Dinosaur Ice Sculptures Roar Into Bryant Park

By Samantha Neudorf January 12, 2016

Frozen dinosaurs took over the Grace Plaza earlier this week in an ice exhibit called Grace-ful Ice: Dinosaurs.

Ice Etches
The artist etches out an outline of the T-rex head.

The fifth annual free exhibit was part of Arts Brookfield’s holiday events. People gathered on December 14-15 in front of the Grace Plaza near Bryant Park to watch ice carvers from Okamoto Studio, a New York City-based artist collective, create dinosaurs from blocks of ice.

He uses a chainsaw to shave away the excess ice.

Using chainsaws and chisels, the artists sculpted dinosaurs at different times of the day. At one point, someone from Okamoto Studio was carving out the skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex’s head.

The ice mold now resembles a T-rex bust, but now needs to be detailed.

This year’s winter has been exceptionally warm, so as he was chiseling through the block of ice in 60-degree weather at noontime, it started to melt a bit. The ice creations from the night before melted as well, unfortunately. “It’s the perfect day to sculpt ice, right?” he joked with the crowd of bystanders.

The T-rex receives a face lift.

In about an hour, the artist was able to create the bust of a T-rex. The most tedious part was chiseling the dinosaur’s rows of pointed teeth in order to make them look realistic and threatening.

Now, the dinosaur receives dental work to ensure that his teeth are sharp enough!

The ice carver also shared with his audience that they use agitated water to get the air out, which is why the creations look crystal clear.

The ice sculptor smooths out the harsh edges.

Arts Brookfield, a global art initiative, is hosting other holiday events, such as a light display called Luminaries, an ice skating rink, and the Museum of Feelings—all of which can be found at Brookfield Place in Battery Park City.