Marie Hetzel, a Sheboygan artist, has chosen to decorate her front yard near Lake Michigan with two concrete cow statues instead of the traditional lion statues commonly seen in residential areas. The year-long project represents her first venture into sculpting and casting, driven by her desire to create something that would make people smile as they walk by.
"I want to create things myself, and in this instance, the point of the whole thing is, I want people to walk by and just smile," Hetzel explained about her unique cow statues. While she has always noticed lion statues adorning front lawns and driveways as symbols of prosperity or decorative elements with their regal European aesthetic, Hetzel felt that cows would be more appropriate for Wisconsin, known as America's Dairyland.
Hetzel embarked on the challenging project despite having no prior experience in three-dimensional art. With a fine arts degree and extensive experience in two-dimensional mediums, she found sculpting and casting to be "a whole new ball game." She conducted extensive research through YouTube videos, consulted with Quasius Construction, and drew inspiration from cow statues throughout the county, including those at Christopher Farm and Gardens, Old World Creamery, and downtown Plymouth.
The technical aspects of the project required considerable research and experimentation. Hetzel discovered that unlike lion statues, which typically sit on their haunches in a dignified manner, cows sit "undignified, with their back legs underneath them." Her initial attempt at carving a sitting cow from Styrofoam "was a mess" and had to be discarded. She ultimately switched to depicting cows lying down, which allowed the project to proceed more smoothly.
The creation process was labor-intensive and required innovative solutions using repurposed materials. Hetzel started by creating a clay model using pink insulation foam as a core to reduce weight and cost, then warming clay in a makeshift oven constructed from a cardboard box lined with pink insulation foam, aluminum foil, and a reptile tank light. She applied 28 layers of liquid latex rubber over the course of a month, waiting a full day for each layer to dry, and used cut-up playing cards to create seams around the head.
The project transformed Hetzel's home into what her son Simon Ulrich described as "a cow development factory." Ulrich recalled coming home one day to find "the latex mold drip drying in our shower," which was quite a shock. Both Ulrich and friend Tammie Butzen provided essential assistance throughout the project, helping with problem-solving, cement mixing, heavy lifting, and creating specialized equipment.
One of the most challenging aspects involved building a motorized vibration table to eliminate air bubbles when pouring concrete. Hetzel and Butzen constructed this using an old tire underneath a tabletop, which created the smell of burning rubber and steel belts. "Never in my life have I ever had to drill a hole in the side of a tire," Butzen remarked about the mental and physical effort required for this unconventional construction project.
The casting process required careful planning and additional custom equipment. Hetzel built a cradle from repurposed shipping containers obtained from Butzen's workplace to hold the molds during concrete pouring. She anticipated each concrete-filled mold would weigh approximately 200 pounds. After the concrete dried, two neighbors helped tip the heavy cradle 90 degrees onto a transfer table and then onto decorative plinths that Hetzel had also created, complete with trim and "MOO" inscribed alongside "2025" in Roman numerals.
Throughout the intensive process, Hetzel compared her experience to Richard Dreyfuss's character in Steven Spielberg's 1977 film "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," who becomes obsessed with recreating a vision of Devil's Tower in Wyoming. "I kind of felt that way doing these cows because I was just constantly either in the garage or out here trying to get this done," she said, gesturing toward her front yard.
Despite the challenges and complexity of the project, Hetzel never considered outsourcing any portion of the work. Her commitment to personal craftsmanship reflects her broader artistic philosophy and her desire to bring joy to her community through her creative expression. The finished statues now stand as testament to her dedication, technical innovation, and artistic vision, offering passersby a uniquely Wisconsin alternative to traditional decorative lawn statuary.
