Tom Schiller will take center stage Saturday at the Downtown Business Association’s Yeti Ice Sculpture Celebration.
The nationally renowned master ice carver will take his saws to three 300 lb. blocks of ice and craft the Yeti the celebration is named after. He will work his magic in Oliver Grove Park during the event, which runs from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Schiller, of Hastings, is a chef by trade and learned some ice carving in culinary school. He then took a restaurant job because he could put carvings on their Sunday brunch buffet.
He then worked to making bigger and bigger carvings, eventually working on the creations at the St. Paul Winter Carnival.
“I met a few people at the carnival which got me more into it and one of them was a culinary instructor at St. Paul College,” said Schiller.
Schiller ended up teaching ice carving at St. Paul College to culinary students. He then went to work for a friend and worked in the business full time before heading back into the restaurant industry.
During COVID, with events cancelled, Schiller turned to wood carving.
“I decided to go to the trees,” he said.
Schiller believes that anyone with an eye for art could pick up ice carving.
“It basically just takes time to learn. Anybody could do it. If you have an artistic ability, that helps. You have to be able to visualize what you’re carving in the product that you’re working with, whether it’s wood or an ice block. It’s like any kind of sport. The more you do it, the better your eye gets, the better you are at it,” he said.
Schiller has worked on the creations that adorn the St. Paul Winter Carnival grounds. He’s worked on ice bars and ice lounges up in Duluth.
He’s worked in ice bars in Las Vegas, where people escape the heat in the bars where everything, from the bar to chairs and glasses are made of ice.
“People love it because it’s super warm, and they can go in and get out of the heat,” he said. “They have three of them in Vegas, and they’re going really well.”
If you’re not sure where Schiller is, follow the crowd at the Hastings event. With chips of ice flying and the saw roaring, the master will be at work.
“It’s fun. I enjoy it,” he said.
It’s been a tough winter for the ice artists but now, winter is cooperating. The initial plan was to do several pieces, but with temperatures over freezing until recently, just one large Yeti will visit downtown Hastings.
“Last year, we did quite a few events. This year, the way the weather was going, it wasn’t looking favorable. We’re only doing the four-block piece. The whole month of December was warm. I was originally supposed to work on the ice maze they were building at the Viking practice facility, but due to the weather they cancelled that.”
Schiller has mentored and taught the craft to many other artists. “I’ve had quite a few people that I’ve taught that I’ve worked with over the years, and I’ve had a bunch of people that have mentored me, too. You’re always learning. It’s something that you have to keep doing a lot to keep your eye,” he said.
The blocks of ice he starts with are 40 inches tall, 10 inches thick and 20 inches wide. He’s working this week to visualize carving that into a Yeti.
We can’t wait to watch!