As with the Pink Ladies outdoors, Benglis created the rosette-like surfaces of the three totems comprised in Black Ice by squirting polyurethane out of a pressurized dispenser. This technique is a departure from her usual method of pouring the polyurethane from a can or jar to achieve a smooth, overall surface. Benglis associates the intricate, randomized pattern the foam has formed on the surface of this work with the tiny mounds of sand that crawfish dig up when they burrow into wet sand.