about New Orleans ice artist Dawson List
Hi, welcome to the about page for, me, ice artist Dawson List! I’ve created all the ice art you’ll see here and I’ve built this site to showcase my unique take on New Orleans and Louisiana flavored art ⚜️
Getting my start as an ice sculptor in New Orleans
I’ve been sculpting ice in and around New Orleans for over 20 years. It feels weird to write that, but it’s true! I moved here in 1998, kind of on a whim. Initially, I started working on Mardi Gras floats for Kern Artists. I was able to apply what I’d learned of sculpture as an ice sculptor in New Mexico and Texas to foam artwork for the floats. A little later, I transitioned back in ice sculpting by creating sculptures for the New Orleans Fairmont (now the Roosevelt). Since one hotel can’t usually keep an ice sculptor busy, I also took a bartending position. And the perfect place for that was the Palace Cafe on Canal Street, working for Dickie Brennan.
While I definitely took my job seriously, bartenders often get a bit of downtime. So between making Sazeracs and Ramos Gin Fizzes, I drew out new ice sculpture designs and worked on proposals for new clients. One of the designs I worked on there, a gator head, will be the basis for a planned ice art print, hopefully coming soon! But I consider my stints working for the Kerns and Brennans, plus the venerable Fairmont, my “immersion learning” on New Orleans culture. Surely, there’s far more to learn, even 20 years later, but I felt like this was a good start!
While I definitely took my job seriously, bartenders often get a bit of downtime. So between making Sazeracs and Ramos Gin Fizzes, I drew out new ice sculpture designs and worked on proposals for new clients. One of the designs I worked on there, a gator head, will be the basis for a planned ice art print, hopefully coming soon! But I consider my stints working for the Kerns and Brennans, plus the venerable Fairmont, my “immersion learning” on New Orleans culture. Surely, there’s far more to learn, even 20 years later, but I felt like this was a good start!
Since my traditional ice sculpture business is called “ice dragon,” I figured I’d start with a dragon for my first fine ice art.
the beginnings of fine ice art in Nola, plus Katrina
Once I struck out on my own, I built a studio space on Burgundy Street in the Marigny. I created my ice sculptures for all sorts off Nola events (like the first Patriots Super Bowl, in 2002) until Hurricane Katrina pushed us out. In my freezer studio, I’d also started creating highly detailed, delicate ice sculptures that were just for photos, not events. As we evacuated to Arkansas ahead of the storm, I left my first two attempts at “fine ice art” abandoned in my freezer and hoped for the best 🤞
Well over a month later, I was finally able to return to see what had happened. Although much of the Marigny avoided the floodwaters, as we all know, the resulting deaths and devastation shut down the city for months. For a while at least though, my ice art, as well as a freezer full of raw ice blocks, shifted from a very non-essential role to an essential one. In a city with no functioning electric grid, friends that stayed had plenty of pure ice to keep their food cold and plenty of clean water as it melted in the brutal heat of late summer in Nola.
Well over a month later, I was finally able to return to see what had happened. Although much of the Marigny avoided the floodwaters, as we all know, the resulting deaths and devastation shut down the city for months. For a while at least though, my ice art, as well as a freezer full of raw ice blocks, shifted from a very non-essential role to an essential one. In a city with no functioning electric grid, friends that stayed had plenty of pure ice to keep their food cold and plenty of clean water as it melted in the brutal heat of late summer in Nola.
Could the NFC Champions ice sculpture have inspired a Black and Gold victory against Indianapolis? Who knows?😆😂
Post Katrina Nola's Renaissance and a Saints Super Bowl!
As Nola began its renaissance post-Katrina and events slowly returned, I sculpted ice in Memphis at a friend’s ice sculpting business.Then I would drive my ice sculptures down I-55 in a rented U-Haul trailer with plenty of dry ice, usually for Saturday events. Since we were living in Little Rock, the weekend trip was Little Rock to Memphis to New Orleans, then back to Little Rock. That circuit got old real quick!
Finally, we finished our evacuation exile, and after a short stint back in Nola, we moved permanently to Mobile. Although not exactly what we wanted, Mobile was close enough to make frequent Nola trips much less painful. I spent a lot of time on the road, but I was able to do create lots of New Orleans ice sculptures. I was even able to play a couple of very minor roles in what many regard as the culmination of Nola’s Katrina Renaissance: the New Orleans Saints Super Bowl XLIV victory and the Lombardi Gras extravaganza that immediately followed it!
My oversized Moses sculpture at a huge ice display in Germany
ice sculpting around the world
You might guess that Mobile turned out to be a less than ideal headquarters for a New Orleans ice sculpture business. On the other hand, it’s an excellent waypoint for an ice sculptor moving between Nola and Florida. And my friend who had helped me in Memphis, Joe Rimer, had started a new ice sculpting business near Tampa: Ice Pro. Over the years, Joe and I collaborated on a number of ice sculpture projects, including a couple of world record ice sculpting attempts. One of those, a massive project in Alaska, earned us a Guinness World Record!
Joe and I also worked together on several international events, including competing together in Latvia and Slovakia. We even went together to China for an ice and snow event there. Joe also invited me to help create and recreate ice art for the three ice bars that Florida hosted for a while and that he provided ice glassware for. (Now, unfortunately, Florida is back down to its original single ice bar, Icebar Orlando. Perhaps unsurprisingly, ice bars tend to melt away sometimes.)
My freezer, at 19˚F, is pretty effective social distancing!
a new urgency for innovation
In the last few years, after a number of false starts, I’ve been able to finally make a full time return to New Orleans. Then of course, just as things seemed to be going so well, Covid-19 emerged in China 😧 Like so many others, ice sculptors all over watched nervously as the virus started to appear in the U.S. and wondered how much it would affect the special event business. As it turns out, a virus that spreads easily in large gatherings with loud music where people might sing or talk louder than normal (and maybe also because of a drink or two 😉), is VERY bad for ice sculpting businesses. Devastating, actually 😞 Ice sculpting will probably take longer than many other businesses to return to normal, even after we get the hoped for vaccine. But considering that others have lost family or friends, or even their own lives, losing the opportunity to make giant pretty ice cubes for parties is hardly comparable. Hopefully, you find ways to adapt, and this website is one way that I hope to find my way in the post-Covid world. Because I’ve moved beyond only creating ice sculptures, I no longer think of myself as simply an ice sculptor, but as an ice artist. Ice is almost always in the equation, but it’s not as simple as it used to be.
So welcome to what is probably the first and only website in the world solely dedicated to selling fine ice art! (Weird place for that to happen…) I hope you like what you see and I’d love to hear any feedback you have! (I think? 🤔)
