The full post of a project produced in the Autumn of 2014 for DecoArt
Theatre of Keys
Using DecoArt Media Acrylics, Mediums and Americana Decor Chalky Finish
This project started life as a junk shop find, it was a jewellery
box keeping safe someone's precious jewels now it houses
precious keys, 31 sparkling on the stage
My inspiration came from an installation that I viewed at the Tate Modern a number of years ago by Cornelia Parker, I love her work and this one particular installation was mesmerising
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/parker-cold-dark-matter-an-exploded-view-t06949
I started by taking out the glass panels and mirror back
and set about distressing by scraping and sanding and a few knocks with a
hammer
The cabinet had a drawer in the bottom which was ideal to
hold a battery pack for a set of lights, the cable was run up the back and
hidden with a piece of chipboard
The lights were housed in a drawer made from a wooden
frame cut in half with holes drilled; I had to fix two batons to form runners
for the lighting drawer, This also had the small screw eyes fixed to allow the
strings for hanging the keys
I wanted to create an old theatre feel so set about with
a distressed wallpaper layered effect
The background pattern embossed card with a lovely
acanthus pattern then painted with DecoArt Media Prussian blue, Dioxadine
Purple, Carbon black and Burnt Umber
Then highlighted with gold metallic and espresso metallic with additional washes and highlighting the result was a very rich subtle colour effect
The overlay peeling wallpaper was done with washes of
Prussian Blue and Quinacridone Gold and stencilled with Burnt Umber, torn and
distressed with burnt umber dripped down and quin gold applied on the torn edges and spritzed with Black Media Mister
I painted the inside of the cabinet with Carbon Black,
then lined with the papers using Matt Medium
I attached a decorative resin embellishment to the top to
stop it looking too box like
Then started on the outside applying American Décor
Chalky Finish Enchanted, Vintage and Treasure
With the darker colours around the edges this was done quite
randomly as it won't show under the top coat but having a variety of colours
creates more interest
Once dry I applied a layer of Crackle medium allowed to dry for approx. 1 hr then applied Relic Chalky Finish the cracks start to appear immediately, but best leave to dry for a couple of hours
Amazing crackle effect!
Once complete I applied Americana Décor clear crème wax
and Deep brown
around the edges
Then buffed with a clean cloth for a subtle stain shine,
this is amazing as it really accentuated the colours making them richer colour
tones as you can see on the lefthand side
The screen doors, were cut on a Cricut machine, covered
with Media texture sand and Painted with Carbon Black and dry brushed with Metallic
Gold and Dazzling Metallics Espresso as was the fleur de Lys decorative border which covers the lighting tray
The keys are a variety of very rusted antique and new ones
which were distressed in the same way as the trellis
The keys were tied to fine fishing
line and with hooks attached at varying lengths and then attached to the screw eyes
Its Showtime!
The keys are spinning, twinkling and sparkling under the spotlights!
I hope you have enjoyed my project : )
DecoArt Products Used
To see the full DecoArt Media Range please click here
