JUNEAU, Wis. — Ice sculpting is a competitive and artistic way for people to be active during the winter months. A pair of Wisconsinites are doing their part to make an impact and grow the hobby they love.
Joshua Jakubowski is a snow and ice sculptor from Juneau in Dodge County. He is the captain of the “Sculptora Borealis” team, which is named after the Northern Lights. He said his first sculpture was of rapper Vanilla Ice holding a cup of coffee.
“It was awesome,” said Jakubowski. “It was a really cool experience just learning from all of those other snow sculptors there. Some of them have been doing it for decades.”
Hours, days and even weeks of planning can go into each sculpture. Jakubowski said they use modeling clay to make a scaled-down replica of the project. He said this allows them to be time efficient when carving 20 tons of snow and ice on a deadline during competitions.
“At the end of the day, the sculpture is made out of frozen water and it’s going to disappear in days,” said Jakubowski.
Teammate and project manager Bob Lechtenberg said having the right tools can play a vital role in the timeliness and quality of the sculpture. He said the sculpting community is a positive group of people who want to see everyone put out their best work.
“In order to do that, you need to have the right tools,” said Lechtenberg. “So sharing that knowledge between sculptors and even lending other sculptors your tools, even in the middle of a competition, is not something that’s unheard of.”
The “Sculptora Borealis” squad has won five national titles. Jakubowski said winning awards for their work is great, but growing the sport is even more important to them. He said sculpting delivers a variety of life lessons.
“It teaches you to really savor the moment that you’re in at that time and appreciate what you create at that time, because it’s not going to be around forever,” said Jakubowski.
This sculpting team said they will continue to mold the elements to create larger-than-life works of art, with the journey and process guiding their way.