Heavy Metal Mickey

• Size: 14″ x 14″
• Substrate: Metal
• Medium: Sulfate etching

As the 10x10x10 project carried on, the two series that caused the biggest challenges were the Disney History series and the Odds and Ends series. The Disney History Series became a challenge specifically because of the dimension restrictions. Pushing Disney within Disney is a challenge when your workable space is 14 x14 inches. .. The Odds and Ends series became a challenge mainly because elements beyond pen and paint were… and ARE for the most part, very foreign to me. Now at this point in the project, there was (AND IS) little time for experimentation.. and coming to terms with the idea of something crafted beyond paint, became much of a task.

While staying in San Francisco for 5 months, I met up with an old friend and extremely talented metal worker named Jennifer Swistak. She was working out of a metal studio out in the Bayshore/Hunters Point district. I consulted with her on how to effectively make a Mickey Mouse out of metal. The idea was beyond my scope or reach, and I asked for her for guidance on creating this.

What you see is a Mickey Mouse etched in metal. This was crafted by creating a resist in the frame using sharpie marker and pnp paper (which adhered to the surface via blow torch) . Once the resist was created, the piece was submerged into a copper sulfate bath, which ate at the metal wherever the resist did not exist. Once the depth was achieved, the metal was neutralized, and the resist was removed. We used a black magic patina and went over it with a random orbit sander with a 120 grit sand paper to bring out the highlights. The final part was waxing the piece.

This measures 14 x 14 and fits in the exact dimensions/size of the 10x10x10 collection. This is number 3 in the Odds and Ends Series, and number 64 in the collection. Working on this piece has brought my desire to work with metal so much more closer, that post project I am working on an entire metal series, and possibly moving into public works.