Mt. Airy ex-chef now  an 'extremely cool Olympian'

by KARA DADDARIO

"Your job is extremely cool," was my reaction to Mt. Airy resident Peter Slavin. "Yeah, literally," he responded with amusement . Slavin, apart from being a talented artist in various mediums, has concentrated much of his recent artistic endeavors into professional ice sculpting. Best known through his business Fear No Ice, Slavin, 40, has morphed culinary art into a theatrical performance.

"I started out as a chef, which I did while I attended Parsons Art School in Manhattan where I majored in fine art and sculpturing. That was where I had my first introduction to ice sculpting," explained Slavin. Prior to launching Fear No Ice with friends Kevin Roscoe of Seattle and Scott Rella of Vail, Colorado,  Slavin owned the restaurant Mélange in Philadelphia where he did some minor ice sculpting for the restaurant. Mélange, located in the Warwick Hotel, was eventually sold once Fear No Ice took off.

Slavin's idea for theatrical ice sculpting was catalyzed by an act of fate. According to Slavin, "The whole magic happened when we had to sculpt an eight-foot martini glass for a client. The client called us the day of the event asking where we were because it was 5 o'clock, and people were arriving at his event. We said we thought we were supposed to be there at 7. Needless to say,  the party was going on and people were getting there, so we ran in and caused this big scene. People were watching us sculpt while they were drinking their martinis, and they seemed to be enjoying it." Slavin decided to push the "event" of ice sculpting to the next level ­ theater-style entertainment.

Fear No Ice grew into an internationally based company. "We started in New York but were traveling in the air so much that we realized we didn't really need a home base; so we each just decided to set up a base where we wanted to live," said Slavin. The company is based out of New York, Washington, Colorado, Philadelphia and Belgium. Slavin decided to work out of Philadelphia since his family is located here, yet his numerous cameos have him traveling around the globe.

"There are really two companies," describes Slavin. "Twenty percent  of this company is setting up and putting things on ice for parties. We have a machine in our warehouse called a cline bell that makes 300 pounds of crystal clear  ice in three days that we sculpt for various companies and events. The other 80 percent  of our time is concentrated on performance. We've been to 18 different countries and usually perform for 1,000-5,000 people at corporate functions."

After taking the company to a warehouse in New York, Slavin and co-workers Kevin Roscoe and Scott Rella began to compete in the Winter Olympics. "The Olympics have a cultural Olympics that is based on art. Ice sculpting is one of the major events. Basically the judging criteria are very strict and include design, composition, artistic impression and execution. The whole thing is very time-consuming and involved.  Imagine a ton of ice and 36 hours of sculpting - you work non-stop. It takes you a week to recover," said Slavin. Fear No Ice has competed three times in the Olympics and took fifth out of 33 teams in the 2002 Salt Lake  City Winter Olympics.

Even with their impressive performance as Olympians, the group has attracted their clientele base by much different means. Through a series of promotional and performance events ,Fear No Ice has wound up working for celebrities and major  corporations,  even "opening" for such artists as the Blue Man Group and Ricky Martin. They have appeared in magazines,  designed backdrops for fashion shows and product advertisements for  corporate giants like Evian and Disney. Their own performances , which Slavin describes as "three icon figures who choreograph the sculpting of a ton of ice to music," have given the group their own celebrity status.

When Slavin is not wandering the globe from event to event, he is at his Mt. Airy residence. "When I'm home, I try to focus on my permanent art collections. I like to do my artwork and unwind. Fine art is what I majored in, and its what I would like to do full time when I'm done touring with ice sculpturing. " Slavin's home, which looks like a gallery, is filled with an array of his own beautiful paintings that are equally as impressive as his ice sculptures. Demonstrating his latest projects in his studio, he explained, "There are a lot of CEOs I work with who like my art, but ice still follows me around - even when I'm home." For this reason Slavin opened a smaller ice workshop at his home to accommodate a local clientele.

To learn more about Fear No Ice or Peter Slavin's collection of art, visit www.FearNoIce.com or call 215-715-7237.