Eric Jones ’97 creates snow sculpture honoring Bills’ players
Eric Jones ’97 used his art as an expression of empathy toward Buffalo Bills’ placekicker Tyler Bass, whose late missed field goal sealed the Bills’ fate in a 27-24 loss to the Kansas City Chief in a January 22 playoff game in Buffalo.
After Bass’s 44-yard attempt sailed wide right and the Chiefs ran out the clock to advance to the AFC Championship game, Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen was seen supporting the kicker as the teams left the field.
In the days following the game, the Bills fan group, “Bills Mafia,” donated to the Ten Lives Club, a charity Bass supports which over the years has saved the lives of tens of thousands of cats.
The photo of Allen consoling Bass, taken by Buffalo News photographer Joshua Bessex, served as an inspiration for Jones, an accomplished sculptor who works in media ranging from wood and pumpkins to snow and sand. Jones traveled to the Buffalo suburb of Blasdell and, outside the Ten Lives Club facility, made an eight-foot-tall snow sculpture of Allen consoling Bass.
Jones earned a B.F.A. from Alfred University in 1997. A resident of West Clarksville, NY, in Allegany County, he is founder and co-owner of Give A Caricature LLC, where artists create caricatures from photos provided by customers. In 2022, he won Season 3 of the Food Network’s “Outrageous Pumpkins” carving competition.