Elephant ice sculpture appears on campus
As president of the Ice Carving Club and owner of his own ice-sculpting business, Khristopher Kvarfordt regularly creates swans, reindeer, buildings and even Santa Clause out of big blocks of frozen water.
But these are nothing like his latest undertaking located near the Student Living Center.
The idea began with Joe Chesla, a sculpture instructor at Utah State University, talking to the resident assistant for international students, Koichi Yamamoto about an activity for students living in the Global Village, Kvarfordt said.
Kvarfordt said housing ground crew members began pushing the snow they cleared off the parking lot on the north side of Snow Hall to create a 40-foot-long, 30-foot-wide and 30-foot-high block of ice.
This mass of snow and ice was the beginning of a sculpture done by Kvarfordt, Yamamoto and residents of Global Village.
“It’s bigger than any ice block I’ve ever done,” Kvarfordt said.
Global Village is a program sponsored by Housing and Food Services, the Honors program and the International Student Association, Yamamoto said. He said San Juan Hall has become the home of 40 international students and 40 American students involved in the program.
Bethany Christensen, resident assistant, said it is a good opportunity for all the students to get to know about other cultures and to break cultural barriers that may exist.
As a part of the Global Village program, Yamamoto said they have monthly activities which let students interact and learn.
Sally Pulleyn, a junior from England majoring in American studies, said they’ve done activities like pumpkin carving, Spanish wine and Indian lights festivals and a ski trip to Jackson Hole, Wyo., and she enjoys the interactions.
“It’s a great experience to get to know about other cultures. Plus, everyone here is going through the same thing, especially since it’s so different here in Utah. We can support each other,” Pulleyn said.
For this month’s activity, Yamamoto said he wanted to do something where the students could work together and get the experience of Utah snow.
Yamamoto said he and Kvarfordt then got the idea to do a giant ice carving.
“It’s a unique opportunity,” Yamamoto said. “You don’t get to do things like this very often.”
Kvarfordt credited Don Sorenson, foreman grounds manager, and Andy Hoffmeister, assistant director of Housing, with getting the snow together and helping get tools for the participants to use.
“Don and Andy have been really instrumental and excited about the project,” Kvarfordt said. “The school as a whole has been great. They’ve been more than willing to help and more than generous with their resources.”
Kvarfordt said he is excited about getting people, especially international students, to do things in their surroundings and to “think outside the box.”
Work began on a giant ice elephant Thursday.
“I wanted it to be interactive,” Kvarfordt said. “So maybe people can climb on it and slide down.”
Christensen said she is excited about the idea and is glad Kvarfordt is willing to do the project.
“Plus it will be fun to play on after we’re done,” Christensen said.
Michel Knight, a freshman majoring in music education, said, “I think this activity is cool because people are trying new things like making a giant elephant, for instance.”
The giant ice block is daunting, though, Kvarfordt said, but that is part of the fun.
“It’s intimidating and exciting, but if you don’t get outside your comfort zone and do things that scare you, what’s the point?” Kvarfordt said.
The project began at 3 p.m. with Kvarfordt and Yamamoto breaking into the block with a chain saw, ice picks and shovels.
Christensen said many students had work or class during the first part of the activity, and Kvarfordt said he was a little nervous about there being so few people.
“I figured on 210 man hours, so if nobody else shows up, Koichi and I will be here for a long time,” Kvarfordt said.
Half an hour later, students began to brave the 12-degree weather and people from all over the world began working together to create the sculpture.
Gustavo Castro, an undeclared freshmen from Honduras said, “It’s a neat idea. I even guessed that it was going to be an elephant. It’s cold out here, but things like this keep us entertained and keep our minds off the cold. We’ve been wondering what this huge pile of snow was for the past few months, and now watching it turn into something will be great. People will notice it and we can say, ‘We made that.'”
Knight said the experience reminded him of activities they did in elementary school when they had snow festivals and his class carved an alligator then colored it with powdered paint.
“This is gonna be one huge elephant,” he said.
Kvarfordt said this is something he has wanted to do all year.
“I’ve wanted to do something bigger. Now the opportunity came at the right time and in the right place. I’m excited about the challenge. It’s definitely the biggest thing I’ve done,” Kvarfordt said.
Kvarfordt said he is also planning on carving a dragon in his front yard sometime in February from a 10-foot snow square.
Christensen said she is excited about being involved with the Global Village project and enjoys working with the students and participating in the activities.