with his father.

The Firths plan on entering the 2017 World Championships, held  February 27 through March 1, 2017, to defend their title. Many of the contestants in the championships are professionals.

“We’re already signed up,” Melanie said. “We’ve already started the process there.”

While the sculptures always melt, the memories the Firths make together while carving stick with them.

“It’s a little odd working so hard on something that you know won’t last,” Aurora said. “But we always have pictures, and it’s enough to walk away and know that you did a good job.”

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