You probably have a bunch of unusable keys at home and you don’t know what to do with them. Well, a certain Australian artist found an interesting way to turn them into pieces of art. It turns out that keys are not only usable for unlocking doors, they are also a suitable crafting material. This is not so strange because most of them are made of steel or brass that is nickel or chrome plated. These are good materials for making jewelry or items for house decoration. The craftsman that goes by the name of Moerkey, also known as Michael Moerkey, collects and recycles old keys from all around the world and makes some really creative items out of them.
Copper rings made from reclaimed copper pipe, silver soldered together into a sphere. They make ideal indoor or outdoor garden decor items. / Photo source
Michael came up with this idea after cleaning out his shed one day. He found some old copper pipe, cut it into little ring and then soldered them together in in a perfect sphere. The fact that this kind of materials can be easily manipulated led him to create even more creative and more useful items like bowls, luminaries, bottlenecks, wine stems, tealights and even some beautiful sculptures. Moerkey uses many different pieces of metal and attaches them together edge to edge. The the gaps between the different-shaped pieces produce wonderful, dreamy shadows, especially when lit by candle light, or exposed on sunlight.
Everything that Moerkey makes can be obtained on his Etsy profile. He is also open for custom orders.
This large light is made from around 220 individually curved keys, hand pieced together to form a polished metal sphere. It throws beautiful shadows and creates a wonderful ambiance in any room. / Photo source
Recently, Moerkey made a deal with a Locksmith in Istanbul, Turkey to make numerous items for them to give to their valued clients. He received a delivery of 180 kg of keys from him to make those items. A pretty large amount of keys. / Photo source
A bunch of unsorted keys that will eventually be turned into a beautiful object. / Photo source
On his Facebook page, Moerkey says that he needs around 700 grams of keys for making a key bottle. / Photo source
Besides keys, Michael also uses copper coins as crafting material for his soldering art. Look at these beautiful penny balls / Photo source
mini balls are made from 20 or so individually curved keys, hand pieced together to form a polished metal sphere and have a removable piece to insert a tea light candle. According to the artist, they are really fiddly to make. / Photo source
The latest edition of key items made by Moerkey. / Photo source
