By Chad Neal
This ski season in Western New York, specifically Ellicottville has been epic compared to the last few winters with the amount of natural snow that’s amassed. And if you’ve been in the village since the start of the snowy season you may have seen some really cool painted snow sculptures. These creations are built by the Guinness Book of World Records artist, Eric Jones. A really cool Grinch head was found in the Town Hall yard in early December and just this past week a sweet “Bobble Head Josh (Allen) on Skis” was found at the corner of Elizabeth and 219 on the Kelly House Lodge yard. Jones has made several Buffalo Bills themed sculptures and the Mafia loves it.
Jones is the most booked caricature artist in upstate New York according to the website ericjonesstudio.com. ‘The Olean, NY native has drawn over 100,000 people at live events and 70,000 more from photos. He has been featured on the Food Network’s “Halloween Wars” as well as “Outrageous Pumpkins”, which he won. Another popular holiday type of base for his creations are pumpkins, which is where his Guinness Record came from for carving the World’s Largest Jack O’Lantern. He’s also the founder of the non-profit Sculpting for Smiles “with the mission of bringing a smile to children who suffer from health issues.”
The Villager caught up with Jones and asked him about his art and history, “I grew up in Richburg, NY. I’m 49 years old and started creating art when I was 3, 4 years old. I always had a passion for it.” He continued, “I went to Alfred University Art School and I was a caricature artist and mural designer for the first ten years of my professional career. Twenty years ago I started and online caricature drawing business, and about ten years ago, I started sculpting professionally. I got a debut on Food Network carving pumpkins. I did well on the show. I competed on three Halloween themed Food Network shows. I’m the Grand Champion of “Outrageous Pumpkin” season 3”, and he reiterated “I’m the World Record holder for the largest Jack O’Lantern ever carved – 2,479 pounds in the Fall of 2023.”
“I started sculpting snow professionally. I do a lot of work for the Bills and I work all over Western New York, well everywhere in the north east really! I’ve worked with a lot of businesses in Ellicottville and I will continue to do that. I have a good reputation here; I hope to continue creating snow sculptures. I work well with the ski resorts; they supply me with snow. I love promoting businesses in town. I love that my sculptures are temporary. It melts, rots or washes away. I tell people that’s kind of the beauty of it. There’s something interesting about art that’s temporary. There’s an urgency to see it and enjoy it. I tell people if you’re looking at a real rose or a synthetic rose, which one is more interesting? The real one because it’s temporary. When something lasts forever, we don’t appreciate the time we have with it.” Jones said.
Using wooden structures for the snow sculptures Jones is able to create dynamic and fun works of art. And like he says they are temporary so many people stopped to get pictures with the locally carved snow designs. He has plans to do more around Ellicottville and locals and visitors alike are excited to see what he does. Jones has a lot of photos on his internet social media pages all of them can be found by typing Eric Jones Studios.