REGINA - Chris Diana is a chef at the Seven Oaks Hotel in Regina, but he also likes to make carvings out of ice and other materials in his free time.
Diana, originally from the Philippines, always had a passion for carving. "I [always] like[d] carving, especially [in the] snow, because I can create something that people actually admire, especially in a festive event [or time], like, you know, Christmas."
In his younger years, Diana competed in carving competitions around the province. Diana was once part of Team Saskatchewan. He competed in a food culinary art show, "which involves ice. [it also] involved chocolate, sugar, salt [and] something to do with edible [food], actually, [it was] edible food and [other] stuff [as well]," said Diana.
According to Diana, the best part of competing in the events was going up against others who were as talented as you were while trying to show off your creativity and work the best you could.
Diana admitted he felt the pressure of trying to come up with ideas for his carvings during his competitions, but he always came up with something creative and appealing.
Because of his work, Diana won many medals and awards throughout the years from competitions.
Despite him no longer competing in competitions, Diana still has a passion for creativity and ice sculptures.
Diana carved out a dragon in front of the Seven Oaks Hotel for everyone to see. He talked about where the idea for a dragon came from.
"I decided to go and... I asked everybody [the workers] what they want[ed] to be carved out there, and then they gave me some suggestions. They [were like] oh, this year, [you can] probably do a dragon."
The meaning behind the dragon is to celebrate the Lunar New Year, which in 2024 was the year of the dragon. The Lunar New Year rotates between 12 different zodiac animals each year. So, the next year of the dragon will be in 2036.
Once Diana had his idea, he talked about the steps he takes to complete the carving. "I'll make a picture first [of the design], and then, you know, put them [the design] in my mind, and I know [how] it's gonna come out, what's gonna come out after that, and that's the way I started it."
Diana mentioned how it makes it easier while carving the ice to have an understanding of how you want the design to turn out.
After Diana knows what he’ll be carving, he collects "the snow and make[s] sure it's clean. He added it’s important to check if the snow is "nice and white, and then that's when you water it down with water, you pack them [the snow and water] up. You [then] put them in the box [and] make sure it's really packed, and then you water it down, and then after that, once you get [it] hard frozen, that's when you get it [ready to use]... you [then] lift them [the blocks of snow with ice] up, and you just have to go and then start carving it."
According to Diana, it takes a couple of days for the snow and water to turn into ice to settle in perfectly. The reason Diana puts in water that freezes is so the ice carvings can last longer outside from rising temperatures or when the sun is beating down on the carving.
He also noted how "the good thing about the snow is, it's not as heavy as the real ice, because, you know, it's the snow, so the real ice is quite heavy, [like] double the weight."
Once the snow is ready, Diana "start[s] carving, then I start, pull them [the snow and ice] up [and] make the base. Then [I] stand up all the ice, and then I just start carving, and then after that, [I] colour it, and then put some lights on."
He uses a chainsaw to carve most of the ice but also has other tools in case Diana needs them. Diana uses diluted food colouring for his carvings rather than paint because it’s not as expensive as regular paint, and because of the sun, the carvings need to be repainted after a few days, so it made more sense for him to use the food colouring.
The total amount of time it took him to complete the carving of the dragon was less than a day.
People who have seen the dragon carving have admired it and keep coming back to see it, said Diana. Seeing people enjoy his work means a lot to Diana.
Speaking of his work, If you asked Diana what carving he’s most proud of, he would tell you, "this dragon totally stands out because it's huge. It's big, you know, and then the one[s] that I do at home."
Diana also likes to create ice carvings in front of his house, which change every winter. One year, Diana created a sort of underwater theme with seahorses and other animals. Another year, Diana created more of a Christmas theme with a Santa Claus carving.
For next year’s designs, Diana plans "to put a box out there and put, you know, suggestions [for] what you [the neighbourhood] want me to do this year, you know, and that's what I'm going to look forward to next year."
Diana is also close to retiring, meaning he will soon have more free time. With that free time, he will focus more on carvings. Diana does not currently have one big carving he’s been itching to work on, but he did say he has a lot of ideas.
If someone is interested in taking up carvings, Diana recommended starting with "probably carving with vegetables or something, you know. If you want to go away from the food, you can start carving like wood or clay or something like that, but maybe I [would] stick to the food part of it because that's where [I felt like] I learn[ed] a lot."
He believes starting out small can help anyone eventually do bigger carvings like the ice ones he does.
