Culinary arts students laid down their spatulas and advanced art students set down their paintbrushes Friday to attend an ice sculpting demonstration.
About 65 Estrella Foothills High School students watched Steve Griffiths, culinary studies director at Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale, turn a 300-pound block of ice into a swan.
Culinary arts teacher Claudia Olson asked Griffiths to demonstrate the skill in the hopes of showing students another career field, offering the opportunity to meet the chef who heads the community colleges' dual culinary studies enrollment program - and perhaps to inspire.
"We want to show them more professional development, this allows students to explore careers," Olson said.
Misty Moore, a culinary essentials teacher at Estrella Foothills, brought her class to the event in the hopes her students would see different occupations available in the field.
"It's not just about being a chef," she said.
Griffiths has sculpted ice professionally and in competitions since 1993. He said he picked up the skill while working at a resort, going to work on his days off to practice.
"It enhances your job skills and appeal to employers," Griffiths told the students. "It's one of those door-openers. It shows you have talent."
Art teacher Penny Watson brought her advanced art students to the demonstration. She has taught sculpture using ceramics, metal and wood - but not ice.
"I thought this would be a wonderful experience," she said. "We're just starting to work with fused glass and this is a great tie-in."
While Griffiths is adept at ice carving now, he said his first ice sculpture did not turn out so well.
"It was supposed to be a salmon jumping out of water," Griffiths said. "It looked more like a banana."
To begin, Griffiths took a large sheet of paper with a basic outline of a swan on it and stuck it to the ice. He used the tracing to cut an outline of the swan in the ice with an electric chain saw. In a few minutes his apron and rubber boots were covered with snow from the ice spray as he cut, chiseled and sanded the ice.
Griffiths not only forged a graceful swan with fine plumage detail from a four-foot tall slab of ice, he instructed the students as he worked. He gave them tips, described what he was doing and taught them what the different types of tools he used were best utilized for.
"You can spend thousands of dollars on ice gear, a lot of times it comes to down to a chain saw, a die grinder and some chisels," he said.
In less than one hour, Griffiths had created a glistening, detailed swan that looked as if it should be gliding across a pond. He said in the Phoenix market the sculpture would cost about $275.
Students learn from cold lesson
Amanda Kilgore, 18, said she had never seen ice sculpting before and though it very interesting.
"How he got that swan from just a piece of paper," she said and shook her head. "He made it look just like a real swan."
Amanda, a senior, is in the culinary arts program and has dual enrollment with EMCC. She will have six college credits when she graduates high school.
"It's really neat, I don't have to leave campus in order to get credits, it gives you a head start on college," she said.
Art students Amber Belfield, 18, and Briann Apuzzo, 15, watched the demonstration carefully and saw different ways the ice carving skill applies to their mediums.
"It takes talent to do that, you have to have the composition and good perspective," said Amber, who primarily works with pencil drawings.
Amber said she saw similarities in how she works with lines, "It tales a lot of planning, you plan everything out before you do it, like the stencil he used, you turn your lines into art."
Briann said she did not think of ice sculpting as something in the culinary arts field, "it's more artistic," she said. "I never thought of it as an actual career. It opens you mind up to all the options that are out there."
Adam Classen, 17, said he sees a benefit to having ice carving as skill in the food services job market. The senior has been in the culinary arts program at the high school since freshman year.
"I would love to give it a try," he said.
Rebecca I. Allen can be reached by e-mail at rallen@westvalleyview.com.
