Father and son team up to carve ice sculptures

Steve and Jonathan Watson to represent province at National Ice-carving Championship

CORNER BROOK — The COVID-19 pandemic may have put a damper on holding the Corner Brook Winter Carnival for another year, but it hasn’t put a stop to celebrating the winter season.

Canadian Heritage has selected the carnival committee as the host partner in Newfoundland and Labrador to bring the National Ice-carving Championship to the city Feb. 5-6.

The committee has also partnered with Go Western Newfoundland to organize, run and market the event and online voting that goes along with it.

Steve Watson and Jonathan Watson, a father and son carving team from St. John’s, will represent the province in the competition, which is being held as part of Winterlude, the annual winter festival held in Ottawa-gatineau every February.

The competition will feature carvers from each of the 10 provinces.

The Watsons are perhaps the only carvers in this province. Steve said if there are others, then they mostly carve just a block or two here and there, and nothing of the magnitude he and his son have done.

Steve is well known for his ice carvings, having perfected the craft over the last 30 years.

He started in the early 1990s while working as the executive chef at the Hotel Newfoundland. A woman had wanted an ice carving as a surprise for her daughter’s nauticalthemed wedding.

“It’s one of those things as a chef, you say, ‘Yes, I can do that and no problem at all,’” he said.

But Steve had never seen a chainsaw before and had no idea where to get the ice from. Back then, he had to order it in from New Brunswick.

“Away I went with a gas chainsaw in the loading dock, and since then the rest has been history,” he recently told Saltwire Network.

For the next five or six years, Steve carved primarily for functions at the hotel. In 1999, he moved on to Central Dairies, and his ice carvings started to be used as a promotional tool.

By then, Dennis Murray of the Ice Block in Conception Bay South had bought a machine to make ice blocks, making it easier for Steve to get the ice he needed.

He said there has been some trial and error along the way as he taught himself the craft.

“And it’s still trial and error. You’re learning every time,” said Steve.

He said he doesn’t like to do the same carving too many times, and likes to challenge himself.

When carving for weddings, he’ll delve into what the bride and groom like. A recent carving of a rifle for a shotgun wedding was a fun one that included drilling out the barrel of the rifle and turning it into a luge.

“The options are endless,” he said.

He has carved with single blocks and multiple blocks, and his creations have included ice bars and the Hibernia platform.

His carving has taken him to Labrador, Toronto, San Diego, Boston, England and Corner Brook a few times to carve during the city’s winter carnival.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, he would do more than 80 carvings a year, but ast year, all 70 bookings that had been scheduled were cancelled, Steve said.

While he has done a lot of solo carvings, in recent years he has often assisted by Jonathan.

For Jonathan, following in his father’s ice steps was a natural thing.

“Ice was kind of always there,” Jonathan said.

In his days at the hotel, Jonathan said, he would sit and watch as his dad carved. Over the years, he helped with setting up carvings, and as his dad got into bigger carvings, he started to work on them with him.

He said it was a “Game of Thrones” chair that really piqued his interest.

His day job is in the IT field with Memorial University, where he builds software for learning tools. Besides ice carving, he also enjoys woodworking.

“I can’t come home and sit in front of a screen after sitting in front of a screen all day, so I need to find something different to do,” said Jonathan.

Dealing with 350-pound blocks of ice in all types of conditions has taught the Watsons that anything can happen.

When asked if they’ve experienced many mishaps, Jonathan laughs and asks his dad if he wants to admit to that.

He then recalls when one of four pieces they had done for an event at The Rooms fell and shattered into 20 or 30 pieces before they could get it set up.

“I can remember us sticking it all back together, because that is something you could do,” said Jonathan.

“I usually make sure I’m paid first and then run,” his father adds with a laugh.

The Winterlude competition will be a first for both Steve and Jonathan, who both say they aren’t really into competing.

For them the thrill in what they do comes from seeing their pieces on display, with lights shining off them and the looks they bring to people’s faces.

Jonathan said it takes about 20 to 30 minutes to set the pieces up, and at first they are covered in frost.

“You really don’t get a feeling of how amazing they are until that frost comes out,” he said.

When that happens and the lights hit them, Jonathan said, “you really get to see what you’ve made.”

This competition is a special one, with its ties to Winterlude and the Corner Brook Winter Carnival, and the Watsons are looking forward to getting to Corner Brook and starting work on their sculpture.

They’ll have 20 hours to complete it, and will work to turn 15 350-pound blocks of ice into a piece that will be about 10 feet high and 12 feet wide.

They can’t reveal too much about their design, and said it has to be tied to the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Their piece will reflect the values of each, with a connection to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Due to COVID-19 public health restrictions, the organizers cannot publicly promote the exact location of the carving event, but people will get to see the completed pieces and vote for them online.

Voting in the competition will be open on the Winterlude website from Feb. 11-20, and the Top 3 winners will be announced Feb. 21.

“I can’t come home and sit in front of a screen after sitting in front of a screen all day, so I need to find something different to do.”

Jonathan Watson