Keys
Dandelion Key; sterling silver; 5" x 2 1/8" x 2 1/8", chain 33", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2002
Dandelion Key; sterling silver; 5" x 2 1/8" x 2 1/8", chain 33", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2002
Echinops/Globe Thistle Key; sterling silver, amethyst, 5 7/8" x 2 5/8" x 2 5/8", chain 33", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2003
Echinops/Globe Thistle Key; sterling silver, amethyst, 5 7/8" x 2 5/8" x 2 5/8", chain 33", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2003
Wish (Dandelion Key II); sterling silver 4 1/4" x 2 1/8" x 2 1/8", chain 28", 2005
Wish (Dandelion Key II); sterling silver 4 1/4" x 2 1/8" x 2 1/8", chain 28", 2005
Loss and Longing I; sterling silver; 5" x 5" x 1/4", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2001
Loss and Longing II; sterling silver; 5 1/4" x 2 3/4" x 1/4", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2001
Loss and Longing III; sterling silver; 5 1/4" x 2 3/4" x 1/4", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2001
Loss and Longing III; sterling silver; 5 1/4" x 2 3/4" x 1/4", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2001
Phalaenopsis Orchid Key; sterling silver, iolite, 5 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 2 3/4", chain 33 1/2", 2002
Phalaenopsis Orchid Key (back); sterling silver, iolite, 5 3/8" x 2 3/8" x 2 3/4", chain 33 1/2", 2002
Trillium sessile Key; sterling silver, moonstone, 5 1/8" x 2 3/4" x 2 3/8", 2002
Trillium sessile Key (bit); sterling silver, moonstone, 5 1/8" x 2 3/4" x 2 3/8", 2002
fern key; sterling silver, garnet; 3 1/4" x 7/8" x 3/4", photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2000
plant anatomy keys; sterling silver; 1 1/4" - 2" long, photograph by Jim Wildeman, 2001
Leaf Key (Acura); sterling silver, 4 1/2" x 1 7/8" x 1/2"; 2003
leaf key necklace; sterling silver, wood, 4 1/2" x 2" x 1/2", 2000
keys; copper-electroplated bronze and copper, patina, 3 1/2" - 4 1/2" x 3/4", 2001
Keys
What does this key unlock? What is behind the door you wish to open? Is it a secret garden? A magical world to escape into, or your backyard? Or perhaps, instead of unlocking, you wish to keep a special object or place secure. Maybe you hold the key to the last bit of untouched wilderness, or the key to the secret of life, or maybe it’s just a key to your old apartment where the locks have been changed.
When you hold a key, you hold power. In many cultures, for example traditionally in Scandinavia and still today in Nepal, keys are displayed on the body like jewelry to show status. Keys have a long history, ranging from the ordinary, mundane object to the ritual object to the symbolic gesture (i.e. key to the city). It is not so much the key, as it is what the key can unlock that fascinates us.