James Stugart carves letters while working on his ice sculpture during Oregon Winterfest on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2017. (Joe Kline/Bulletin photo)

The most difficult part of the ice sculpting demonstration at Oregon WinterFest in Bend’s Old Mill District was not carving the ice, but keeping it from melting.

For a WinterFest, the temperature Saturday was more springlike — above 40 degrees. So, the five artists worked swiftly to carve the ice with their chainsaws and torches, much like participants in a sandcastle competition racing an incoming tide.

Russ Leno, an ice sculptor from Olympia, Washington, has attended WinterFest each year for more than a decade. He was not too worried about the warm weather. It just meant he would have to focus on giving his sculpture a more solid base. Using a theme assigned to him by event organizers, he spent Saturday carving an ice queen.

Leno, 64, has carved ice, snow, sand, pumpkins and wood for more than 30 years. He competed on the U.S. snow sculpting team for three years, and traveled around the world.

“The colder the better. You can do a lot of welding when it is colder,” said Leno, referring to the use of his torch in the sculpting process. “With this type of weather there won’t be a lot of that happening.”

Paul Stark, a professional wood carver from Sisters, and his son, John, each took part in the ice sculpting event.

Stark, who has more than 30 years of wood-carving experience, tried his hand at ice carving three years ago at WinterFest, and has come back each year since.

“The only ice carving I’ve ever done is at this event,” Stark said. “It’s still using chainsaws, just wetter.”

Stark’s strategy on Saturday was not to get too aggressive with the melting ice. His assigned theme was “Wild,” which he interpreted as some kind of northern animal.

Each artist had two blocks of ice to work with. Stark said he does not plan ahead, but instead, comes up with a design as he goes along.

“I pretty much just work from the block,” he said. “I will see something in there once I get it stacked up.”

Stark’s son, John, had only tried ice sculpting once before at a previous WinterFest. The Sisters native has worked in wood carving with his father for the past 10 years.

While preparing to sculpt a giant fish out of the ice, John Stark said he hoped for the best.

“It’s a little bit out of my comfort zone for sure, but it’s fun to come out here and try something new,” he said. “It’s fun either way, no matter what you end up with.”

As the elder Stark began carving, the teeth of his orange Stihl chainsaw screeching against the ice, he worked with a delicate touch.

He was a magnet for onlookers who quickly gathered to watch.

Salem resident Brent Ziegenhagel stood by with friends and family to watch the ice carving.

Ziegenhagel, who works as a manager for Salem Printing and Blueprint, said Saturday was his first visit to WinterFest. He did not mind the warm weather at the festival, especially after the harsh winter that hit the Willamette Valley.

“We didn’t come over here looking for snow,” he said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7820,
 kspurr@bendbulletin.com