‘I typically see things that I want to turn into other things':

PALMER — Ice and snow sculpture, Cory Livingood recently participated in a question and answer interview to discuss his craft and his mission to break a world record.

Q: How long have you been making ice mazes?“This is the first year. I just started this company last summer and this is the first maze I’ve built. I’ve built other ice structures in the past. I’ve traveled around for six winters building large ice structures. I’ve done a lot of snow sculpting and stuff like that too.”

Q: Do you live in Alaska?“I’ve been up here off and on for about 12 years. I’ve had seasonal jobs. I was a backcountry guide for 13 years doing mostly whitewater rafting and stuff like that, and then some climbing and ziplining tours. I worked all over… I just like the seasonal lifestyle I just like doing something in the winter and something else in the summer.”

Q: Was it a fun process for you?“Yeah, it’s been a challenging year. It was definitely cold to start, way colder than normal, and that wind storm really hit us hard. This was all snow drifted through here… I’ve done six large things in the past like this. This was definitely, definitely the hardest. I normally have a handful of employees but I did this by myself… I just measured out the area and I drew something up that would fit and just created the paths and whatnot, just what I thought would be entertaining for people to walk through and would get people lost but not scared that they’re going to be in there forever.”

Q: Would you say that you like the challenge of projects like this?“I’m very proud of myself for being able to get it open. It was not easy… I definitely like a challenge. It was a trying experience for sure.”

Q: What lessons did you learn from all this?“Follow my instincts on stuff.”

Q: Why do you think people like to make mazes or go through them?“It’s just a challenge. Some people love puzzles. Everybody has their thing that they just enjoy doing. Just trying to solve something is fun. Building a thing is a challenge. Solving it is a challenge. It’s a giant art piece too. So, even if you’re not into it for that reason, if a maze isn’t your thing, it’s still really pretty to look at the ice and backlighting… I like the idea of people being lost in there, trying to find their way out. I’m glad I finally did it… I’ve built this thing plenty of times in my head.”

Q: Do you enjoy doing creative things?“Yeah, as far as art and stuff, ever since I was a little kid, I liked drawing and I liked making stuff. I typically see things that I want to turn into other things.”

Q: So, you’re trying to break the world record with this maze?“Yep, the world’s largest ice maze.”

Q: If that ends up coming to fruition how are you going to feel about that?“That was the main purpose of doing it, really.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersmna.com