Kendyl Is Carving her way through Freshman Year!

“I always thought that it was a cool thing that you’re just able to take a block of ice and turn it into a work of art”, are the words of Kendyl Diederich as she speaks about why she loves ice sculpting. 

Kendyl is a freshman here at Aurora High School who has been carving ice into beautiful sculptures since she can remember. When Kendyl was asked what inspired her to start her ice sculpting journey she stated: “I started because of my dad. It was always what he was doing, and I just followed him around”. Diederich goes on to talk about her dad, revealing that he is the Vice President of Elegant Ice Creations, and was a Champion at an NICA (National Ice Carvers Association) event in 2009. Kendyl went on to explain that she and her father have participated in multiple competitions together. These competitions were hosted in various areas around the world such as Alaska, Canada, and Michigan. Each contestant would get a block of ice and a set period of time to carve their creations. After that period was up, judges would go around and rate the ice pieces. Winners would either get metals or ribbons. 

When Kendyl was younger she had even gotten the opportunity herself to judge ice sculptures made by various participants at these events. Before COVID-19 Kendyl and her dad attended a lot more competitions but after the outbreaks all over the world their presence at these events may have slowed down but their passion for carving numerous ice sculptures did not. 

Kendyl grew up around ice sculpting reciting that, “I know a bunch of the pros, one of the best ice carvers in the world, they’re like the best well-known is my dads boss and I grew up around him”. Now that Kendly is older she will be taking more control of the ice sculpting, just in time for more Demos and events in the upcoming months! 

Written by: Charlotte Varkala