EquilARTeral - Language

If you recall my post on the 16th Jan, I am making some pieces to the theme "Zoom". The first piece I did - "Words" - is actually the middle of my zoom in/zoom out concept. This is the zoomed out piece. "Language". I have been working on it the last few days."Word" was A5 sized. "Language" is A3 sized.

I had rescued several foreign language dictionaries one time when we went to Hay-on-Wye to the secondhand book shops there. Some of them were actually on outside bookshelves in the rain! So, I wasn't too guilty about using pages from them to create the base layer of the piece. Well, I say that, but as it has been several years before I could give myself permission, you can see that I didn't start ripping them apart straight away! Here is one possible layout when I was starting. I decided to use Tsukineko walnut inks for a bit of colour. Then I looked up several translations for the word "language" on Google and Babelfish, which I then wrote onto the pages I had fused into place. Across near the top I used cuneiform shapes for my own version of a transliteration of the letters for language. I even carved my own cuneiform stamps! I painted the definition of language as well as stamping the word a couple times with different alphabet stamps.

Then I covered the whole thing with this mysterious non woven very thin stuff I got in a shop where they didn't actually know what it was! The one I used over the whole thing was pale beige with images of things like official documents, handwritten letters, and the like. I fused it on with Misty Fuse as well. It was cool because it gave the look of stamped images, but as it was so thin, it looked like a middle layer rather than sitting right on top.

After quilting it, I thought I was done. But I hung it up a while to see what it might need. First of all, the word Language in the middle needed to come out more because everything blended too well.
Then I also decided I needed more of a visual of what I meant by language - which was really communication. I had incorporated a small image from an old tourist language book, but I wanted something you could see from a distance as well. So, I cut and fused the people silhouettes out of green coloured mystery fabric. I think that helped to take the eye around and create a dialogue.

Ha! No pun intended.

I have a plan for the final piece, which will be A1 size. But now, since these two have a similar look and show they are a series, I am not sure about it. It will be Letter and I thought to do an Illuminated Manuscript. However, as I think about it, I may find ways to combine this look with the Illuminated Manuscript look and create something unique...
If it works.