The Things We Keep: Keys 1980 - 1989

Funny the things we keep over the years…My mom gave me a beautiful star sapphire ring in the 80’s - originally a gift from my dad to her. At some point I lost the stone which was truly a shame as the star would show up under light and was positively brilliant in the sunlight! I kept what was left of the ring even though the heart or purpose of it was missing. I’ve added that ring onto the other side of Key 1980. I’m pretty sure 1980 was the year the heart truly fell out of my parent’s marriage. There was a brief period of breaking up and getting back together and then breaking up for good at the time. Eventually the truth of their relationship came out and they both went on to remarry. Key 1980 - elegant, sparkly, cold, hollow, traditional, fleeting.

The shaft of Key 1981 is made from a fountain pen that my mom recently gifted me along with some other long held and no longer used art supplies. I have more than a few memories of those supply treasures (which are likely from the 70’s) - especially the oil pastels - which perhaps will make their way into a key one day. I don’t usually try and make “commemorative” keys but found myself thinking about 80’s colours and spandex designs while making Keys 1981 and 1985.

I had a great friend in my youth that I met towards the end of my time in high school. We were just friends and often people thought we were married. A real finish each other’s sentences friendship. We stayed friends through university and at one point I dated my friend’s friend. This turned out to be difficult. Even though my friend was just my friend it seems that all his friends knew he really liked me (I was rather oblivious to that part of our relationship - sometimes I really intuitively know things and other times I truly miss every boat going by). A code had been broken among my friend’s group of male friends. During one long conversation behind my childhood elementary school my very good friend told me how he felt about my dating. He remembers the conversation as more intensely emotional than I do. I picked up a piece of insulated wire at some point as he talked. I stripped that insulation off the wire and turned it over and over in my hands for a long time. I tied it and untied it and tied it again. Eventually the conversation ended. Today we are friends although we drift away and only come back for brief conversations now and then. The heart of Key 1986 is made with that piece of knotted wire insulation. The beautiful glass bulb is a pendent that I bought a few years ago and sadly dropped and broke just as I was starting this key. The shaft of this key is made from the inside of the tire pressure gauge I built into Key 1975. I think the rhinestone clasp came from an antique stall in France but I can’t say for sure.

Oh the things we keep…

I really loved this pair of iridescent marble earrings that made their way into Key 1988 and were often on my ears in the year 1988. Somewhere I have an old headshot where I am wearing these beloved earrings. I think the rhinestone leaf clasp on this key is also from an antique stall in France.

I lived in a beautiful river view apartment for a brief time in the 80’s. Apparently one of the tenants fed stray cats and there wasn’t much of a problem with mice until after he (and the stray cats) left. I am unnaturally afraid of mice and a boyfriend (yes there were a few - brief as they were) gave me a crystal mouse to ease the pain of my fears. This was likely several years before 1988 but here it is anyway. The metal shaft from this key is from another beloved pair of earrings that I wore relentlessly during the 80’s.