The Best of Ohio: Ice Sculptures by Ramon
-from Ohio Magazine-
Ramon Rodriguez
{ ice sculptor }
Age: 58
Home: Dayton
Personal: He’s operated his business, Ice Sculptures by Ramon, for 14 Years with his wife, Sharon. They’ve lived in Dayton for 17 years and have a 38-year-old-son and a 7-year-old granddaughter.
How he got started: Rodriguez was working as a hotel manager in Maryland in 1970 when a customer who was getting married wondered if Rodriguez could sculpt ice. “He said, ‘Hey, can you do a swan?” I only had a $7 chisel and it took me eight hours. He loved it; it looked like a chicken.”
The way he does it now: Rodriguez is now the only full-time ice sculptor in the Dayton area, doing up to 800 carvings a year. He works by himself, creating sculptures in his studio and freezing them until delivery time. Most blocks are 300 pounds; he used chain saws, grinders, chisels, routers and sandpaper, then smoothes with a blowtorch. He teaches his art to culinary students at Dayton’s Sinclair Community College, telling them often about his first swan-chicken.
What customers want: Almost anything, but corporate logos are popular, along with hearts for weddings. His catalog has 500 possibilities. December is busiest. “Everybody wants something special for their Christmas parties.”
Looking forward to: An annual January meeting of top national carvers at Ashland University, where they sculpt three-ton blocks. Rodriguez goes every year.
Quote: “You can do anything in ice, but all the mistakes you can possibly make in ice, I’ve made”
By: Ron Rollins