Clayton and Connor Heggem win Uptown Ice Sculpting Contest, carve sculptures for Anaconda Festival of Winter Moon
Taking a block of solid ice that weighs more than 100 pounds and turning it into a work of art in a mere six hours, using only hand tools, probably sounds like a daunting task for most people, but for Business and Information Technology seniors Clayton and Connor Heggem, the process is incredibly fun and worthwhile. Their entry of a mountain goat took home the top prize in the Uptown Butte Ice Carving Contest in December 2023. They then entered an adult penguin with its chick in the Anaconda Festival of the Winter Moon in late January, and carved an extra trout for the festival for fun.
The identical twin brothers, raised in Butte, have participated in the Uptown Butte Ice Carving Contest every year since they were in middle school. The contest holds a youth category and Corey Gransbery was an excellent ambassador. They tried it once and kept learning.
“We’ve always been interested in art,” Connor said. “I used to draw a lot as a kid. We tried drawing and painting. As we got older, we tried other things like sculpting.”
In 2019, the pair won scholarships from Sargent Art, one of the most significant art supply companies in the nation, for their entry of sculpted trout and walleye into the Montana Youth Art Month State Capitol Show.
Clayton credits part of their continued participation in artistic endeavors with opportunities provided by the local school system.
“It was nice because Butte High had a great art program,” Clayton remembers.
Photographs of ice sculptures over the years show a clear progression of skills from beginner-level to highly refined, professional-class works of art. The pair did their first fish in eighth grade and repeated it during college. The difference was huge.
“We definitely have improved,” Clayton said. “You start with more basic designs and work your way into more complex things.”
“We like to stick to a wildlife theme,” Connor notes. “We think about what we will do and what would look good in ice. We’ll design it the night before and get it together so we both know what we are doing. When you are working, you have six hours. Since it’s one big piece, you have to work on it simultaneously. It helps to have a partner.”
Past creations have been fish, a pheasant, and a mountain goat. They try not to repeat a subject, if they can help it.
The medium of ice is different from other materials the brothers have tried.
“Ice is different from wood,” Connor said. “When you start working with it, it seems fragile, but once you get the hang of it, you realize you can do a lot more with it.”
Connor and Clayton aren’t the only Orediggers who participated in the contest. Their younger brother, Ethan Heggem, a freshman engineering student, also participates in community ice sculpting contests. This year Ethan’s design consisted of a western floral design with mountains.
Though they’ll be leaving Ethan and the rest of their Montana Tech classmates at the end of the year to join the post-graduate job market, they intend to stay close to Butte, and hope to continue participating in local ice sculpting contests for years.