Starting a set of sculptural books.

©2019 Barry Smith - Stain on the aluminium looking a bit like a face in the bottom of the right hand stain

Fiona and I are collaborating on the making a a set of three largish free-standing etched aluminium books for the up coming Compassion Exhibition.

Today I decided to build the etching bath; and to cut the sheets of aluminium. We will etch the aluminium with a copper sulphate and salt solution. The etching bath needs to be about 80cm wide and 100cm long to safely accommodate the biggest sheets. Couple of photos of the bath follow.

©2019 Barry Smith - Pine frame for the etching bath

©2019 Barry Smith - Frame lined with three layers of black plastic

My goal was to cut the sheets for the three books from a single sheet (1.2m X 2.4m) of 1.5mm thick aluminium sheet I had in my stash. The only problem was that it has been leaning against a sheet of rusty iron for a few years and therefore had picked up a lot of the rust and metal stains. To etch and get a good result it was necessary to grind the sheet back to a matt finish.

©2019 Barry Smith - Rust on the aluminium sheet

©2019 Barry Smith - The grinding process started

©2019 Barry Smith - Grinding finished and marking up of the sheet for cutting with side-grinder done

But in the end the outcome was good with the sheets cut to size. The sheets for the largest book are 80cm high and 60cm wide.

©2019 Barry Smith - Nine sheets cut and edges ground - ready for the next steps.

The sheets are now ready for sealing on the back and Fiona's calligraphy on the front. I guess that will happen over the next couple of weeks.