Anne Marie Taberdo - Ice Sculptor

Anne Marie Taberdo, 28, is the head ice sculptor at The Icebox, London. I caught up with her in Wollongong on Sydney's south coast where she was creating a piece for a wedding.

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Can you give us the backstory on how you came to be an ice sculptor?

Well I was struggling to find work as a full time sculptor but I previously got a break to work at the British Museum as an intern making replicas of their objects in the museum. That was an incredible job for someone who completed a degree in the National Arts school in Sydney and had moved to London to finish their post graduate degree.

I spent a year working with the replication specialist at the British Museum and he taught me some really amazing things about moulding and casting objects. That lead me into a job with Madame Tussaud at the wax museum where I made the bodies of famous people. People like John Farnham, Michael Jackson, Madonna etc. That was a great experience to use my moulding and casting techniques I had practiced the previous year.

Before I got into Madame Tussauds, I had written numerous letters to various sculpting firms and film companies employing prop makers to try to use the skills I learned in art school. One of them was an ice sculpting company. Naturally I hadn't thought about ice sculpting previously, I just knew that it happened. Ice just.. gets.. sculpted laughs. So I thought that it has got to be sculpted by someone, I don't know who that is, I had never an ice sculptor before, so I thought I'd just write a letter to an ice sculpting place to find out.

A year later they got back to me when I was already at Madame Tussauds. This company called The Ice Box asked if I was still interested in ice sculpting because they had interviews coming up for the head sculptor position. So I went for the interview, never ice sculpted in my life, and had to carve a block of ice in front of them for the first time. Within 3 hours I had sculpted a female figure, as that was what I was comfortable with due to the wax works experience. I got the job.

That's amazing how the first time you sculpted ice was at the actual interview. What did you think of your first piece? Were you shocked that you could do that straight off?

To be honest I was quite shocked at my first piece for the interview. I thought there was no way I could of come up with something in 3 hours. But I quickly realised how fast it is to sculpt ice as the material itself is so soft, like carving butter. It's a good way to see what you've learned because it is such a fast outcome as you're sculpting as you are able to see what you know about the subject and just trust your artistic instinct.

How forgiving is the medium?

It's as forgiving as you are I think, if you get stuck on little details you're going to have a hard time with ice sculpting. Although you can make really detailed sculptures, the material is always changing because it's melting. Especially when you're carving live, you always have to re-adjust the design.

When you think of your greatest achievement so far, is there something that comes to mind?

The London Ice sculpting Festival of 2014 in Canary Wharf is a really amazing occasion where 10 different international teams come to compete. I got to represent the United Kingdom this year. It was the first time I've ever done an international festival and carved in front of people. We had 500,000 guests come to see the festival over a 3 day period. My teammate Mike Kerslake and I ended up winning the public choice award, which in my eyes was the best award you could win so I guess that is my greatest achievement.

Well it doesn't get much better than that, representing the UK and winning an award! Can you tell us how you ended up living in London?

I was born in the UK, so I'm a British citizen and I grew up in London and North East of England. When I was 13 my family and I migrated to sunny Australia. I think it was a bit too cold for us in England. I spent 9 years in Sydney where I continued my High School studies, then went to the National Art School in Darlinghurst, Sydney. I think it's one of the best art schools in the world, I'm a little bit biased but I think it's true. My art education started in Campbelltown Performing Arts High school where I had really great teachers in the Arts department so that's really where my art education began. That helped me continue the love that I realised I had for art when I was much younger, still living in England.

After Art School I decided to do further study but return to London. I was a dual citizen now so I took the opportunity to study in London at an adult level. I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts specialising in sculpture from the National Art School, then I got a Post Graduate Diploma of Fine Art Sculpture at the City & Guilds of London Art School. Masters is still on the horizon but at the moment I am quite comfortable in the working world.

Now that you're in the working world as an artist. Can you give us an idea of what a typical week is for you at The Ice Box and how many pieces you create? 

I cycle 8 miles to work through London going past some of the most epic buildings in the world. That's a great part of my day because it keeps me warm which is really important since I am working in a -8 degrees celsius freezer. Over a length of time it can get quite cold! It tends to get to your bones quite quickly.

On Monday I have a meeting with all the staff to get briefed on upcoming jobs for the week ahead. We plot our week out which requires I work in the freezer with another sculptor called a machinist who cuts ice using a computerised drilling system. I will then hand finish the pieces he works on but I also start pieces from scratch myself.

In a day I could be making up to 3 sculptures, standard size which is about 120 kilos worth of ice for each sculpture. Each week is so different because ice is connected to the event industry mainly and these events are often last minute. Especially decoration, which ice falls under is often left to last.

How do you stay motivated and inspired? What is your favourite part of the process?

I just love sculpting. It's hands on with tools, chiselling and chainsaws. What gets me through the big weeks is the fact that I get to sculpt. Whether it's ice or not, the bottom line of it all is that I am still sculpting. I teach ice carving every now and then and ask people when they first carve how it feels. They always say that it's therapeutic and much more relaxing than they thought. That's what I've found, especially when you get in the zone. I often put my earphones in, listen to music and get on with it.

I wouldn't of picked that it would be therapeutic to work with a chainsaw.

Laughs, well most people I teach don't get to use the chainsaw, but with the chisel it's the simplest method of carving ice and it really is a nice feeling. It's something to do with the sound of the chisel I think too.

Do you have a favourite piece of work that you have created to date? Or is it always, whatever is the next piece?

The one I am most proud of is a Canon camera actually. It was for a camera exhibition in London and was a mixture of the computerised drill, and me hand carving all the details. So it was a really beautiful, detailed piece and quite big too at 1m wide x 0.5m high. I was really happy with that.

What's next for you with your creative pursuits?

At the moment it is to continue ice sculpting, I am really enjoying the medium. I want to keep doing it till I can't do it anymore physically, because it's quite hard work. I've got ideas of traveling the world with it one day too as you do with things that you love. There's an ice sculpting world tour that I'd like to be part of and represent the U.K. or Australia ice carving in competitions from Canada to Russia. There's an Ice Hotel Sweden that I'd love to design a room for, so hopefully that is in the pipeline if I knuckle down. But I'm enjoying working in London, it's a great city.

 

I understand there are very few female sculptors in the world. How does that make you feel?

Yes, I've been told that I'm the only female commercial ice sculptor in the U.K. which I think is an impressive feat. I think I understand why because it's a really hard and physical job. I was initially scared of applying for it actually. I'm happy about that claim though, if it's true. If there are any others I'd like to meet them, I know there's quite a lot in America but it's quite a niche job all around.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

I always listen to music while i'm sculpting and I choose the album depending on what kind of sculpture I'm making. At the moment I'm listening to some classical music, but also electronic music. 

Recently I'm inspired by sand sculptors and other sculptors that are working in a medium that is very temporary like ice is - how it melts away. So whatever you create today, is gone tomorrow. With sand sculptures it's quite a similar feeling so I am really inspired by artists that are able to let go of their work. That's quite a hard thing to do for a lot of people due to the amount of hours you spend on one piece but in a way to me, it is much more free to create work that is of the moment. I am really inspired by Andres Amador at the moment and I will leave you with a quote that really resonated with me.

“Immediacy is one of the main messages of my art. Life can’t be postponed, it’s now or never. So many people in this world spend so little time inside these experiences. I think we crave it, I think we massively crave it - the immediacy of life happening. I hope that through my works, in the moment, someone is inspired with a sense of awe or wonder or appreciation and hopefully at a larger level, people are inspired to go big, to be bold, to be whimsical.”

— Andres Amador, The Collective Magazine

The completed ice sculpture by Anne Marie Taberdo.

Thank you for your time Anne Marie.

Interview and Photographs by Jason de Plater.

Mitchell Isakka - Nurse

Mr. Isakka, can you describe what you do for a living?

I’m an intensive care nurse. I look after people in the specialities, neurology and trauma section which means that I see a lot of people from various sudden accidents. Quite often patients are in a coma and on life support so there is little nurse to patient communication.

Did you wish to work in the trauma section or is that just the way it worked out for you?

I did a critical care placement during University in intensive care and neurology trauma. I found it quite intellectually stimulating because you have really got to apply the knowledge you learned so quickly and accurately. I didn’t find working in the wards to be as stimulating.

So the challenge of fast paced problem solving drew you to it. Do you enjoy and thrive on that stress on some level?

Yes, anything can go wrong at any second without warning. Working under pressure, problem solving and then inevitably seeing the outcome, which hopefully is positive, gives me the feeling that I did something worthwhile.

I think sometimes a career chooses you rather than you choosing it, perhaps that’s what happened there. Can you remember the moment when you knew you wanted to be a nurse?

When I finished high school I knew I wanted to get into medicine. I applied for undergrad medicine but didn’t get it so I thought I’d undertake something related. My cousin is a nurse practitioner and talked to me about her work. I thought I’d try that and then move onto medicine but since working in the field I realised that is not what I am destined to do.

How long have you been at your hospital now?

Over two and a half years I have worked in drug and alcohol out patients and half intensive care. You see some pretty interesting people and have to deal with situations that you don’t ordinarily encounter. The next chapter is that I will be working in Broome, Western Australia.

Were you transferred to Broome or was that something you specifically volunteered for?

I’m very fortunate to have travelled to around fifteen destinations in the world now. I travelled through India and Nepal, I saw a lot of sick people affected by polio and really underprivileged people and thought as a nurse that it would be great to treat them. I returned from the last trip and spoke to my G.P. friend who has done a lot of work in aboriginal and remote communities in Australia. Through his experiences he believes that a lot of people forget about problems we have in our own country and instead focus on overseas without realising how bad it is for people in isolated areas of Australia.

I applied for a position in remote Northern Territory and then a position came up for an opening of an intensive care unit in Broome hospital.

I suppose it happened a lot faster than you expected. Were you shocked by how quickly you had to leave your life is Sydney behind?

I have always wanted to move away, do something different and take a chance. I have looked into doing things like that before overseas but with the case of this, I applied on the Saturday, was interviewed on the Monday and Wednesday then 15 minutes after the interview they called to say I had the job! It’s just weird thinking that finally now it’s happening, I am doing this thing that I thought I would do eventually but it turns out that the time is now. It’s scary but exciting at the same time. As for the next step, I’ll be saving to get myself overseas long term in either Paris or Helsinki.

Considering you work in the trauma unit, did you struggle when things didn’t go to plan? Do you have a method that helps you cope emotionally now?

It was tough in the beginning. First of all you become desensitised a little bit. You have to develop the skill to be able to switch on and switch off. I must be supportive and emotional for the patient’s family yet not too emotional that it affects my work and life outside work.

I think the most important thing is to have someone who you can vent to. I lived with two nurses in the past and that was good because they understood yet worked in different sections so the stories were always different.

I bought a piano a year ago thinking that I’d like to get back into it. I hoped that as soon as I sat down, it would come back to me but it didn’t happen that easily. Sometimes I spend time around the piano with friends so it’s great to just hang around and listen. We don’t have a TV in the house, I think it’s nice when you’re kind of forced to talk to each other.

That’s interesting, I noticed that a lot of my friends don’t watch as much TV anymore. Hopefully instead of watching reality TV, we’re living our lives instead.

You spoke earlier about your desire to travel; do you have an idea of what your perfect happiness is?

I’m not sure if I am thinking about it too philosophically or not but my thoughts of true happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. I also believe that is it important to be able to feel sad. People get caught up on feeling like they always need to be happy and if they are sad then something is wrong, but I think they can exist together.

Absolutely. I don’t believe that people are meant to or can be happy all the time. Humans have a range of emotions. You can’t be 100% of just one emotion all the time.

Yes, there’s a book called The happiness trap by Russ Harris which compares the eastern and western world’s ways of thinking about happiness. The eastern idea of happiness is that is encompasses sadness as well. They see it as a good thing because it’s a part of life, for example death or mourning. It is therefore understood and embraced, in a way. Whereas the western world tries to reduce it as much as possible and almost makes it feel like a taboo or suppressed subject.

Do you have a favourite book or author?

Running with scissors by Augusten Burroughs is an incredible book. There’s a movie but it’s really bad so don’t watch it. Also, Haruki Murakami’s books are wonderful.

If you could change something about yourself what would it be?

My teeth or my bank account balance. Laughs.

What is your greatest extravagance?

Shoes! I don’t know what it is, but I’ll go out looking for trousers and come back with two pairs of shoes. Before I went overseas last year I did a cull because I had about thirty pairs but now I’m down to fifteen.

What talent would you most like to have?

I’d love to be able to sail. I met a guy who sailed a boat from Miami to Iceland. An Icelandic man bought the boat from him so he had to sail it to him. I would sail to Iceland!

What is your most marked characteristic?

At the moment it’s my new moustache.

What is your most treasured possession? 

My toy poodle, Rory.

Thank you for your time Mitchell.

Photographs and interview by Jason de Plater.

Lucy Arnott - Art Therapist

Can you describe for me what you do for a living?

I help people keep their empowerment. With my community care job, the idea is to keep people in their homes so they still maintain a sense of independence rather than go into a nursing home and lose their spirit.

With art therapy, I help people to understand themselves better. I try to figure out where they want to go in their lives and unlock things that are holding them back. Basically, I just want to help people be happy.

You’re helping people overcome their personal challenges. I suppose everyone needs help at different points in their lives. Who is a typical client for you?

They tend to be mostly elderly. Some of the people with chronic illness such as cancer are often younger but I have a lot of clients with dementia too. Some people are really old and their minds are completely on the ball but their bodies are falling apart. They need help showering or just someone to help them do their shopping.

So your caring extends to not just the mind, but it encompasses the body as well.

Yes, it’s a holistic approach. So all the tools that I have are about working with the person to determine what they need in their current state of mind.

What moment of the job do you find most rewarding?

I have realised that it doesn’t matter what age somebody is; everyone has their own spirit. There’s a spark that everybody has regardless of their age or sickness.

The people I work with are towards the end of their lives so there is a lot of reflection and insight into how a good life can be lived. That’s an amazing thing to share with people.

Absolutely, it’s definitely a privileged job in that respect. Have you always wanted to be an art therapist, or did it take you a while to find that path?

Well over the last five or six years, I have looked into alternative medicine and psychology, natural medicine and art therapy towards the end of my exploration. I knew that I always wanted to be able to help people out. I wanted something on the spiritual side and to remain very grounded and realistic.

I also wanted to do something where I could meet people, regardless or where they were at physically or mentally. I found that art therapy fit because I paint and am quite creative. I find those things really healing for myself too.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

Completing my studies last year in transpersonal counseling art therapy. That was a two-year course but it was a big journey. I have never been very studious. I pick things up and don’t finish them so that was something I was really happy to have completed.

Well done! What forms of expression do you use with your art therapy?

We paint, draw, make collages, and meditate.

We spend time talking to the body. Sometimes the mind can trick us. It can make up a whole lot of stories and give us a really hard time. So I use meditation to help people calm down and get grounded. Guided visualisations can help people access different parts of themselves in their internal world rather than external.

A lot of the different processes do different things. I might have a client who is a bit scattered and doesn’t know what they’re doing in their life. I can suggest to complete a collage so they can visually see the story that has come from their sub conscious.

Then we can have a dialogue where I ask them questions like “What does that mean?”, “Why did you put that word next to that one”, or “Does that remind you of something?”, It creates a story and it becomes really, really simple. Best of all, it comes from them.

I can’t tell people who they need to be or how to feel. So it’s all about figuring it out for themselves.

How often do you usually see your clients?

Well I’ve been doing art therapy groups at a community centre. I think in terms of groups, it’s good to do a four-session group because then you have a thread and you can go deeper. If you’re going through something challenging it’s good to see someone for four to six sessions so you can get a good view of what is happening. 

Obviously you place a big importance on keeping things grounded but you also love to travel. Do you find that you’re at your happiest when meeting new people and discovering new places?

Absolutely. I love traveling. I think there is something inside me that is never satisfied. That part drives me to have really ‘out there’ experiences. So travel means that there is always something new for me; new places, people and food. I really love new cultures and indigenous communities.

My happiness comes down to being with the people I love and living near the ocean.

What is your favourite journey?

I try to go away once a year, at least. I have been traveling for the last seven years. The first trip I went away for about a year, and then every trip since has been a few months at a time. I have probably been to between 15 and 20 countries. Each of them very different; throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, four months in India, Indo four times, America, South America twice.

India was amazing. People told me that I needed to surrender when I went to India. I didn’t quite understand what that meant until I went there. You either love or hate it but it changes your life. It definitely changes your mind. There’s nothing that compares to that reality over there. It’s really amazing.

Is there a particular story or unforgettable moment from India that you can share?

I guess what happens is that you learn a lot of lessons about yourself. The reason it changes your life is that it can change things that you might be really fixed on and the way you see the world. I have always been a bit hard on myself, which comes back to the never satisfied statement earlier, so I have high expectations.

Listen to Lucy’s epiphany that occurred on a train journey in India.

We are pretty lucky to be living in Sydney. It sounds like the places you have traveled to break down a lot of misconceptions. Colombia for example, we tend to only hear about the danger and drugs but there is obviously a lot of beauty there as well. 

Absolutely. There’s beauty, passion, culture and people dancing in the street on a Sunday night because that’s what they do every week in their community. I really like Sydney but I think traveling has helped me create who I want to be in my own mind. It breaks down barriers of what society or my family has put onto me.

Yes, it makes you question what is “normal”. If you lived outside of Sydney, where would it be? Is it a goal of yours to live overseas?

I don’t really feel like Sydney is home because I have only lived here for about five years.

I grew up on the mid north coast. My Dad passed away three and a half years ago and I inherited a little house up there that he built. So I can always live there, but I’ve always seen myself in one or two places: northern New South Wales, or somewhere overseas. I need somewhere warm, near the ocean and room for a big vegetable garden.

Since I was a little girl I have always wanted to live in Bali. I have just returned again. There’s something really magical about it. I don’t think I’d want to live there permanently but it keeps drawing me back.

I definitely don’t want to live the city life. I want to have kids and would rather them be able to run around outside without me being worried that they’ve going to get flattened by a car.

You have talked about the amazing experiences you have had overseas, have you got a story about a time when things weren’t so amazing?

Listen to Lucy’s dangerous experience in Colombia.

Would you travel by yourself or do you think that the experience is greater when shared with someone else? 

For me, I’m a people person although I do like time on my own to reflect. I have found that I learn a lot about myself while I am surrounded by other people. I went to South America two years ago, I was in Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru. I was on my own for about three months and found it really hard. I was going through a hard time and realised that happiness is best when shared.

I have made some of my very best friends overseas. One friend I met in India, she’s English, and now she lives in Colombia. I went and visited her last year and we are like soul mates now. So I’ve met really, really great people traveling.

What do you think is your most marked characteristic?

Probably my long curly hair. When I was traveling through Europe, I had hair like this and turned it into dreadlocks. So I had dreadlocks for a year and a half and came back from overseas with a tattoo as well. My Dad was a little bit disappointed but he was supportive.Laughs. I cut my dreads off a year and a half later.

What is your most treasured possession?

Well I’m not very materialistic but that would have to be my car. I have a 1964 EH Holden, which I have spent way too much money on. Her name is Axel Annie and all my friends ask about her. She has a personality. Laughs.

Listen to Lucy's impromptu performance of her original song “Everything you needed”.

Thank you for your time Lucy.

Photographs and interview by Jason de Plater.