PHOTO ESSAY: Ice carving at Dartmouth Ice Festival

Richard Chiasson first stumbled upon ice carving when he was a chef and his boss asked him to carve a sculpture for a New Year’s Eve event.

“I never carved ice in my life. He says, ‘Go outside and don’t come back until it’s done,’ ” said Chiasson on Friday to a crowd of 14 at Dartmouth’s Alderney Landing.

Chiasson, now a world renowned ice carver, of Ice Creation Glace, was speaking at a workshop on Jan. 27. It’s the first event to open the annual Downtown Dartmouth Ice Festival, held over the weekend.

Before starting on the sculpture, he explained the process of making crystal clear ice for artistic carving, which involves using filtered water that’s gone through reverse osmosis.

“Impurities don’t freeze in water,” said Chiasson. “If you understand the ice, if you know its qualities, its faults, you’re all set.”

Each block of ice takes up to five days to freeze. Because water expands as it freezes, it can crack once it gets too big for a mold. Chiasson uses plates with springs to ensure his ice blocks stay intact. The ice blocks he makes are 20 inches wide by 10 inches thick and 40 inches tall.

According to Chiasson, most ice carvings displayed indoors last six to eight hours.