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Of Ice and Men

VICTORIA A. MULLEN | THURSDAY, MARCH 04, 2010
P R IN T P A G E | E M A IL P A G E | S HA R E T HI S

DEREK MAXFIELD

RELATED IMAGES In the ice trade, it is said that an ice carver puts in 17
hours a day to avoid working eight hours a day for
someone else. For Randy Finch and Derek Maxfield,
that's a cold, hard fact.

Finch, 42, a self-described adrenaline junkie, and

ENLARGE Maxfield, 39, are the co-owners of Ice Sculptures,
Ltd., a business they say is the largest ice carving
operation in Michigan and one of the largest in the
country. The partners are self-taught ice sculptors
and former Amway Grand Plaza chefs who share a
love for all things cool.
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"If you want to go into business together, be
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roommates first," Finch says of his partnership with Michigan Can Learn from the
Maxfield. Coming from a man who plays with Mistakes of Silicon Valley, by
Carl Erickson
chainsaws, blowtorches, clothing irons, chisels, and Atomic Object's Carl Erickson talks
grinders, that's sage advice. But the heavy-handed about the importance of Customer
tools are integral to the process of sculpting intricate, Development when it comes to West
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Of Ice and Men 3/28/11 9:21 PM

G-Sync -- The Dude Abides

Sculpting ice isn't for the weak or faint-hearted. It is
very challenging work that requires passion for the
art. Besides using aggressive power tools to slice and
ENLARGE dice the ice, ice carvers need stamina. The job
involves heavy lifting, working in the cold, and
working on the weekends.
"And you must have attention to detail," says Finch.
For precision, Finch and Maxfield use an automated,
computerized sculpting tool. First, they digitize the
design, and then program it into the computer. The
machine does the rest with its robotic arm. They say
that a client's logo can be reproduced to within
1/10,000 of an inch in accuracy to the original
artwork.
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ENLARGE
There's No Business like Snow Business
Ice Sculptures Ltd.'s creations have been featured on
the Discovery Channel and on Ripley's "Believe It or
Not" TV show and book. Their ice sculptures have
been showcased in Chef Magazine, the National
Restaurant Association's magazine, MBA Jungle, The
Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.

Maxfield's work has won numerous ice sculpting

competitions including the 2008 Tour of Champions
and 2nd place at the Ice Alaska World
Championships. His ice has been commissioned for
ENLARGE movie premiers, the 35th anniversary of President
Ford's inauguration, and Governor Granholm's
Inaugural Ball. Maxfield and Finch have created
displays for celebrities and entertainers from
Aerosmith to ZZ Top. Maxfield also created
sculptures for the 2004 Ryder Cup, the 2006 Super
Bowl, the 2007 World Series, and the 2009 NCAA
Final four Championships.

There are more than 15,000 designs in Ice Sculpture

Ltd.'s database. If a client can't find one he or she
likes, Maxfield and Finch will custom-design one.
Corporations such as Absolut, A & W Root Beer,
ENLARGE
Meijer, Rogers Department Store, and Grolsch Beer
RELATED TAGS have promoted their products using Maxfield's and
ARTPRIZE, EVENTS, Finch's carvings. Corporate logos sculpted from ice
FESTIVALS, HOSPITALITY packs a promotional punch, they say, and viral
marketing is a key component. Photos of people
interacting with an ice logo often end up on Facebook and other social
networking sites.

Originally from Howell, Finch attended Oakland Community College in Detroit

and went on to work over a 20-year period as department head and chef in the

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Of Ice and Men 3/28/11 9:21 PM

and went on to work over a 20-year period as department head and chef in the
garde manger departments and fine dining restaurants for several prestigious
hotel properties. (Garde manger means "keeper of the food" or pantry supervisor
and refers to the task preparing and presenting cold foods, including ice
sculpture.)

After he graduated from Rogers High School and attended classes at Grand
Rapids Community College, Maxfield began his culinary career in the late 1980s
at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, where he worked with several talented ice
carvers, one of whom was Finch. While continuing to work as the sous chef at
the Kent Country Club, Maxfield co-founded Ice Sculptures Ltd. with Finch in
1994.

Icebreakers
Finch and Maxfield's creativity isn't limited to static works -- many projects
feature intricate, moving parts. Finch loves creating kinetic sculptures, his
favorite of which is the Ferris wheel.

Maxfield enjoys sculpting water in its solid state and then seeing the
metamorphosis into a liquid when melted or a gas when it sublimates. A perfect
example is the partners' 2009 ArtPrize entry on the grounds of the Ford
Museum. The team used a freezer truck and custom-built a double-pane glass
window that wouldn't fog up. A compressor kept the environment cold for three
weeks. Art-goers were treated to live ice-sculpting demonstrations set to music
everyday, with a total of 60 sculptures created.

Two months of hard work went into creating the ice for the ArtPrize project. To
make colored ice, the pigments must be put in a 1/8" layer, then flash-frozen to
trap the color. Then it's cut apart and reassembled it to create a sculpture. What
began as a 20"x40"x10" block of ice ended up as a delicate and intricate work of
art.

"I know a piece is done when all the ice is removed that doesn't belong and all
the details are in place," Maxfield said in their ArtPrize artist's statement. "The
essential ingredient for life itself, H2O covers a staggering 70% of earth's surface.
A human body comprises 60–70% water and a plant body up to 90%.

"Most sculpting is either additive or subtractive; ice lends itself to both. These
displays are short lived but then again, in the greater scheme of things, so are
we."

Finch and Maxfield's biggest challenge to date is the famous Mousetrap game
commissioned by the Discovery Channel.

"A beautiful sculpture is one thing but bringing it to life with animation is a
whole different ball game," says Finch. "And because filming was involved, we
had to make sure the whole apparatus could run a number of times."

Getting away with one lucky shot was not an option. Laid out in a U-shape, the
mouse trap measured 35 ft long and comprised 11 different mechanisms made
out of more than 200 assembled pieces of ice, all sculpted from 4000 lbs of ice.

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Of Ice and Men 3/28/11 9:21 PM

out of more than 200 assembled pieces of ice, all sculpted from 4000 lbs of ice.
Each of the devices were built and tested individually and then married together
by adjusting their respective heights. The process took about four weeks, and the
final design was not operational until just two days before filming was due to
start.

A Totally Cool Profession

Finch always knew that he wanted to do something creative, and he's always
been kind of a ham. It was during his employment as a chef for a major hotel
that he became enthralled with the art of ice sculpting.

"Back when I first started, this occupation didn't exist," says Finch. There were
no books to guide them through the challenges of ice carving. So, Finch and
Maxfield co-authored a textbook, "Ice Sculpting the Modern Way," which is used
by culinary schools around the world.

"It's really a hobby that pays for itself," says Finch. "When I have a day off, I'll
come down here and work on a sculpture for myself." ("Here" is 188 Wealthy
SE.)

Finch's job as a chef has taken him to exotic locales. But there was a downside to
living in the tropics. Ice was in short supply during his two-year stint as a chef
on Peter Island, a Caribbean resort that is privately owned by the Van Andel
family. Finch had three blocks shipped from Puerto Rico, but by the time the ice
got there, only one block had survived the trip.

In Michigan, not a problem.

Victoria Mullen is (in alphabetical order) an actress, artist, attorney,

photographer, and writer based in Grand Rapids. She is originally from
Milwaukee, Wis.

Photos:

Ice gurus Derek Maxfield and Randy Finch (6)

Ice Sculpture -Photo Courtesy of Ice Sculptures, Ltd

Ice Sculpture -Photo Courtesy of Ice Sculptures, Ltd

Photographs by Brian Kelly -All Rights Reserved

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