Farmington woman 'ices' the competition

Three years ago, Jolie Skwiercz decided to take an ice carving class at Oakland Community College.

"I thought it would be fun," said the Farmington resident, who can often be seen shaping blocks of ice in the driveway of her home. "It was just an extra-curricular class."

One class turned into one competition, and then another. And another. So far this year, Skwiercz has taken first place honors at the Plymouth Ice Festival, was part of the first place team at the Collegiate National competition in Frankenmuth and finished in second place at an ice carving competition in Holland. (First place in that event went to her OCC teammate Tyler Coleman.) On February 13, Skwiercz will compete in Medina, Oho's Ice Festival. And later this month, she'll travel to Alaska, for a grueling international competition.

A student of the culinary arts, she has taken to ice carving in a way that amazes her partner, Rich Wroblewski, who is also a chef. He started carving back when artists first used chain saws and chiseled in the fine lines and detail. Today, Skwiercz uses a "tricked out" chainsaw Wroblewski customized to eat more quickly through the ice, along with grinding and shaping tools in a variety of sizes.

In fact, her Christmas gifts were carving tools.

She'll make use of them all in Alaska, where competitors will have 24 hours to carve a 7,000-pound block of ice. By contrast, the blocks Skwiercz carves at home are just 300 pounds. Once she's done with a trial piece, it goes out in front of the house. Wroblewski has even set up display lights to enhance the details of the mermaid sculptures.

"Human figures are the hardest," he said, noting Skwiercz has honed her skills in that area. "She took a face-and-hands class from a master artist last summer."

Skwiercz and Wroblewski often work together during competitions. He's her "technical director," setting up her tools and platforms and taking care of site preparation. As she practices, he serves as consultant and assistant, helping her lift and set the sculpted piece onto its base. 

In order for the figure to adhere to its base, the ice surfaces on both have to be absolutely flat. Skwiercz accomplishes this with steel plates in various sizes, heated with an electric iron. She rubs the base block sides against the metal surface to flatten them. 

As Wroblewski places the figure on the base, Skwiercz holds a plate between the pieces for a few seconds, then carefully slides it out. She can sense when the figure hasn't set; air bubbles provide a visible sign. The iron goes back onto the metal plate, and the process begins again.

Then comes Skwiercz's favorite part. "It's the end result and just the progression of what I'm carving."

Her least favorite part? Surprisingly, it's not the weather. "I think the hardest thing is that it's real labor holding the chain saw and tools. It's hard work. I end up with my back hurting, my arms hurting," she said.

Skwiercz has thought about cutting down to one competition a year, but Wroblewski doesn't think she will. He thinks she loves it too much. And that she's too good at it to step back now.

While fountains of shaved ice erupt where her power tools touch the block, he muses, "It's like the figure is already inside the ice, and she's just bringing it out."

--story & photos by Joni Hubred-Golden