2024 Member Event Recap
At ALLOY, we host a community event every month!
From studio visits to happy hours and adult field trips, 2024 was our best year yet. Check out some of the fantastic members only events we hosted last year.
Studio Visits
In March, Genevieve Flynn gave us a tour of her home studio and demonstrated her specialty chasing & repoussé. Genevieve started by showing us how she adds her pieces to her “pitch bowl” and discussed why she prefers a specific type of pitch to others. Using her special chasing tools, we watched her work up close and personal! Starting with an outline of the general shape, she then adds body and dimension and finally, finishing details. In addition she shared lots of examples of in progress pieces at various stages of the process.
In June, our social member Dave Breneman kindly invited us into his garage studio, backing out his super-cool camper van to make space. He shared his process for creating large-scale metal sculptures, starting with small models made of wire and paper. From there, he scales up by constructing a framework using steel rods, then hammering large sheets of copper & brass into shape and soldering them to his frame.
Dave has developed a technique for soldering massive works, almost like welding, but using an acetylene/oxygen torch. We all threw on safety glasses, watched him work and even got a chance to try soldering on a large scale. OH and we also got to try out his giant power hammer—a tool with interchangeable steel surfaces controlled by a foot pedal. It’s a game-changer for saving both time and effort when working on forming large projects.
The whole experience was incredibly cool (though, on that hot June evening, also literally very warm)! Watch the video recap below.
ALLOY After Hours
Our happy hour events are always a barrel of laughs mixed with some shop talk and sometimes show and tell! Every 3 months we host either a MEMBERS ONLY Alloy After Hours or a Public Metalsmith Meetup! We try to pick a different local KC spot each time. In 2024, we visited Parlor KC, took a quick walk downstairs from our studio to Stockyards Brewing Co., and traveled to Waldo for the awesome pierogis at KC Bier Co! Come join the fun!
Field Trips
In July, we had the special honor of attending a private Docent Tour at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art. We started our tour with an up close look at the bronze cast reproduction doors, The Gates of Paradise. The group discussed process and looked for clues to how this amazing work might have been made in sections and pieced together. After, we got to take a close look at the Eternal Love & Loss collection, memorial pieces made from hair and tiny paintings of eyes encapsulated by quartz cabs. It was so cool to hear the history and stories behind these 19th century works of art.
We had so much fun at the Nelson in July, we went back for a self guided tour of the impressive collection of tiaras & brooches at ‘SPARKLE Gifts of Contemporary Art’. It’s not too often that you get to see contemporary jewelry works in a museum exhibition of this size. The techniques used varied wildly from piece to piece. We all had our favorites and again, thoroughly enjoyed discussing how these works might have been made. Some of them truly stumped us…
Special Events:
In May, we hosted our second bi-annual Metalsmiths Garage Sale which was a huge success! Shoppers arrived before we were open, ready to pounce on deals. The energy of the room was felt by all, beginners there to outfit their bench along side old timers, ready to pass on some tools. We loved getting to shop and score with the greater metalsmithing community in KC and share awesome deals on tools and equipment. We’ve already started stashing some things for the next one, coming in May of 2026!
In October, our friend Kieth Montgomery—long time lapidary artist from Tulsa OK, brought out his incredible selection of cabochons for a private Trunk Show.
In November, we joined dozens of other artists in the Livestock Exchange Building for the LEB Open Studios, where several of our members displayed and sold their work!
2024 was a fantastic year at Alloy. We gained lots of new members and continued sharing knowledge with our community. We can’t WAIT to reveal what’s in store for 2025. Click HERE to learn more about our membership options so you can get in on the fun too!
Love, Julianne :)
