By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Thom Cote of Limestone is used to carving figures out of wood, but last Friday and Saturday he worked with something a little cooler … ice.
Staff photo/Scott Mitchell Johnson
Master carver Thom Cote of Limestone created an ice sculpture outside the Aroostook Centre Mall entrance last Friday and Saturday as a way to showcase Maine’s unique culture to the thousands of visitors that were on hand to witness the E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon competitions. Cote sculpted the Nordic Heritage Sport Club logo – complete with the lion on skis – on four blocks of ice that were cut and delivered by some of the Amish living in Fort Fairfield. Two other blocks serve as the base. Meet The County, a new business that represents, markets and promotes 35 elite artisans and select craftspeople in Aroostook County – of which Cote is a member – paid for the ice and labor. For more information on Meet The County, log onto www.meetthecounty.com. The ice sculpture will stay at the mall until it melts.
To help showcase Maine’s unique culture to the thousands of visitors who were in Presque Isle to attend E.ON IBU World Cup Biathlon competitions, Cote created an ice sculpture outside the Aroostook Centre Mall entrance.
“Ice sculpting is not what I’m known for,” Cote said, “but I’ve done it before. I was talking to Patrick Patterson of Meet The County, and he was looking for something to draw people to the mall where they were having the work of local artisans on display, and I said, ‘What about doing a big ice sculpture?’ I told him if he could get the ice, I’d carve it.”
Meet The County is a relatively new business that represents, markets and promotes 35 elite artisans and select craftspeople in Aroostook County – of which Cote is a member – and brings those arts and crafts pieces to the rest of the state. Meet The County will be at 134 West Main St. across from Miller’s in Fort Kent now through March 8 for not only the biathlon, but the CAN-AM Crown International Sled Dog Races, as well.
For Cote’s sculpture, huge blocks of ice were cut and brought to the mall by some of the Amish living in Fort Fairfield. Meet The County paid for the ice and labor.
“They brought six blocks of ice,” said Cote. “Each block was 3-feet by 3-feet by 10-inches and weighed about 600 pounds. Two are laying down as a base, and four are standing up … two on top of the others. I have a 6-foot by 6-foot palate to work on.”
Cote sculpted the Nordic Heritage Sport Club logo – complete with the lion on skis.
“I knew how the ice was going to be and the fact that it was only going to be 10-inches thick,” he said. “I figured a ‘relief’ of that would look really nice, and it’s something that’s got a lot of different elements – lettering, thin line, the lion, so you’ve got to put some texture on that.
“With a ‘relief,’ it’s only carved on one side; the back is flat,” said Cote. “Because I’m going to go in another three or four inches, everything’s going to stand out. It creates a three-dimensional piece on a two-dimensional plane. The letters are actually going to be in, but the lion will be raised out.”
Cote started carving around 11:30 a.m. Friday and had it wrapped up around 4 p.m. Saturday. He spent about 8-10 hours on the carving.
“I used chisels and an offset grinder which has a mini chainsaw blade on it,” he said. “That really takes the ice off. It’s also good for outlining and texturing.”
Cote and the Meet The County group will be at this week’s biathlon events in Fort Kent. He said he plans to carve another ice sculpture while in the Valley.
“What I’d really like to do is carve on the outside of their castle,” he said. “We’ll see what happens when I get up there.”
Passersby at the mall were quick to praise Cote’s work.
“I’ve had a lot of very good comments today,” he said. “People said, ‘That’s the first time I’ve seen an ice sculpture done up here’ and ‘Oh, that’s a nice design.’ The other one I get a lot of is, ‘Aren’t you cold?’ I tell them, ‘No, I’m not cold,’ but I’m used to it. I work for two to two-and-a-half hours at a time. I also take coffee breaks … so that helps a lot.”
According to officials at the Aroostook Centre Mall, the ice sculpture will stay onsite until it melts.
