Artists Team Up To Build New Foundry In Meeteetse After Cody Foundry Burned Down

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

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.

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." 

"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.

“It has to be first-class, top-notch work, but they're not going to have any problem getting work once it's open." 

Supply And Demand 

Justin Gerlach, the soon-to-be owner of the new foundry, has been working with Payne for years. 

"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." 

The Caleco Foundry was the go-to place for dozens of Wyoming bronze artists, including Chris Navarro, 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. 

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. 

"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." 

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. 

"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." 

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. 

"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. 

The property fit the bill, it's convenient, and it was easier to annex it into Meeteetse to get city utilities." 

A Head Start

Establishing a new bronze foundry is a complex and costly endeavor, but the Gerlachs have the experience and a lot of the equipment they'll need to start strong in Meeteetse. 

"I've got a lot of the equipment acquired for the foundry," Gerlach said. "Vic had some equipment from a foundry he had before, and we'll be able to pick up everything else from other foundry owners." 

Payne confirmed that the foundry already has a blast furnace, a burnout and various winches and other tools necessary for lost-wax bronze casting. As a professional bronze artist and former foundry owner, he knows what's needed to establish a first-class operation. 

"I've built three big foundries in my lifetime, and I'd say we've got about 35% of what we need," he said. "We've got to get an air compressor, slurry systems for the slurry room, big wax pots for the wax room, but we've got to build a building first." 

That step's already been taken care of. Gerlach has already ordered a building to house the foundry, which will be placed on newly poured concrete set over an existing concrete slab already sitting on the property, right off Wyoming Highway 120. 

It's oddly fortuitous that the site of the foundry, formerly owned by a construction business, was available after the structure sitting on the slab burned down. 

Gerlach said the focus right now is "the logistics" of getting the critical infrastructure installed. That required getting the property annexed into the city of Meeteetse, which the Meeteetse Town Council approved June 4. 

"We're hoping to have water and sewer done by November," he said. "Depending on how smoothly it all comes together, we'd ideally like to have it going by next summer." 

Payne is overseeing the process and helping Gerlach acquire and install all the necessary equipment for a functional foundry. Once it's finished, Payne said the new foundry will be "totally his." 

"I've met a lot of good, hard-working people in my life," he said. “Very honest, full of integrity. Justin is a very unique man. He's one of the hardest-working people I've ever met. 

“Some of the most successful foundries in the country had some fundamental things from the beginning, and Justin has every single thing that a person needs to make a foundry work." 

First-Class, Top-Notch

When the new Meeteetse foundry opens, it will start small. Gerlach will primarily focus on fulfilling orders for Vic and his son, fellow bronze artist Dusty Payne. 

"We'll be doing their work right off the bat," he said. "We might pick up some other orders from other artists at the beginning, but we'll see if we have time and room to do more." 

The initial operation will have around four employees, including the Gerlachs. That's where they'll make wax molds around clay sculptures, cover that wax mold with a shell, melt the wax out, and pour the bronze inside. 

Gerlach's focus will be on spending the first few years training himself and his employees to be the best of the best in anticipation of a more ambitious future. 

Gerlach hopes the foundry will be sustainable enough to expand within three years of its opening. That expansion will be "the permanent foundry" on a scale that can accommodate more employees and artists. 

"The second location will be a 60-by-80-by-100-foot building with eight to 10 employees," he said. "I'm going to be pretty involved in all aspects myself, so we want to get everyone trained up and get a tight ship running before we expand." 

Payne approves of this smaller, focused start to the new foundry. The success and reputation of any foundry are built on establishing high-caliber skills and professionalism from the very beginning. 

"That's as important as anything, and it starts from the very first step to the very last step," he said. "They'll be getting phone calls as soon as they open, but there's a learning curve, and we need to go through that learning curve to get it done right. 

“It must be first-class, top-notch work on these pieces of art, because that's what it is. It's art." 

A Go-Work-Your-Butt-Off Vacation 

A new bronze foundry will not only benefit Gerlach and Payne but could easily become an enormous asset for Meeteetse. Because if you build it, they will come. 

Payne is already eager to work closer to home. With his current commissions scattered across three foundries across the nation, he's excited to have a foundry within walking distance of his studio. 

"It's going to be a huge asset for me, and my son is going to need it for a lot of years to come," he said. 

Payne's also aware of the growing need for more bronze foundries in the U.S. He's confident that artists from across the nation will be willing and eager to bring their work to Meeteetse once the foundry can accommodate them. 

"Down the road, it's going to be a fantastic thing for artists in Wyoming and everywhere," he said. "I travel all over the country to get work done, and so do all bronze artists. They're going to love coming to Meeteetse. A pleasant place in this little town?  It'll be like a 'go-work-your-butt-off' vacation." 

Payne isn't worried about a lack of interest or business. Once the foundry's up and running, and its employees have demonstrated their skills with his pieces, everyone will profit. 

"There's a huge need for foundry work across the entire country," he said. "As soon as Justin wants and can expand the business, I think it will expand however large he wants it to be." 

Gerlach finds reassurance in Payne's guidance and confidence in his skills. He discussed building cabins on the hilltops surrounding the foundry site, allowing artists to stay and sculpt in Meeteetse while fulfilling their commissions, transforming the town into a “bronze art Mecca.”

There's a long and challenging journey ahead, but Gerlach’s ready to meet the growing demand of bronze artists and bring more business to Meeteetse with a "very modern" bronze foundry.

"I wouldn't call what we're doing state of the art,” he said, “but we're all excited, and the city of Meeteetse is pretty willing to help us build a very modern foundry. And, hopefully, we can bring a little more life and art to our town.”

Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.