Undergraduate Course: New Medallists: Bronze Art Medals (DESI08111)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This practical course encompasses both specialist skills and techniques from the Jewellery and Silversmithing industry in casting and modeling. The course will also integrate design research and thinking alongside experience of working to professional competition briefs set by external organisations, agencies and companies.
This course New Medallists : Bronze Art Medals (BAM) provides students with an introduction to small scale studio bronze casting and working with narrative design in the execution of a piece of contemporary hand-held sculptural metalwork to be designed as a medal.
During this project students will learn carving and modelling techniques. Students will also be introduced to different methods of casting metal from small-scale studios to larger foundries.
The course runs in tandem with the national British art Medal student medal project. This live competition encourages and promotes the art of making medals throughout art colleges in the United Kingdom. Each year over one hundred student medals submitted for judging for prizes and selection for exhibition. The Worshipful Company of Founders, the Worshipful Company of Cutlers and Thomas Fattorini Ltd are among the institutions that support the project, and the British Museum sometimes purchases particularly meritorious student medals. |
| Course description |
Through this course students will explore how the process of design and making can translate narratives, themes and messages into 3 dimensions carvings and models for a small two-sided medal (approximately 80 mm diameter).
Talks / lectures will provide an introduction to the history of medals and the development of the contemporary art medal.
Students will be taught how to design, model, mould, cast and finish a medal in bronze that would be eligible for the annual national British Art Medal Society competition.
The course syllabus includes:
1) A lecture and briefing about art medals, the potential wider competition brief;
2) A practical introduction to carving and modelling techniques in wax and other materials like clay and plaster;
3) A practical introduction to casting techniques with metal (sand casting to direct burn out and lost wax casting);
4) A practical introduction to rubber or silicon mould making (to allow for multiples to be made from an original);
6) An introduction to the theory of the patination and colouring of bronzes
Design consideration will be fostered in relation to the:
1) Means of construction/modelling;
2) Use of edge to incorporate text, imagery or pattern;
3) Development of a theme between the two sides of the medal, to symbolise a theme;
4) Imaginative dialogue between all surfaces;
5) Innovation of the medium;
6) Plane and perspective;
7) Expression of an abstract idea.
Final medals must be able to be held comfortable in the hand and weigh less than 1 kilo. Maximum size 80 x 80 mm x 10mm thick (small parts can protrude to 15mm).
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | Approximately £50 to cover bronze casting foundry charge and studio materials. |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Respond to a competition brief to formulate appropriate ideas and approaches through design research and investigation to theme of medal design.
- Evidence a transparent iterative process of material research and design development relating to the design for a small scale sculptural design that communicates its idea or purpose effectively.
- Demonstrate the ability to select themes and directions appropriate to lines of enquiry that lead to a resolved 3D final medal and 2D designs.
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Reading List
McCreight, T. Complete Metalsmith : an illustrated handbook. Davis Publications (1982)
Untracht, Oppi, Jewelry Concepts and Technology, Doubleday (1985)
Codina, C. Jewellery and silversmithing techniques. London : A & C Black, (2002)
Brepohl, E. Theory & practice of goldsmithing, Portland, Maine : Brynmorgen Press, (2001)
Jones, M Art of the Medal, (1979) |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Design skills (Studio and Research)
Technical skills (Carving and modelling and mould making in studio)
Competitive Design (studio)
Professional communication of design ideas (Reviews in studio and to professional external agents)
Working to deadlines
Working with external companies |
| Keywords | Modeling,Molding,Carving,Casting,Design,Transcription |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Mrs Jenny Gray
Tel: (0131 6)51 5805
Email: Jennifer.Gray@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Georgia Dodsworth
Tel: (0131 6)51 5712
Email: georgia.dodsworth@ed.ac.uk |
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