For my upcycle project I want to make a statue in the aesthetic of Old Western. I want to make this statue with empty aluminum cans and possibly some wire for some framework and a lasso. This interested me because I have seen some sheet metal candle holder statues recently. However, all these decorations were themed for fall or winter and including fall leaves or snowflakes. While these are awesome decorations for these seasons I wanted to make something that I can put up in the months of the year that rarely sees seasonal decorations. I want to make a statue that could be displayed during the summer months. The Old Western aesthetic reminds me of a hot summer day that has just started to cool down for the night. This, I feel, is a great aesthetic for a home decoration.

 

Shadow Rider by Glenn Dean

The art and photos that remind me of the Old Western aesthetic are taken of saloons or cowboys. Rarely are these scenes of action as I see this aesthetic as best displaying atmosphere and style. Dust, horses, chaps, and cowboy hats describe this aesthetic for me. With the heat of the summer time no longer being the fundamental set piece, but rather the figure after the hot day.

 

Cowboy Mountain Sunset by Peoples Designs

Cowboy statues are not a novel idea and so examples can be seen all over the internet. Looking through others’ examples online with my project I hope to recreate the cowboy hat, a vest, chaps, a belt, a lasso, and possibly boots. Many people also include a holster with a gun either in hand, in the holster, or both. If I believe this is in scope I would love to include this too.

 

          

Miners Ranch Cowboy by rusty_ranch     Scrap Iron Outlaw, Marlow, Oklahoma    Metal Cowboy by newvictorian

I do not want my statue to exceed about 10″ in height, as both convenience and scope are a big consideration with this project. So I do not expect to use a huge quantity of aluminum cans. However, aluminum cans are a recyclable resource that I can acquire large quantities of in weekend or two, and I do not feel that I will need to fear a lack of materials with this project. This aesthetic has a lot of browns and rustic colors, and given the time I would like to include this in my project as well using paint. Though I do not feel this is essential to meet the aesthetic. With this project I am excited to explore a new aesthetic and create an exciting decoration for my home.

Works Cited

Cowboy Mountain Sunset. Michelle the Painter. (n.d.). https://berkshirepaintandsip.squarespace.com/people-designs/angel-above-j5yfb-hmsph-34kz2-rgdx5-ebzhj

Cowboy with Lasso Metal Yard art sculpture. Direct From Mexico. (n.d.). https://www.directfrommexico.com/western-cowboy-lassso-metal-sculpture.html

Dean, G. (n.d.). Shadow rider. www.landscapesofthewest.com. https://www.landscapesofthewest.com/workszoom/5482648/shadow-rider#/

Harper, F. Z. (2025, January 30). Metal cowboy. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/almostfamous/2223486536/

Janelle. (2023, April 6). Marlow, OK – scrap iron outlaw. RoadsideAmerica.com. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/49373

rusty_ranch. (2024, December 2). Rusty Ranch on Instagram: “miners ranch cowboy sculpture.” Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/rusty_ranch/p/DDGLB47BIAG/?img_index=2

 

3 Comments. Leave new

  • Hi Alex, I love your idea to make a cowboy statue scrap metal. This will be super fun and I’m excited to see the final outcome. Do you plan on only using aluminum cans to create this statue or will you use any other scrap metals? Also, how do you plan on connecting these cans together?

  • Isaiah Straubel
    February 2, 2025 12:20 pm

    This is a great idea for repurposed metal art. My question would be, does the metal make more of a western aesthetic or is it almost more of a western style art piece with a steampunk aesthetic? Regardless, exited to see the final outcome.

    • This is a good point, almost every example in this post has a steampunk aesthetic with its use of scrap metal. I want to think further about how my design might fit multiple aesthetics, however, I do not intend to lean into specifically steampunk with this project. I will be using scrap but I will not be intending to add gears or pistons or anything else that I feel I would include if I was going for the steampunk aesthetic. I think that if I do paint it there might be a sign of a rustic aesthetic.

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