I made this six-inch brass plate for Kara and Paul (Paul DJs as Sacramento), who run Friends Club, the festival in Lillooet where I painted the big mural. It shows the astronaut mascot from the mural in a raft with their dog, and Billy Buff riding in the back.
Billy Buff comes from a skit. A friend lay upside down on a table with her head hanging off the edge and a buff over her eyes, playing a wonderfully unhinged character in a game. He has been part of the crew ever since.
This is my third plate, and I'm still new to etching. I bought a Silhouette Cameo to cut stickers for the mural, then found it cuts vinyl just as well on top of a brass plate. That vinyl becomes the mask.
The etch
I cut the design into the vinyl on the plate, picked out the lines and letters, and set it face up in a glass dish of ferric chloride for twenty minutes. Where the vinyl stays, the brass is protected. Where I picked it out, the acid bites in. Wear gloves and work somewhere well ventilated.
Ink and wipe
Next I brushed Alpha enamel over the whole plate, working it into the etched lines, and wiped the surface back with alcohol. The enamel stays in the grooves and the drawing comes up.
Last, I sealed it with a coat of Incralac to keep the brass from tarnishing.
Earlier plates
Before this one I made two others. One is an eagle flying over the water, from my painting of an eagle catching a fish at sunrise on Rainier. The other has a QR code and now hangs on the fence at Brian and Marco's. Brian says that whenever he sits outside, people stop to ask about it, and he tells them to scan it.
You can see more of my work at tjm.art.
If you'd like a plate like this for your place or your event, get in touch.