(In the photo: Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed and Jim Kelly, three of Eric Jones’ idols as a child, enjoying one last moment at Highmark Stadium. Reed and Kelly visited Jones’ work before the game outside the stadium. Photo courtesy the Thomas family)
By JOHN ANDERSON
When Eric Jones was a high school student at Richburg Central School in the early 1990’s, he was a huge fan of the Buffalo Bills, particularly Jim Kelly, Andre Reed and Thurman Thomas.
He was also coming to terms that he wanted to be an artist, and it wasn’t exactly the career path he was told he should go into.
Fast forward to the last Buffalo Bills regular season game at Highmark Stadium. Jones spent 80 hours creating three snow sculptures for fans to enjoy. He was so tired, he slept through the historic game and woke up to dozens of texts, missed Facetime calls and photos of Kelly and Reed at his artwork.
“The way people love Josh Allen is how I was as a fan of Jim Kelly. I was honored that he came to get a photo with it and interact with fans,” Jones said. “A lot of the current players — including Josh — have stopped to get photos with my snow or sand sculptures. But with Jim, it hit different because he was my hero when I was struggling as an artist and questioning my abilities, so it was emotional.”
Jones added, “Andre Reed was the same thing. My three favorite guys during those years were Andre, Jim and Thurman Thomas. I’ve had a chance to interact with them or hear from their family and friends that they enjoy my work.”
Kelly was with his family visiting a huge snow sculpture at the Big Tree Inn before the final game. Putting the sculpture at the Big Tree Inn was an idea from Buffalo Bills’ 2025 Fan of the Year, Therese Forton-Barnes.
As Jim Kelly and his family posed for photos, fans were politely watching. Kelly then said “everyone get in the photo” and a huge crowd took selfies with the NFL Hall of Famer and Bills Wall of Fame legend.
(Swipe to see a slide show from the Big Tree Inn)
When Jones finally had a chance to check his phone after catching up on a week of sleep, he saw the videos of Kelly at his sculpture. He realized the way fans are today with Josh Allen is how he was as a teen.
“I was just thinking about that as I was working in my studio. The Bills, at that time, had all the hype they have now. In high school, Jim Kelly was my Josh Allen. I was struggling with what I wanted to do with my career. I wasn’t fully supported as an artist but I liked art and the Bills,” Jones said. “Fast forward 30 years later and I am doing artwork of the Bills and their sponsors. Yet as a kid, people questioned what I wanted to do.”
Jones is well-known for his snow and sand sculptures and for his ability to transform a pumpkin into incredible artwork. He is a Food Network Champion for his work with pumpkins and food and put together artwork using almost anything, including foam, wood, clothes and basketballs.
“It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do,” Jones said. “My caricature business started in 2005 and went for 20 years, and now I love what I do.”
But he hasn’t forgotten his caricature work. He still sells to people all over the world on his website. They send photos and requests. He does a lot of weddings in person and online. Jones recently did caricatures for free for customers at Giant Food Mart in Wellsville and Cuba and has done major charity events like Shine Gold.
As the Bills prepared to take on the Denver Broncos in a playoff game, M&T Bank posted a funny video of the Bills’ mascot, Billy Buffalo, throwing a snowball at the camera and the caption read “another snowy surprise is coming” and the mascot threw a snowball at the camera. On Saturday, Jones’ “Billeve Together” sculpture was unveiled, complete with the mascot carved in the snow. His second sculpture was also displayed at a Tops in Buffalo.
But nothing was like the week before the last game at Highmark Stadium for the Bills.
“It may have been the most challenging week of my career in terms of my stamina — and I’ve dealt with travel and stress — but in terms of stamina as a sculptor and an artist, it was a long week,” Jones said. “I worked 80 hours in the freezing cold, there were 79 mile per hour wind gusts and I was molding. While making the 12-foot high Bud Light can, I had to stop, I couldn’t have my crew working in those conditions. that. But as soon as the wind died down, we worked right through that stuff.”
How tired was Jones? He touched up the sculpture at the Big Tree on Sunday morning and started driving home. He realized he forgot to check out of his hotel he stayed in all week and left all of his luggage. He drove back to Buffalo and then finally made it home to West Clarksville.
But it was worth it. The line was 25-people deep to see his Bud Light bar, 30 yards to get to the 97 Rock truck near his Kelly and Allen sculpture and 15 videos of people drinking Bud Light near his Bills Store sculpture. The beer was made with actual snow from the stadium and sold in time for the final game.
(A slide show of the Bud Light bar and more!)
The snowman had to try the snow beer.
“I loved the beer. I’ve always liked Bud Light, it’s a very simple, basic light beer, it’s not bitter, no after taste — I’ve never stopped drinking Bud Light,” Jones said. “They gave me a six pack to take home and have it on display. But I liked it and had to have one while I was working! It’s a beer you drink playing corn hole, it’s just a good beer to drink when you are doing things.”
(A look at today’s sculptures)
Today, Jones is once again resting at home but thinks he will be awake through the game. He also said the help he gets and the fans of his work keep him going.
“The popularity of my work is growing, so I have to delegate more. I had some people helping me, but I am so picky about the quality of my stuff. I had a crew helping to shovel and truck snow in and around. I’m fine-tuning this process so I can do this longer. I’m 50 this year, so I can’t shovel snow all day long,” Jones said. “I love that so many people from Allegany and Cattaraugus counties and Western New Yorkers know me, know my work and take time to go see my work. They send me photos, videos, and phone calls. The fact they interacted with my work is as special as the legendary players posing with my work.”
See our past reporting on Eric’s work:
