I am often asked how long it takes me to carve an ice sculpture. I hesitate and then say 45 minutes to 6 hours, a complicated answer for a complicated question. When I really think about it, there's a lot more to carving an ice sculpture than just the carving part. There's 1) coming up with the idea, 2) formulating a design so that the idea will work in ice, 3) enlarging the design to fit on the ice thus creating a template, 4) transferring the design to the ice, 5) carving the sculpture, 6) delivering the sculpture, 7) setting up the sculpture with appropriate lighting and drainage.

Why all this work for a sculpture that will melt in a day?

Sure, the sculpture melts . . . but the memory remains.