ELY – After a decade of trial and error, a Louisiana transplant to this community continues to embrace the purely northern tradition of sculpting snow into art. Cade Thibodeaux, known as Mr. T to many students here, is often asked, “Why, just why?”
In the midst of the Ely Winter Festival this week, Thibodeaux answered that question and many more at a Tuesday Group gathering. He didn’t bring a block of snow into the Grand Ely Lodge conference room, but he brought some of his snow sculpting tools and, above all, his infectious enthusiasm for not only winter, but winter in Ely.
He is a full-time resident of this community at the end of the road, moving from Fort Collins, Colo. in 2012. The Louisiana native moved to Ely with his wife and daughter when his wife, Leslie, accepted the position of director of programs at Northern Tier High Adventure Base.
Many around Ely know him as “Mr. T,” the name he is called while substitute teaching in the Ely School District, or leading the local Cub Scout Pack.
He was born in Baton Rouge in 1974. Thibodeaux attended a magnet arts high school and graduated from college with a Bachelor’s degree in Arts despite always claiming and desiring to be an electrical engineer.
He was introduced to the Ely Winter Festival Snow Sculpting Symposium about a decade ago when the family visited the community just prior to moving here.
“Leslie moved out here ahead of time and we came to visit right at the time the Winter Festival was going on,” he said. “That looked like a cool thing to do.”
He said that his Louisiana roots, with Mardi Gras celebrations, jazz fests, crawfish boils, and a real community spirit, fit right in with what he experienced in Ely at his first Winter Festival.
“We were complete strangers coming into town and we were welcomed,” he said. “That was something I wanted to be part of.”
Their first snow sculpturing attempt, which included their daughter Tracy, three years old at the time, involved the smaller amateur or community snow blocks hosted by the Northern Lakes Arts Association.
“I was able to go out in the park and carve snow with Tracy,” Thibodeaux said. “That first weekend, all of a sudden, all these people showed up, walked around and talked to us. There was that same feeling I had growing up down in Louisiana.”
His snow sculpturing efforts improved over time, but not without many trials and errors.
“I’m still not a pro. There are artists in town that are way better than me.” He noted Chris Koivisto’s “Fishing Gear” work with all the intricate detail, and the German artist who created the geometric art.
“There are so many techniques and skills in snow sculpturing that I don’t have,” Thibodeaux added. He questioned if he was the right person to be an ambassador of the Snow Sculpting Symposium. “But maybe I can be. I love to talk. I love to teach as well.”
He talked about some of the simple tools he likes to use, like a cross cut saw, hand saw, dry wall saw, and putty knives.
“Anything with a nice sharp tooth on it will cut through snow like butter,” he said. “That snow they pack into the forms is solid and hard.”
The type of sculpting done at the Ely Winter Festival is subtractive sculpture.
“You have to see it in there. You have to look at that block and think there is something in there, and the work is removing everything that it is not,” Thibodeaux said.
He noted that the “real” work is moving all the snow out of the way that was removed from the block.
This year Thibodeaux and his daughter created a moon with a crystal bloom coming out of it and a sun face to it.
“My daughter is my partner. She’s my muse. She gives me my ideas. Tracy wanted crystals. She said you need the air and water to cleanse the crystals. That’s the snow. She also said you need the sun and the moon to recharge the crystals. They help bring balance and order to your life. Wow. We need a lot of that right now,” he said.
It took about 20 hours to complete. He said his carving partner was noticeably absent this year from the project. “The number one job of carving is scooping snow. A 13-year-old will sour on scooping snow very fast. I told her I’m going to have to see a little more output from her next year if she wants to stay on the team.”
Thibodeaux carved the smaller blocks from 2013 to 2018 and moved to the big blocks in 2019. Since then, he has continued to work on a smaller block carving project to continue supporting NLAA.
“I also work with our Cub Scouts here in town to carve a block of snow over at Carefree Living to take the Winter Festival across town and not just in Whiteside Park,” he said.
“My snow carving would never have happened if it weren’t for the Winter Festival and NLAA,” he said. “The carving symposium has always been very welcoming to me. Ely and some of the things going on around here have really led to my advancement as an artist. Big kudos to the town in what you are and who you are.”