Beth Bays, a woman from Huddleston, Virginia, has created an incredible 15-foot tall hay bale sculpture of legendary country singer Willie Nelson, which she has dubbed “Will-Hay Nelson.” For the past eight years, Bays has been building sculptures like this, which began when her community held a hay bale decorating competition.
After being asked to enter, she began making hay sculptures and has continued ever since, creating an elephant, a cow, various Christmas characters, and even characters from “The Wizard of Oz.”
While the competition ended a few years ago, Bays continues to make her hay bale sculptures with the help of her friends and a John Deere tractor to stack the bales. The arms and nose of Will-Hay Nelson were made of chicken wire, while the guitar was crafted from a large piece of styrofoam that Bays had in her barn. Creating the sculpture’s intricate details and deciding on the sculpture to build each year is the hard part, according to Bays.
When it comes to “Will-Hay Nelson” though she says, “This one seems to be everyone’s favorite by far. My cousin joked that I might have to quit now because I’ll never be able to top this,” she told Richmond.com.
Will-Hay Nelson has become a popular attraction in Huddleston, with people from all over the town coming to take photos of it. Even passing cars honk their horns in appreciation, and some leave thank you notes pinned to the hay bale. Beth and her friends even created a humorous music video featuring Will-Hay Nelson that is sure to make anyone smile. Watch the video below: