Studio West Bronze Foundry & Art Gallery — Attraction in Town of Cochrane

I highly recommend visiting Studio West and the couple, artists Don and Shirley Begg, who are Studio West. Their art is truely amazing, as are these two artists and their accomplishments, work, and history.

Their foundry and art studio is not to be found on downtown art row. It is a couple of blocks away in a unique foundry building. The works produced there range from small, finely tooled masterpieces to larger than life magnificent statues. Each has a history and reflects the lives lived in present and history. The finished art stands out as some of the finist my wife and I have seen as we have traveled across Canada and the United States.

In fact, their works can be found all over these countries and many more. I recognized several of their pieces as work I've seen in Fort Worth Texas and Santa Fe New Mexico galleries. Don and Shirley are famous in art circles around the world, but as we visited with them in their studio, it was like walking next door to a friend's house to spend the afternoon chatting about our lives.

A visit to their web page gives a hint that the few minutes to go from main street in Cochrane, around the corner to their art foundry and studio for a visit will be the most memorable time spent on your trip, as it was for my wife and I. Thank you, Don and Shirley, for spending a time with my wife and I. We will remember our time with you all the way back to Kentucky as being the best...

Absolutely unbelievable experience. I recently came to Cochrane with a big group of my colleagues. When I told them I wanted to peel off from the group and check out this foundry, a lot of them came with me. I was sure it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea, but the tour we were given was incredible and everyone was talking about it afterwards for a long time. They walked us through the casting process, showed us to the back of the shop where all the real work happens, and explained the history of some of their pieces. I was very impressed that they seem to have touched all the corners of the world with their art. In planning to look for their mark when I see a bronze statue from now on. Definitely recommend a visit if you find yourself...

The backroom tour where artists' originals hide was spectacular. For three generations, Cochrane artisans have transformed internationally crafted wood, clay, and wax sculptures into permanent brass textured forms. So much of Canada's outdoor art travelled here for enchantments of immortality by the forges beside this gallery.

I studied the basics of casting in college, and Studio West's adaptations were a...