by Tracy Chamberlin

The world of art has long been captivating for the creative-minded. For Durangoan Keith Martin, captain of the Breckinridge snow sculpting team, a canvas of ice and snow is an opportunity to turn his imagination loose.

From tools to treatment, the ideas are endless. “I wake up every day with a new beginning, a new day, a new idea,” he said.

Martin, owner of the snow and ice carving company Sn’ice, and his team, Tom Day, Tim West and Margo Jerkovitz, plan to tackle a 22-ton block of snow that stretches 11 feet across and 12 feet high this weekend at the International Snow Sculpting Competition in Breckenridge. It’s considered the Olympic Games for snow sculptors, who vie not for money but gold, silver and bronze medals.

The town is known among snowsculpting circles for the desirable bright, white hue and high water content of its snow, making it just the right density for sculpture. Shaping it into art was just a pastime during the town’s annual winter carnival, the Ullr Fest, until becoming an organized competition in 1991. Today the event draws 16 international teams and tens of thousands of visitors from around the world.

This year the U.S. team representing Breckenridge, where Martin lived when he first began dabbling in the pastime, plans to turn its snowy canvas into a rodeo cowboy, riding 16-feet high on his bucking bull. The transformation can be viewed in real time online at the competition’s website.

Over the years Martin, who moved to Durango six years ago, has created a variety of sculptures from Dr. Seuss characters to mountain climbers, but his favorite was a creation made in 2011, during his first year as captain of the Breckenridge team. The block of snow became the frame for his art and he carved it from the inside out, creating an underwater world complete with tank, diver, shark and octopus. As Martin puts it, he was trying to “think inside the box.”

Snow isn’t the only frosty medium Martin fashions. For years, he has been involved with the Ouray Ice Climbing Festival. He’s created several ice sculptures for the event, and this past weekend, he carved the podium with first, second and third place platforms in front of a mountain vista.
“I look at this block of ice, and I can see what I need to take away,” he said. “I can see the object in there.”

Some tools of the trade? Cheese graters, truss plates, expanded metal, silicon molds, floor scrapers and a Japanese ice saw with 2½-inch teeth, just to name a few.

“I walk through Home Depot with a whole different perspective,” Martin said.

The newest instrument against the ice is a metal, chain mail-like glove, typically used by shark divers or chefs as protection. Martin wears it over his winter gloves to shape and smooth the snowy surface. “It makes a fantastic tool,” he said. “That might be the most unique yet.”
Martin didn’t always see the sculpture in the snowpack.

He grew up on a small farm in Michigan and spent most of his time escaping to the outdoors. “If the horses were gone, (my mom) knew I’d be back.”

But when his family packed up and headed to Ohio his freshman year of high school, he found his escape indoors, during art class.

After making it through those four years, he worked in construction, as a mechanic and a tow truck driver. But his creative side kept calling.
One day, Martin saw a television show on the Food Network, and realized he could combine two of his favorite things: food and art. He enrolled at the Pennsylvania Institute of Culinary Arts in Pittsburgh, which he called the turning point in his life, graduating valedictorian and getting his first chance to carve into the ice.

At the end of his schooling, his professor asked him to carve an ice sculpture. He didn’t want to create the typical swan; he wanted that new idea. He chose a goldfish, and that was a new beginning.

One thing both career paths have in common is that the culinary arts and snow sculpting are mortal mediums. Martin can create an entree so beautiful it’s almost too good to eat – almost – or shape mountains of packed snow that can quickly melt away into the imagination. “Food, like everything else I do right now, is temporary art,” he said.

Martin worked in the culinary world for several years, eventually moving to Breckenridge and taking the top spot as chef for the largest catering company in town. From the balcony of his home there he could see the international snow sculpting competition. He knew that was something he was interested in doing, but didn’t get the opportunity until years later. A colleague in the culinary arts knew of his talents carving display ice sculptures and called to see if he would be interested in filling in for a German team that was down two members.

Martin jumped at the opportunity and the German team took the bronze medal that year. “It finally gave me my in,” he said.

The following year the team headed to Sapporo, Japan, for a competition that covered 16 city blocks. The team didn’t win anything, but Martin met fellow competitors from around the world, including Switzerland and Canada.

He’ll get to see them all next week at the competition in Breckenridge. Those who knew him in the beginning and saw him break out of the ice are now his competitors, watching him bring the next idea to fruition.

The future is full for Martin. The potential for creating new connections, new projects and new works of art is everywhere. After all, everyday is a new beginning with a blank slate.

Check out Sn’ice at snowandicecarving.com or 485-9344.