Okamoto Studio: New York City Ice Sculpture


		Takeo is the master carver for Okamoto Studio. His obsession with ice sculpting began more than twenty years ago on a starry night in Anchorage, Alaska, when he and Shintaro hand-sawed a block of ice from a frozen lake into the shape of a swan. Since then, Takeo has perfected a unique technique that is studied by master carvers around the world, and has spread his passion for ice sculpture across three continents. Takeo has led numerous workshops and judged international competitions in the U.S., Japan, and Europe. His awards include a Silver Medal in the Olympics and multiple first place awards in the U.S. International Ice Carving Competition and the European Ice Carving Champsionship held in Naples, Italy. Takeo comes from a long lineage of committed artisans and craftsmen, and expresses this inheritance not only in ice sculpting, but also in Japanese interior and garden design, and in crafting hand-built furniture.


	Shintaro oversees the vision of quality for Okamoto Studio. Shintaro has partnered with Takeo for the past twenty years in addition to building an independent career as a committed artist. A graduate of Brown University with a B.A. in Visual Arts, Shintaro was a White House Presidential Scholar in the Arts and continues to show his work in galleries and museums throughout the U.S. and Japan. He has lived, worked, and painted widely, from isolated islands in remote Alaska and the South Pacific to Brussels, Belgium. While designing and sculpting for Okamoto Studio, Shintaro is concurrently completing his M.F.A. at Hunter College in New York City.