THE ICE-CHEF COMETH

“The general rule of ice sculpture” says Minneapolis chainsaw carver, Trevor Pearson “is to be as aggressive as possible.” Trevor is as fast with a joke as he is with a filed-raker blade saw. “How do you know when it’s finished?” I ask. “When my arms are too tired” he says with a ‘Minnesota-Nice’ smile. “You must be flexible by innovating tools.” He points to a dolly he welded handles on to act as legs for a flat plywood table when laid down. “Order custom made tools” he says explaining a retired CNC machinist turned virtuoso Alaskan ice sculptor who threads rotary tool heads each with a unique purpose including — rosco bits, end mills, cone burrs and rotary knives. Trevor brushes crystals off the forty-inch tall ice chef after three hours of carving. He pulls off his saucer glove, shakes my hand and says “I better hit the road...”