Jeremy Russell is a tremendous local sculptor from New Castle who has been carving a beautiful bald eagle sculpture out of white alabaster in a small mine on the side of Mt. Sopris for over six years.
He’s had the vision of creating the eagle since shortly after a July 1996 accident that took his right leg, and nearly his life. Russell said he knew that after surviving he was meant to do something special. The artist took up sculpting and met the owner of the mind after using some of his alabaster to create a piece.
When Russell toured the mine he came up with the idea of the eagle. He started working on it in 2002 and formed the nonprofit Cost of Freedom Eagle Organization. His goal is to complete the eagle, have it declared a national memorial and start displaying it in 2006.
The plan has the support of some veterans’ groups, as well as various businesses and individuals in the Roaring Fork and Crystal valleys. The nonprofit is collecting funds for three causes – completing the Freedom Eagle, buying replacement limbs for wounded veterans and enhancing arts for high school students through programs and scholarships.
