A bronze bust of Dr.Ted Fox was donated to the Coeur d'Alene Public Library on Wednesday. From left, Holly Stetson, manager of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library Foundation; Michael Priest, library director; donor Pepper Smock of Windermere/Coeur d'Alene Realty; and sculpture Bryan Ross.
BILL BULEY/Press

By BILL BULEY
Staff Writer | July 27, 2023 1:06 AM

COEUR d'ALENE — A bronze bust of the late Dr. E.R.W. "Ted" Fox was donated Wednesday to the Coeur d'Alene Public Library.

"I just respected him so much," said sculptor Bryan Ross of Sagle who made the wax representation of the beloved doctor more than a decade ago.

That wax creation sat in Ross' studio for 12 years before it was finally cast in bronze earlier this year, thanks to a $1,500 donation by Don "Pepper" Smock of Coeur d'Alene/Windermere Realty.

"I appreciated Dr. Fox's devotion and commitment to the library," Smock said.

Fox was a treasured and prominent local physician who delivered more than 4,000 babies. He was a board member of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library Foundation, an avid library supporter and campaigned for the facility at its current home, 702 E. Front Ave.

He wrote three books, "Family Doctor: Good Advice for Better Health," "Looking Back to the Future, or how the Pendulum Swings," and "The Joy of Healing: That Amazing Mind-Body miracle," all of which are available at the library.

The made-to-scale bust is about 14 inches high, weighs about 40 pounds and will be displayed in the library.

"This is a great tribute to Dr. Fox's legacy and his contribution to the Library Foundation. The library looks forward to sharing it with the community," said a news release.

Smock served 18 years on the library board and six years on the fundraising committee for the new library. He knew Fox and served with him in a local Rotary Club.

It nearly a year ago when Smock recognized Fox in the wax sculpture displayed during an Art Walk show.

He heard Ross say it was unfinished and asked what it would take. Ross said money and Smock responded with a few words: "OK, I'm in," and later donated $1,500."

He liked the finished product.

"It's a magnificent image of Dr. Fox," Smock said.

Susan Nipp of the library foundation said the bust honors a man who gave much of himself to help the community.

"This is a person we can really honor," she said.

Nipp said the bust could encourage others to see how they can step up.

"It's good mentorship, too," she said.

Ross said Fox was respected, kind, generous and humble — a good man.

"This is a person we can really honor," Nipp said.

Ross said he long wanted to do a bust of Fox, but the doctor declined. But with son John Fox — a spittin' image of his father — sitting for him, reviewing videos and photos of Ted Fox, Ross was finally able to do it.

If anyone deserved such a tribute, it was Fox, Ross said.

"He was a mentor to all of us," Ross added.

Amelia Earhart Sculpture

My father, Kirby Ross, retired Lt Co, USAF, was a P-38 pilot during WWII and later flew jet aircraft. He fought over Bari, Italy and Germany and then served in Japan and Germany retiring in 1965. My love of flying led me to sculpt Gregory, "Pappy" Boyington of the famous "Black Sheep" Marine Corps squadron which fought in the pacific during WWII. "Pappy" was a Medal of Honor and Navy Cross recipient . His 8 foot statue is now at the Coeur d' Alene, ID Airport which was named the "Pappy Boyington Airport " in 2002. His son, Gregory Boyington II, dedicated the statue in 2010 and told me I captured his father's likeness to a "T".

In 2016, I was approached to sculpt Amelia Earhart by a member of the "99's", an international organization of women pilots, which began in 1929. This was made up of the early 99 women pilots which attended the first meeting in Valley Stream, NY. Today, there are some 6100 members all over the world providing scholarships to deserving women pilots around the world. The "99's" logo, Amelia designed, is on her flight suit and the compass on the back of the sculpture.

Ameila Earhart

Bronze is now available. For purchase, please contact Bryan at bryankross007@icloud.com.

For additional pictures, click here.

Honoring the fight and the flight

Ceremony will recognize Boyington, WWII veterans

Statue dedication solidifies Boyington's permanent place in his home area.

The Pappy Boyington Memorial Bronze Statue was dedicated at Pappy
Boyington Field, Hayden, Idaho on Saturday, June 13, 2015.

Here is a portion of my interview with the Coeur d'Alene Press:
"Although Coeur d'Alene sculptor Bryan Ross has never personally flown
a plane, he has spent plenty of time in the cockpit.

"My whole family are pilots except for me because I'm colorblind," Ross
said Thursday. "I would have flown, but I'd rather sculpt or create. I've
flown with my son."

Ross' father was a fighter pilot who flew with the Army Air Corps during
World War II. His son was a pilot for the Idaho Air Guard in Boise and
now flies for Alaska Airlines. His mother is the proud military wife and
grandmother of pilots.

"I'm from a family of fliers," Ross said."

Read the entire article here.

Additional information:'The Power which was Pappy'.

For additional pictures, click here...

Sculptor Bryan K. Ross Blends Technique, Spirit

The Pappy Boyington Memorial Fund Bronze Statue
Pappy Boyington Statue by Bryan Ross

The original idea to sculpt Pappy was born two years ago by myself and Richard LeFrancis after finding out our fathers were both P-38 pilots serving in WWII. We both were raised as dependents in the military and of course attended schools around the world.

Richard in Guam and my family in Birkenfeld, Germany for six years and three years in Misawa, Japan.

We started the sculpture of "Pappy" in Richard's hanger at the Coeur d' Alene-Pappy Boyington Field airport and finally finished the original at my studio in Sagle, Idaho the first week in November, 2009.

We need to raise the funds to have the statue cast in bronze by the first of January, 2010. The original will be cast at the foundry and we expect to have it erected at the airport for a dedication this next summer of 2010. The casting process will take 4 months.

The process at the foundry is very interesting since they make a mold of "Pappy" and then cast it in bronze adding infrastructure to have it mounted on a base.
We plan to have a plaque for donors and on the back of the plaque have the poem an ensign wrote when "Pappy did not return from his last mission thinking he was gone.

Thank you for your help in honoring "Pappy" and hope all of you can make the dedication ceremony next year!
If you would like to donate, www.boyingtonmemorialfund.com.

Bucks For PACE

An Ambitious Public Art Project Raises Funds and Awareness for Upcoming Performing Arts Center

The Act One Guild, the volunteer fund-raising arm of the new Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE), is proud to present the Bucks For PACE public art and fundraising project. Pacific Northwest artists have, after an extensive selection process, tranformed 26 life-size Bucks (male deer) and 40 tabletop Bucks into one-of-a-kind works of art.

Bryan Ross was selected to produce the whitetail buck for the PACE project after he was referred to PACE following his production of the the original moose sculpture for the "No Moose Left Behind" Excel Foundation successful fundraiser in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The moose are still on display all over Coeur d'Alene to this day. He works closely with "Cowpainters" in Chicago on other projects when wildlife sculptures are requested. The Bucks are prominently displayed throughout Bellevue in the summer/autumn of 2006.
To learn more about the project....

To get a closer look, click on picture.

If you would like to receive a bid for your own favorite project and your own animal please call for an estimate (208)263-0077.

Bryan K. Ross is a premier sculptor and animal lover. Bryan was touched when he heard about Auditor's passing last November, and thought his art, he created a tabletop bronze in the Auditor's image.

As with his other sculptures, Bryan's Auditor was the result of much intricate research and study. In Bryan's words, "I study anatomy relentlessly to give my work integrity, truth and beauty." In addition to borrowed books describing details including a white puli named "Jabot" who is owned by Frank Washburn, a breeder in nearby Hope, Idaho.

Auditor by Bryan K. Ross Auditor

The pup, as shown above, is a beautiful and accurate representative of the distinctive coat and anatomy, and the facial expression undoubtedly reflects the young Auditor's happy disposition!

Auditor can now be seen at the Broadway Cafe in Butte, Montana.

Dr. Vince Crichton, Certified Wildlife biologist Manitoba, Canada, known for his experience with wildlife issues in North America. Dr. Crichton was kind to advise Bryan on unique aspects of the Bull Moose for his sculpture for the "No Moose Left Behind" public art project for the Excel Foundation in Coeur d' Alene, Idaho . This photo was taken at the North American Moose convention in Sun Valley,Idaho in December, 2004.

Sculptor Bryan K. Ross Blends Technique, Spirit

Artist Bryan K. Ross of Sagle, Idaho puts a lot of study and research into his figures before he sculpts them. Before sculpting the original cast of the moose for the Excel Foundation's "No Moose Left Behind" project he read five or six books about moose, sketched a live moose at the Calgary Zoo in British Columbia and completed several practice sculptures before creating his "first" bronze moose, the one accepted by the Excel Foundation.

Bryan Ross receives sculpture commission for new library.

Bryan received a commission for a bust of the late Dr. Ted Fox, physician ... community activist ... author ... and a man who devoted his life to the service of others. The bust will be displayed in the lobby of the new Coeur d' Alene Public Library in Downtown Coeur d' Alene.

Bronze moose sculpture model used to develop fiberglass moose for the EXCEL project.

"Knowing anatomy and muscle structure is very important," Ross says. "The proportions are important, but you must have an artist's feeling in the piece for it to be true art. Art comes from the heart and soul. Once you get the proportions correct, you can really let yourself go."

And that's what Ross did on the moose he designed for the "No Moose Left Behind Project". His training as an artist has come through "hands-on, on-the-job training." He has a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and German from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. and pursued a career in finance, but has wanted to sculpt since he made sculptures out of ice and snow in the schoolyard. Sculpting remained a dream until the mid-1990s when he was inspired by North Idaho artist George Carlson who sculpted draft horses. Ross and his wife Kaye own and train draft horses.

"Monarch Moose"

Carlson invited Ross to his studio in Harrison, Idaho and told him that if he wanted to sculpt, he had to learn to draw. Ross took classes in drawing and a year later attended a sculpting workshop in Ojai, Calif. "From then on, that was what I wanted to do," he says. Since then, Ross has sculpted many figures. He likes sculpting people, both male and female, and African and North American animals. He continues to study art, teaching a weekly sculpture workshop at artist Terry Lee's studio in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

Ross works in bronze because it allows him to blend technique with spirit. "I try to blend technique-knowledge of measurement and proportion with the soul and spirit of the animal." The result is a perfectly proportioned figure with an artist's feeling for the essence of the animal. Ross' work is available through Reflections Gallery in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

News

Amelia Earhart Sculpture

Honoring the fight and the flight

Statue dedication solidifies Boyington's permanent place in his home area.

Sculptor Bryan K. Ross Blends Technique, Spirit