Wichita ? Bart Ewonus, a sculptor who worked with jagged steel and rock, died Wednesday after a brief illness. He was 43.

Family and friends remember Ewonus as rough, bold, fearless and independent.

Ewonus’ works in Wichita include the railing for the Mount Vernon Road bridge, an airplane-adorned bike bridge near Cessna Park, and a large piece in the atrium of the Key Construction building.

Ewonus, always something of a rebel, sang with some of Wichita’s first punk bands in the 1970s.

“One thing about him, he was fearless. There wasn’t anybody or anything he wasn’t afraid to face up to or to try,” said Henry Nelson, a longtime friend of Ewonus’.

“That got him into a lot of trouble, but sometimes it yielded some great things, too. A lot of the music in Wichita wouldn’t have happened without that fearlessness.”

Ewonus is survived by his wife, Jill Landreth, and three brothers: Kim, of Albany, N.Y.; Rick, of Bryan, Ohio; and Kent, of Wichita.

Services are scheduled for 10 a.m. today in Wichita.