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Creating a One-Sided Medal
The Design:
What idea will you express creatively through your medal? That is the most important and difficult part of medal making. Medals have been made about everything including political statements, nature, portraits, eroticism and so on. Traditionally the medal has been a circular form but there are many medals that are created in different shapes. In size the medal should fit comfortably in the palm of your hand. It should not be too heavy.

The medal often includes lettering. Lettering is an art form within itself as it communicates from the artist to the viewer in a very personal way with its message. Lettering may be raised or pressed into the disc. It should compliment the over-all design of the medal.

Creating the Medal:
Using water-based clay make the shape of your medal about 1/4 inch thick.

I work on a glazed tile which may be purchased at a building supply store such as Home Depot. Build up your image on the blank shape. Don't make it too high. I would keep the all-over height at 1/2 inch or less.
Do not model any undercuts as this will trap the mold and make your casting impossible.
If you want to press lettering into the mold this is the time to do it.
Casting the Medal:
Build a wall around your medal. Keep the wall about one inch away from the medal. The wall may be made from water-based clay or any other material such as plastic or wood

On the outside of the wall put a coil of clay to keep the plaster from leaking. Push the coil in tight so it holds the plaster inside.
You will need about one cup of mixed plaster to make the mold. If you have made a much bigger medal you will have to mix more plaster. There are over 50 types of plaster. For this mold you can use regular Plaster of Paris or Modelling Plaster.

Put cold water into a plastic container. I use professional black rubber bowls but empty margarine containers work well and cost nothing as you can discard them after the casting. Warm or hot water makes the plaster harden much faster and that is not what you want if you are going to capture all of the details of your modeling.
Into the cold water sprinkle the dry plaster until you have formed an island. I stir this with my finger until it is smooth and creamy. Don't be slow or the plaster will harden in your bowl. Pour the plaster over your clay medal. It should cover the medal and be at least 1/2 inch above the highest part of the modeling. Pick up the tile and tap the bottom. This will cause air bubbles to rise to the top and insure that you are capturing all of the details of your modeling.

(Pour the left-over plaster onto a newspaper. When the plaster has hardened throw it in the garbage. Never put plaster down the sink.)

Allow the plaster mold to harden completely for about two hours minimum.

Take the clay coil away from the outside. Take the walls off your mold. The plaster mold should come off the clay medal easily with a firm tug. Now you have a negative plaster mold of your clay medal. If you have a good plaster mold you may destroy the clay medal.
Creating Raised Lettering:
Now is the time to create lettering that will be raised on your finished medal. Decide on the wording you desire. Write the lettering on a piece of paper. Hold the paper up to a window and copy the reverse image. You should have the lettering appear backwards and reversed. Copy this on to your plaster mold. Using a very sharp hard lead pencil (No. 5 or 6 H) carve the letters into the plaster. Press clay into your letters so you can see what they look like. If you make a mistake wet the plaster mold and fill in the mistake with new plaster. When it has hardened you can write the correct letters. This will be somewhat difficult so the best idea is to avoid mistakes.

Patching Small Defects in the Plaster Mold:
If you have small holes in your mold they should be repaired. To correct small holes or add details put two tablespoons of cold water into a container. Add 1/2 teaspoon of plaster. Pour off the water. Wash the area to be patched with lots of water. Using a small brush fill in the hole with plaster. Smooth by using the brush loaded with water.

Pouring a Wax Medal:
The mold must be wet if you are pouring hot wax into it. If you have just made the mold it will be considered wet. If it has dried you will need to soak it for two or three hours in cold water. Pat the mold dry with a paper towel. Now you are ready to make your wax medal. Hot wax (200 degrees F) may be poured into a wet plaster mold. Pour the hot wax steadily until it fills the mold without overflowing but it will appear to be like a small hill. The wax will shrink as it hardens and the hill will keep the mold filled and not allow a hollow in the centre.

Allow the wax to harden and then smooth the back so it is the same level as the plaster mold. The completely hardened wax may be pried out of the mold. Repair the wax so it looks exactly like the original medal with the addition of the raised lettering.
Making a Terra Cotta (Clay) Medal:
A dry mold is good for pressing water-based clay into it to make a terra cotta medal. The water from the clay goes into the very dry plaster mold. Using a rolling pin roll out a flat piece of clay. It will be about 1/4 inch thick. Press the clay into the dry plaster mold. Trim off the edges and make the back completely smooth. The clay dries, shrinks and pops out of the plaster mold when dry.

Whether you are making a wax or a clay medal you should clean off the back and make it perfectly smooth. Run a ruler over the surface and check that the back is smooth.

Finishing the Medal:
The terra cotta medal should be completely dried and fired in a kiln. The wax medal should be taken to the foundry and cast in bronze.

I finish the terra cotta medals with a mixture of oil paints or any paint that I want to use to get the desired effect. The trick here is to experiment.

I finish the bronze medals with Liver of Sulphate covered with a Light Ferric.

The finished medals may be carefully waxed with paste floor wax. Don't put on too much or the wax will get caught in the details of the modeling.

A one-sided medal can use the plain back for engraving. The engraved lettering may be carved into the terra cotta medal before firing. Engraving on the back of a bronze medal should be done with a 'deep cut' so it can be easily read.
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