Chemistry of Medals Volume 2

Having spent many, many years creating personal sculpture as well as prototypes for the toy and collectible industries, I found myself in a situation that required learning an entirely new way of making shapes in space. Traditionally, I would use clay and plaster, as well as an industrial tooling wax to make the models that would later be mass produced as toys, in various materials, as well as collectibles that would be cast in porcelain. But about the year 2000, the toy industry in particular, started using FreeForm Modeling Plus (FFMP) in house to create digital sculptures that would then be saved as a file to be used for milling tools for mass production. FFMP was the first 3-d modeling program that became available to the general public. In addition to having the tools to model forms, there were additional tools that could be used in forming molds for production. In trying to stay competitive in a changing industry, I purchased FFMP as well as a cnc mill and 3-D scanner to take the virtual sculptures to a final model. None of these attempts really allowed me to continue as a freelance sculptor since in house staff provided most of the various companies prototype needs. However, having now some familiarity with these new tools, I was capable of returning to the United States Mint in Philadelphia as a medallic artist. Using FFMP as well as another digital modeling program, ZBrush, I could produce virtual models of coins and medals that were to be cut into steel dies via cnc milling. While I have spent most of my professional career working with traditional methods and materials, I found that making personal medallic pieces via these innovative programs was a gratifying experience. Since I had acquired a 3-D scanner when purchasing the cnc unit, I found that scanning my fine art sculptures would allow me to create relief work that was now part of my medal making process. In recent years, 3-D printing has become affordable and available to anyone interested in the capabilities of this technology. This chapter is devoted to illustrating and explaining how I sometimes use both scanning and printing to create an art medal.

This chapter is designed to take the medalist through the process of creating a wax model of a medal from concept to sending the wax to a foundry. Modeling with oil clay to create a medal is only one way to produce a medal.

The generation of artistic ideas is a completely individual process, which every artist has to work out for themselves. Because of the infinite variety of influences which create human personalities, every artist will have a set of origins which makes them unique. Therefore, their art will be unique as well. Because of the impossibility of looking into another person’s mind, I can only write about how I generate my own ideas. I discuss my own background and how I approach the processes of getting my ideas, both for commissioned and for exhibition work. I see my job as producing works which communicate an idea worth someone else’s attention.

This chapter describes the composition of Renaissance modeling waxes as well as providing a general overview of 15^th and 16^th century medallic techniques. It concludes with a simple wax recipe and a summary of the author’s approach to sculpting with this traditional medium.

In this text I explain my attitude to medals and medallic objects as carriers of a message in contemporary art. The description of the creative process presents the sources of inspiration, the birth of the concept, the justification for the use of different types of materials and my relationship to scale both in the context of the technologies used and the reinforcement of the concise message. As an example, I present descriptions of sample works from three selected cycles.

The use of tin and low-melting alloys to make art medals can be accomplished using a toy called kinetic sand that has been marketed in the relatively recent past. This material is a mixture of sand and a small amount of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), a polymer that keeps the sand in one mass, yet allows a person to change and mold its shape. This paper describes how kinetic sand can be used as mold material for the creation and production of medals.

A metallurgy-based experiment in the freshmen chemistry laboratory, the production of bismuth-tin alloys to find a eutectic point, can be developed from a straightforward chemistry experiment to a small research project that links the chemistry involved in metal alloys with art medals that can be developed utilizing the metal alloys that have been made. Students find the production of art medals from the alloys they have produced to be an exciting and worthwhile project, with them seeing both the artistry of creating medals, and the parallel to the process of making something like a prototype part. We have used graphite blocks as molds, as well as aluminum weighing dishes as molds. Both can be carved with relative ease, are easy to work and design into patterns, and produce eye-catching medals. Graphite works well to transfer the heat from the molten metal poured into it, while aluminum dishes can be carved rapidly into a wide variety of medal molds.

This chapter covers promoting medallic art to emerging artists, non-medallic artist communities, and general audiences, curation, and setting up exhibiting places/spaces.

During my education at the academy, I gained knowledge about both enameling and sculpting. However, combining the two was not easy. I started working with electrolysis so that I could color my bronze sculptures with enamel. In the process, I learned that hollow cast large sculptures were not suitable for this, but that was far from the end of the story.

I am a woman, a daughter, and an artist. The art medal that I brought to FIDEM 2018 was entitled “My Mother’s Duet”, and was all about my mother and, unavoidably so, about me and my life’s work. [At the 2018 FIDEM Canada I was awarded the Jason S. Pollack Memorial Award for Innovative Techniques in Medallic Art.] It incorporates all my themes, present and past, and it is a culmination of the many materials I’ve explored and used so far. The process of making this art medal proved to be a true giant slalom descent, or an ever-increasing snowball. How one thing leads to another. I would like to share the process of making My Mother’s Duet with you and touch on thematic aspects of my work in general.

As a guide for the collector and student of medals, this chapter will attempt to describe some of the most important aspects of medallic connoisseurship, concentrating on commemorative medals produced between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries. To build a successful collection in terms of quality there are at least two important elements required: a considerable fund of knowledge acquired through study and experience, and the practically indefinable instinct for quality of design and authenticity, sometimes defined as “having an eye,” with which the consistently successful collector is naturally endowed.

This article provides an overview of the U.S. Innovation Dollar Coin series. The author, a numismatist with past experience working with the U.S. Mint, served as the Official Liaison for the State of Michigan in the development of the theme and selection of the final design for Michigan’s Innovation Dollar. This article delves into the program from the inception of the authorizing legislation, the process for the selection of the theme and designs, and provides a brief overview of themes selected by various states through 2026.

This article will focus on the following topics: 1. What constitutes a medal? Are there requirements for being called a medal instead of a token? 2. What are some of the types of medals, and how are they distinguished in the numismatic world? For what purpose were they created? 3. What is the best way to conserve different types of medals? Are there different methods for different types of medals?

Creating Art Medals is a fun way to engage the public and spark an interest in both sciences and the arts. While organizing such an event may be intimidating, it is doable with a plan. This chapter will explain the best way to host a Chemistry and Art Medals Workshop.

1969 through 2022, the Jewish-American Hall of Fame issued 2-inch medals in a variety of metals—bronze, silver-plated bronze, pure silver, gold-plated bronze, gold-plated silver, 10 kt and 14 kt gold; and in 2023, bronze-plated zinc, silver-colored zinc and gold-colored zinc. Most were struck, and some were cast. This article is a year-by-year guide of the metals used.