<p>The British Art Medal Society (BAMS) exists to promote and encourage medallic art, including the production of contemporary work. Its members are makers, collectors and enthusiasts of medals.</p> <p>The Student Medal Project encourages and promotes the art of making medals throughout art colleges in the UK. Each year over one hundred student medals, from as many as fifteen art colleges, are submitted for judging for prizes and selection for exhibition.</p> <p>Aimed at sculpture students and those studying metalwork and jewellery, the competition is also open to other disciplines. A catalogue is then published, including details of all the entries which stands as a record for those at the start of their artistic careers.</p> <p>Lorna’s entry focused on bringing awareness to a disease close to her heart, breast cancer, the most common cancer in the UK where one person is diagnosed every 10 minutes.<br /></p>

<p>In her work as a professional photographer, Lorna photographed many breast cancer sufferers and survivors to help raise awareness and support women in coming to terms with the associated body image issues. The images have been used in a number of breast care centres in the UK and have also been widely published.</p> <p>These images inspired the design for her competition submission, working closely with <a href="http://fablabplymouth.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fab Lab Plymouth</a>, Lorna took a 3D scan of a female model, and during the medal production process removed one breast. The final design was 3D printed in a castable resin then ultimately cast from traditional casting wax.</p> <p>She said, “I wanted the shape and form of the medal to be very tactile and soft, I left a small lump on the edge to symbolise what it’s like to feel a breast lump. The wording on the medal is small and is a cautionary message to remind us all to check our breasts.”<br /></p>

<p>Lorna’s design came second of 126 submissions from across the UK, winning her a cash prize presented by <a href="https://fattorini.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Thomas Fattorini Ltd</a>, an invitation to join BAMS at their upcoming annual conference in Belfast as their guest, as well as the opportunity to have her work featured in an upcoming exhibition in Tokyo.</p> <p>All entries submitted by Plymouth College of Art students; Rosie Groom, Same Ritte, Laura Brooks, Janet Schreyer, Tabitha Chambers and Lorna Yabsley, have been selected to be exhibited at the University for the Creative Arts, Rochester, from 27 April.</p><ul><li><a href="http://www.bams.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Find out more about the British Art Medal Society and their annual competition, as well as their conferences and publications</a></li><li><a href="https://www.aup.ac.uk/courses/undergraduate/ba-hons-craft-material-practices" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Take a look at our hands-on BA (Hons) 3D Design Crafts programme</a></li></ul>