Six Nations man competes in world ice carving competition

OTTAWA – Six Nations own, Ryan Hill competed in the annual Winterlude Ice Carving Competition in Ottawa last weekend. Winterlude is held in the nation’s capital every year and celebrates the season.

In an interview with the Two Row Times, Hill explained why he wanted to give ice carving a try, “I seen ice carving before and just wanted to try it. I love carving and making things, so anything that someone makes with their hands, I like to see. I also wanted to get into competitions to measure my abilities against others.”

Hill, who resides in Akwesasne with his young family, also signed up for the Winterlude Ice Carving competition last year. This is where his journey began. “Last year I was entered into the public challenge and won 1st place with my piece entitled, Native Spring”

The best part of ice carving, Hill explained is, ‘the way that ice cuts and the look of crystal that comes naturally to ice.’

After his competition win last year, the local newspaper in Akwesasne ran a story on his win and he was asked to do an ice carving for the grand opening of the new casino hotel in the summer of 2013.

This past fall, Hill joined the Canadian Ice Carvers Society. They had workshops to introduce new people to ice carving. Asked on whether the tools used are the same as those used in soapstone carving, Hill explains, “The tools are different, larger for one thing. Your main tool is a 3 inch chisel, along with chainsaws and die grinders fitted with a nasty bit called the pine apple bit.” On what is most dangerous about ice carving, he said, “Ice carving is very dangerous, from slipping and falling with sharp tools to getting your hands too close to moving machinery designed to remove material very quickly. You only get 2 hours to carve your piece so speed is a factor. The time constraint only adds to the level of stress and danger.”

Despite potential dangers involved in ice carving, Hill was very grateful to be a participant in the international competition last weekend which included carvers from China, Japan and Russia to mention a few. He competed in 3 different disciplines and was scored in 7 different categories by 3 judges. He entered in the one block competition. The other two categories were, 2 man 18 block and 8 block solos.

Hill was honored to be among some of the world’s best carvers. The judges gave him a 5th place, 10th place and 3rd place score.

The goal of going into the competition, according the Hill, was to see how he measured up at the world stage level. One judge was a master carver from Japan and spoke very little English, Hill explained.

Even under stress of the competition, he managed to find humor, “The Mexican Carvers thought I was one of them and kept speaking Spanish to me,” Hill chuckled.

Hill has earned his spot in ice carving at the international level, “When it comes to ice carving I still have a lot to learn which is good. Keeps my interest. I also helped with projects around Confederation Park and the city. So I got more experience in ice. I really appreciate the help of Iko Kombiyoshi the president of Canadian Ice Carvers Society, who has been instrumental in giving me this opportunity.”

To see more of Hill’s work, check out his Facebook page called ‘Rock Studio’, https://www.facebook.com/rockstudio1

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