Welcome to Nola ice art!

Hi, my name is Dawson List, and welcome to my Covid-19 ice sculpture experiment that I call Nola ice art! I’ve been creating ice sculptures for New Orleans events for over 20 years. Unfortunately, I’d say that only rarely during those years did I create an ice sculpture that I was truly satisfied with. This is my way of changing that, by creating a website full of New Orleans ice art that I am VERY happy with. New Orleans is a city that inspires, and there’s so much to draw from the rich cultural and natural environments here. So to do that justice, these are iceworks that I’ve spent days or even weeks working on, rather than the norm for ice sculptures, which is usually only a couple of hours. And by carefully lighting and photographing these meticulously sculpted pieces at 19˚F, I get what I call “fine ice art.” I hope you’ll stay for a bit and take a look. I’m only just getting started, but I’ve already created a few prints that I’m happy to frame and hang on my walls. Maybe you’ll find some that you’d like on your walls too!

about my New Orleans ice art

A frequently asked question about my ice sculptures is if I used a chainsaw. Yes! Here I sculpt an eagle from ice.

First off, this is not your regular ice sculpture website. These icy artworks aren’t ice sculptures you can have for your event. You actually can’t have ANY of them for your event. They’re too delicate and short lived outside of the freezer to be used at special events. And the lighting is far more complicated than typical ice sculpture lighting. But they’re real, and in most cases, they looked just like they do in the photos. Nola-inspired ice art created without time pressure, not cranked out for your special event that lasts mere hours (that’s generally not allowed right now anyway), but carefully crafted for photos that will last forever. Or at least a REALLY long time 😉

about the artist (me!)

I’ve been sculpting ice in New Orleans for longer than I care to admit, since like last century! And I’ve wanted to do something like what you see here for a very long time. I fell in love with Nola on a Mardi Gras visit, and realized that I wanted to live in a place where interesting things happen. Tell me New Orleans doesn’t fit that description! (Sometimes the ride seems like a bit more than I meant to sign up for!) I grew up mostly in New Mexico, and went to college in Texas. But since I’ve moved here from Albuquerque all those years ago, I’ve become a dedicated Saints fan and a lover of most things oyster and crawfish. To read more about my ice and Nola story, click here.

posts, posts, posts!

Unlike my ice dragon ice sculptures site, Nola ice art will feature LOTS of posts. High on the priority list will be showing you how I make my art. I hear people asking “Is that ICE?!” enough as it is with regular ice sculptures for events, and frequently my fine ice art just doesn’t look like regular ice. So I will be posting a lot of in progress pics/videos so you can see how I get from here to there. Below are my current top 3 featured posts, or just visit the blog for access to all of them.

featured designs

Of course, you knew I was going to try to sell you something before you got to the bottom! These are my current featured prints. This will change regularly, presumably next with the upcoming tiger head piece. For now, check out the rest here.

stay in the loop

Want to know when I’ve created new ice art? Or be eligible for discounts, freebies, or even giveaways? Then sign up for the Nola ice art newsletter: