Materials (Winterkingdom A&S, 2026)

The following is from my documentation submitted at Northkeep's Winterkingdom A&S competition, 2026. 

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What tools and equipment did you use? & If you had to substitute a period material, was it a logical choice?

Historically, Pissano was documented as using both blank ceramic disks, and blanks slate disks shaped to the thickness and diameter of his finished medallion. On this surface, he would then sculpt the raised details he wanted using bee’s wax. The final model would then be sand cast, where green sand (modern term) would be packed around the model in two halves, and then the model would be pulled out. The resulting impression would be used as a mold to cast bronze or brass.

Low quality slate is easy to get, but also easily broken. I had several previous projects where I would spent 2 or 3 hours grinding and shaping a slate coaster, only to have a flaw in the slate catch and shatter the disk. Higher quality slate is cost prohibitive, and generally hard to get a hold of anyway. Also, the most likely tool for final shaping would be a grinding wheel, and I do not have the space or resources for that tool. Currently, my stand-in is a belt grinder at its lowest possible speed, but the belts wear out fast enough there that it becomes my most expensive option by the time I am done with a single blank.

Traditional ceramics are entirely too cost prohibitive, with both the clay and the kiln needed to fire them outside of anything hope of acquisition.

In substitute, I have elected to use Sculpy brand polymer clay. This is a good stand-in for three key reasons. The first is accessibility. Sculpy is easily purchased, easily worked, and easily hardened in a toaster oven or residential kitchen. The second is durability. Sculpy, when sufficiently hardened (it needs to be cooked much longer than what the manufacturer suggests), is more than strong enough to serve as the foundation for a casting model. The third is suitability. Soft Sculpy is easily worked and shaped, and cooked Sculpy can be sanded and smoothed down to a nearly porcelain smooth finish. However, wax adheres to it well, and its thermal properties once cooked means that molten bees wax cools quickly on contact with it.

I have experimented with several different mixes of “wax”, including several concentrations of bees wax and powered gypsum (Based on notes from a 16th century medalist), and bees wax and pine sap (oral tradition from some Chinese artisans hinted at this mix near the 16th century). However, I have not noted any marked improvement in hardness or shape retention. In fact, the sap and wax mix was almost too rubbery to cast when I experimented with it.

Currently, I use pure bee’s wax purchased from a local honey seller, and heated over an open flame. Based on all notes we have from Pisano and his contemporary medalists, all of his detail work and lettering was sculpted with bees wax, arguably making this element the most important to maintain historicity in.

Pisano’s medallions were cast in brass and bronze, with test casings done in lead.

I exclude lead from my work for obvious reasons. Both brass and Bronze, while period medals, are cost prohibitive, and represent a level of danger in melting that is not acceptable for my home.

I have chosen to substitute pewter for the casting metal here. It is a period alloy, and it preserves the ‘wow’ effect of a high-luster cast metal, maintaining the desired emotional impact that these medallions are intended to invoke.