Wordless

We are still telling stories with the written word for The Documented Life Project 2015 December theme. Our art challenge this week is: use quote or lyrics as storytelling. And the journalling prompt is: "One of the hardest things is having words in your heart that you can't utter" (James Earl Jones).  Well in contrast to that, my words just spilled out onto the pages this week. I started with the background in various colours where I rubbed out the words using stencils and a baby wipe. All the stencils I used were word ones, mainly designed by Carolyn Dube for Stencilgirl. 

I stencilled on more words in the more conventional way, through the stencils. Finally words were collaged on. You could say I did all this randomly but to be honest I had by that stage already decided on the image I wanted to use as my focal point and the words I glued on have some relevance to Ophelia and her fate as I was after all, story telling! Pieces of a paper napkin with hearts were added to the pages (using only the top layer). I also rubber stamped on more text.

 Ophelia took centre stage. She comes from a painting by John Everett Millais, one of the Pre-Raphaelites.

Ophelia committed suicide as told in Shakespeare's Hamlet. The words I used all in some way echo that. But mere words can't describe such an act completely. It usually leaves us WORDLESS (added through a letter stencil, outlined in black and filled in with a white marker).

As per our art challenge I also added a further quotation that comes from an old French proverb. It reads:

La vie est à moitié finie avant que l’on sache en quoi elle consiste

This is usually translated into English as: Life is half spend before one knows what life is. I'm leaving the interpretation of the story I'm telling on this spread to whoever is reading this. I'm keeping my words in my heart and won't utter them!

There needed to be a connecting line across the pages for compositional purposes, so postage stamps featuring flowers and matching colours were added in the two opposite corners of the spread. If I had known when I started in what direction the pages would move, I might have used less happy looking colours but in a way that contrast too tells it's own story.