I saw red

in 1992, when Pat Buchanan at the Republican Convention exhorted the American people "...to take back our culture, take back our country."

I thought, "Who do you think you are talking to, kimo sabe?"

The next day, I designed this plaque.

"E Pluribus Unum" 1992,  8.5 x 11 inches (Click above for larger image)	Detail of tin-flashed copper on blue epoxy substrate.

I  laid out working circuits in copper traces which are tin flashed to give them a silvery surface.  I found a supplier of blue boards circuit board and etched the patterns of circuits and collaged imagery on it.  The result is a simple bare, unpopulated board.

Based on a Latin phrase meaning "from many, one", E Pluribus Unum is the motto on the Great Seal of the United States of America. The central image is the rampant bald eagle of the great seal of the United States. Grasping an olive branch as an offering of peace, the eagle also holds a clutch of arrows as an alternative when peace is rejected. Surrounding patterns represent peoples of the world whose contributions have forged our culture. Behind the head is a Native American design from a Hopi vase. Under the right wing is an African motif from a Kuba textile (Zaire). A Star of David represents the special contribution of the Jews. Under the left wing is an Asian pattern from an Edo textile (Japan). Underneath the eagle is a European design from a classical Greek ceramic vessel.

However, to test the circuitry, I did drill holes and assembled a few with  integrated circuits, light emitting diodes and photocells which cause shifting patterns of small red lights to travel about the surface.

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