Tagged and framed KEYS!

 (Above:  The Key to The Best I. Inventory # 4186. 9 1/2" x 9". $60.  Click on any image in this blog post for an enlargement.)

December is the end of the fiscal year here at Mouse House.  It is a time when my husband and I do things like INVENTORY.  We count full sheets of mat board and foam-centered board, panes of glass, all sorts of other items, and picture framing moulding.  It is also a time to look at small sticks of moulding, especially styles and finishes that have been discontinued or profiles we will never order again.  Thus, it becomes a time when Steve makes all sorts of little frames.  It also becomes a perfect time for me to tag and frame a bunch of keys!  I love doing this!

 (Above:  A really, really, really OLD piece ... made back in 2001 during my very first year as an artist!  Bargellos stitching with metallic threads on needlepoint canvas with found keys.)

I'd almost forgotten about this early piece.  I made it back in 2001, the year I finally declared that I wanted to be an artist "when I grew up".  I was forty-two at the time and had absolutely no formal background in art.  Yet, I naturally gravitated toward small found objects ... including keys which later became quite an obsession.  I guess I've always loved keys. 

 (Above:  Keys removed from the original artwork.)

It was high time to dismantle the earlier piece and use the fifty+ keys in another way!  Right now, I have no plans for the stitched background ... but some day I might.

 (Above:  Fifty+ keys tagged with words like: Happiness, Kindness, Romance, Tradition, Peace, Money, Love, Knowledge, etc.)

First, I made tags for all the keys.  The tags are made from watercolor paper carefully ripped into strips.  Occasionally, I've used an old, amateurish watercolor taken from a dilapidated frame bought at auction ... some anonymous person's attempt to paint.  The letters and words came from pre-1945 magazines and books.  I store the letters alphabetically in a container meant for nuts and bolts. I machine zigzag the cording from old skeins of acrylic yarn.

Next, I moved all the assorted little frames into my studio ...



... and pull out my Babylock embellisher, a dry felting machine.  The studio is quickly a disaster area of scraps, wool rovings, lace, felt, dyed scrim, nylon scarves, tulle, netting, and silk fragments.  All this "junk" becomes a background for each key.

Each background and key is created specifically for the style, color, and size of the little frame.  From here, the projects went into my living room.  I beaded and embellished each one while watching television on January evenings.  Finally, the works went downstairs to the frame shop where a mat was selected, photos snapped, and labels for the back were created.  Each piece is now in my inventory book.  (I've also cleaned up the studio!)  Making these little gems is always such a pleasure and an excellent way to begin a new year.  I think about all the qualities associated with the keys ... peace, success, beauty, affection, family, music, luck, positive thinking, etc.  Below are the finished pieces.  Each one is for sale between $50 - $70 and can be purchased by sending me an email.  Most pieces fit into a flat rate USPS box for either $7.20 or $13.65.  mouse_house@prodigy.net or susan@susanlenz.com.

 (Above:  A Key to A Good Day, Inventory # 4169. 10 1/2" x 8 1/2". $60.)

I took a few "in progress" photos of two or three of the keys.  I'll blog them later.  This post already has enough images! LOL!  I also had to make more cording and will blog that progress later too.

 (Above:  The Key to Achievement.  Inventory # 4180.  9 7/8" x 6 7/8". $60.)

(Above:  Key to Affection. Inventory # 4188. 11 1/4" x 9 1/4". $70.)

(Above:  The Key to Beauty II. Inventory # 4203. 13 3/8" x 11 3/8". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Beauty I. Inventory # 4190. 12" x 9 3/4". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Charm. Inventory # 4193. 9 3/4" x 6 3/4". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to Experience.  Inventory # 4197. 11 1/4" x 9 3/4". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Faith. Inventory # 4174. 9 1/4" x 7 1/2". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Family. Inventory # 4196. 9 3/4" x 9". $60.)

 (Above:  Key to Happiness.  Inventory # 4164.  10 1/4" x 8 1/4". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Healing.  Inventory # 4205. 9 3/4" x 7 3/4". $60.)

 (Above:  Key to Life at Its Best. Inventory # 4163. 11" x 9". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Living.  Inventory # 4199. 9 3/4" x 8". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Love II. Inventory # 4202. 7 1/8" x 5 3/4". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to Love I. Inventory # 4175. 9 1/4" x 7 1/2". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Luck. Inventory # 4176. 8" x 6". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Money.  Inventory # 4191. 11 1/4" x 10". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Music.  Inventory # 4218. 9 1/2" x 7 1/4". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Peace. Inventory # 4181 10" x 7" $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Perfection.  Inventory # 4201. 12" x 9 1/2". $60.)

 (Above:  Key to Positive Thinking.  Inventory # 4166. 11 1/4" x 9 1/4". $70.)

 (Above:  Key to Power.  Inventory # 4198. 9 3/8" x 7 3/8". $60.)

 (Above:  Key to Protection.  Inventory # 4168. 9 3/4" x 7 3/4". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Romance II.  Inventory # 4206. 8 1/2" x 7 1/2". $60.)

(Above:  The Key to Romance I.  Inventory # 4171. 10 1/4" x 8 1/4". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Secrets. Inventory # 4184. 8 1/2" x 6". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Service ... which was a special gift to Creative Sewing ... the people who keep my sewing machines running!)

 (Above:  The Key to Success II.  Inventory # 4200. 10 3.4" x 8 1/2". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Surprise! Inventory # 4182 7 5/8" x 5 5/8". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to the Future. Inventory # 4194. 10" x 8". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to the Ideal. Inventory # 4207. 8 1/4" x 6 3/4". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to the Old Fashioned.  Inventory # 4170. 12 1/4" x 9 3/4". $70.)

(Above:  The Key to Knowledge. Inventory # 4167. 10 1/2' x 8 1/2". $70.)

(Above:  The Key to The Finest.  Inventory # 4185. 10" x 8". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Tradition.  Inventory # 4189. 13" x 11". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Virtue. Inventory # 4178. 8 3/8" x 6 3/8". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to a Great Future.  Inventory # 4210. 11" x 8 1/4". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Adventure.  Inventory # 4165.  10" x 8". Already sold!!!)

 (Above:  The Key to All the World.  Inventory # 4217. 11 3/4" x 9 3/4". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Energy.  Inventory # 4216. 9 1/2" x 9". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Honesty.  Inventory # 4209. 11 1/2" x 9 1/2". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Hope.  Inventory # 4179. 7 7/8" x 5 7/8". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to Intimacy.  Inventory # 4214. 10 1/4" x 8 1/2". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to Kindness.  Inventory # 4212. 8 1/4" x 5 3/4". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to Reward.  Inventory # 4215. 12" x 20". $60.)

 (Above:  The Key to Success I.  Inventory # 4183. 9 1/2" x 7 1/2". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to Tenderness.  Inventory # 4187. 8 1/4" x 6 1/4". $50.)

 (Above:  The Key to The Best II.  Inventory # 4208. 10 3/4" x 8 3/4". $70.)

 (Above:  The Key to the Best of All.  Inventory # 4213. 8 1/4" x 6 3/4". $50.)

(Above:  The Key to Delight.  Inventory # 4192. 7 7/8" x 6 1/2". $60.)