Artist, Ice Sculptor Creates
Beauty From Ordinary Objects
December 17, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - By Kimberly Shain Parsley, editor of University Publications
For as long as he can remember, John Skinner wanted to be an artist.
Influenced by his mother, an art teacher, Skinner enrolled at Western Kentucky University to pursue a career in art. But it was not to be - at least not in the conventional sense.
"I love art. I've always loved art," Skinner said, "but I got tired of constantly being told this is what you need to do and this is how you do it."
So he pursued a different career path, one that would allow him to earn a living while still utilizing his inherent artistic talents. He enrolled in the Art Institute of Atlanta, where he majored in culinary arts.
"It was just a change in materials," he said. "I went from papers, pencils and charcoal to food and ice. I never really left the field, I just changed my path."
For the past three years, Skinner has been the executive chef for Aramark in Western Kentucky University's catering department. Previously, he worked as a chef at the Bowling Green Country Club, where he became interested in learning ice carving. After being shown the basics, he was off and running, finding another way to express his creativity in his chosen career, and adding two new tools (an electric chainsaw and a chisel) to his artistic arsenal.
"The thing about stone or marble is that it doesn't melt," he said. "You can look at it, study it, and get frustrated and walk off, and it's still going to be there when you come back."
Skinner said that a block of ice must warm to a temperature above zero so that it won’t be so brittle. Once he completes a sculpture, he refreezes it, and then sets it up at the event about an hour before guests begin arriving. This gives the sculpture time to warm and lose its coating of frost, making the ice appear more like glass.
Aside from the cold, there are hazards to carving a block of ice. Skinner said he wears waterproof clothing and two layers of latex gloves. "After you work with it long enough, it's so cold you won't realize you've cut yourself, whether it's on the ice or with the chisel," he said.
"It's always a hazard when you work with a chainsaw. You have to be smart with it," he said, adding that it is especially important when the chainsaw is electric and you're standing in a puddle of water.
John Skinner's creativity and love of art have led him to create beauty from ordinary objects. He creates works of art that though short-lived, leave a long-lasting impression on those who enjoy them.
For more information, contact John Skinner at (270) 745-5242. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
