{"id":95727,"date":"2025-07-27T03:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T03:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/95727\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T03:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T03:32:12","slug":"artists-team-up-to-build-new-foundry-in-meeteetse-after-cody-foundry-burned-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/95727\/","title":{"rendered":"Artists Team Up To Build New Foundry In Meeteetse After Cody Foundry Burned Down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bronze sculpture artist Vic Payne, 65, lost nearly $8 million and eight years of work when the Caleco Bronze Foundry in Cody\u00a0burned down in May 2024<\/a>. More than a year later, he wants to turn his loss into an opportunity for Meeteetse.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Payne is working with Justin and Tiffani Gerlach to establish a new bronze foundry near the town of Meeteetse, Wyoming. The team hopes to have the new foundry up and running by next spring.<\/p>\n

It will start small, but Payne believes the possibilities that a new, first-class foundry will bring to Meeteetse, and bronze artists across the nation, are “unlimited.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

“As soon as their information is out there, they could be booked out for five years,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “There’s that much demand for bronze castings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be first-class, top-notch work, but they’re not going to have any problem getting work once it’s open.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supply And Demand\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Justin Gerlach, the\u00a0soon-to-be owner\u00a0of the new foundry, has been working with Payne for years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’ve been delivering bronzes all over the country for Vic,” he said. “After Caleco burned down, our work wasn’t getting done in a timely manner. So, we figured this was probably the perfect time to start doing it ourselves.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Caleco Foundry was the go-to place for dozens of Wyoming bronze artists,\u00a0including Chris Navarro<\/a>, since it was started by Bucky Hall in 1978. After the fire on the night of May 29, 2024, the foundry was a complete loss.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Payne, who works out of a studio in Meeteetse, had been getting bronzes poured at Caleco for 12 years when the fire happened. He estimated that he lost $8 million worth of work in the fire.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“That was eight to nine years of my life,” he said. “Stuff I had completed a month before was gone. It wasn’t a total loss. I had some pieces at other foundries, and some in personal storage, but it was a tough blow, especially at my age.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite the loss, Payne said the Caleco fire is now “in the rearview mirror.” He and the other bronze artists who relied on Caleco have found other foundries, but it hasn’t been easy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“We still have two or three foundries working with us right now, but they’re running six to eight months out, or even longer, once the orders go in. Most foundries are so backed up they can’t keep up with the demand.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

That’s what spurred the Gerlachs into action. Justin said the 38-acre parcel they bought near Meeteetse was the perfect place at the perfect time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s the only piece of land within the city limits that is not in the city,” he said. “It’s technically county land but surrounded by city everywhere else.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The property fit the bill, it’s convenient, and it was easier to annex it into Meeteetse to get city utilities.”\u00a0<\/p>\n