Theatre of Keys- DecoArt Media Products

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

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