Ice, an annoyance for most during the long Alaskan winters, has become the muse for Anchorage artist Speareo Stephens. Stephens first stumbled upon ice sculpting when he arrived in Alaska and has been carving away ever since. As a former construction worker he is used to using heavy-duty tools like chainsaws.
Now, with his collection of carving instruments, you can find him working on his latest pieces at his Midtown, outdoor studio. Whether his medium is ice, wood or snow, sculpting allows him to bring the beauty out of their physical attributes.
Kaysie Ellingson got her start as a video producer while attending the University of Southern California for her Master’s Degree in journalism. What started out as a pursuit to become an international reporter for papers became a desire to produce documentaries.While at USC she took on many video projects ranging from various freelancing gigs to starting a web series, ClefCity, where viewers could catch interviews with popular (not mainstream) musicians. But it was her work at IMPACT, the university’s video newsmagazine, that had the heaviest hand in propelling her into video production. She graduated in May 2014 and having never been to Alaska, moved up in the winter of 2015 to work at Alaska Public Media as a video producer.One random bit of information is that prior to graduate school Ellingson worked as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English in Kazakhstan. Some of her fondest memories involve drinking fermented horse milk, testing out how many people can actually fit into a car and of course entertaining her students with her horrible Kazakh speaking skills. She hopes to return someday soon. In the meantime she is enjoying the similar climate of Alaska.Kellingson (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8419 | About Kaysie
