I was given a chance to read a pre-release copy of The Art of Words by Valerie Wieners. (It releases August 1st, 2017) It is a beautiful full-color 120 page book. Subtitled “Learn the Craft of Creative Lettering” this book will help you learn lettering or improve your skill.
Passio/Charisma House provided this book free for review. I was not required to give a positive review – only an honest one.
ISBN: 9781629991566
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This book is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
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LETTERING
Lettering is of course the main focus of this book and fills over half the pages. Valerie starts by explaining lettering terms and common supplies.
She then walks you step by step through lettering with “fake calligraphy.” A lettering style that allows you to get the standard calligraphy look without special pens or good pressure control on your pen while writing.
Valerie has included three other complete alphabets with a place for you to both trace and practice them freehand. (Though I will need more than just a couple pages of practice on each). She has included examples of 4 more complete alphabets, arrows, flourishes, flowers, and pages for experimenting. There is room for you to keep a log of what papers you’ve tried, favorite art supplies, and flourishes you’ve seen. Also included are examples of adding flourishes to letters and a good section on mixing lettering styles. I love that the examples of finished works are mostly Bible verses and encouraging sayings.
LETTERING PROJECTS
The Art of Words has instructions for 12 different projects that will allow you to practice and use your new lettering skills. Each project includes a material list and step-by-step instructions with illustrations. I like the assortment of projects that includes cards, envelopes, gift tags, decorative signs for your home, and more.
BIBLE JOURNALING
One of those Lettering Projects is Bible journaling. I’ve singled it out because it’s the most relevant to me (and most of my readers on Bible Buying Guide). Valerie has included a list of her favorite journaling supplies along with the material list for the specific project. She walks you through one of her favorite ways to approach Bible journaling and shows examples of a few other pages she has done in her Bible. While this section is short it’s so nice to have Bible journaling singled out as a possible project. Also in my opinion many of the other projects in this book could be easily converted to be useful for a Bible page.
ARTWORK TO INSPIRE
In the back of the book Valerie has included many inspirational pieces of artwork. There is an entire page of common inspirational and Bible words in various lettering styles. There are gift tags and bookmarks (some colored, some not) for you to use. Beautiful inspirational cards are included for you to cut out and place on mirrors, in lunch boxes, or anywhere you (or someone else) will see them when you need a word of encouragement.
Also included are many lettering projects for you to personalize and finish. These are coloring pages, lettered sayings for you to frame or do artwork for, and beautiful backgrounds for you to put your lettering on. Starting in various states of completeness these are intended for you to copy, resize to what’s most useful for you, and finish.
FINAL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ART OF WORDS
This is the lettering book I wanted last year when I purchased Creative Lettering and Beyond. Enough alphabets to really get you started lettering, good examples of how to combine and embellish your lettering, some fun projects for using my lettering skills, and concrete examples of how to use those skills in Bible journaling. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book (and working on a few of the projects).
I have to admit I didn’t know much about Valerie before receiving this book. I’ve enjoyed getting to know her through this book and by reading her posts on Facebook and her website. She seems very passionate about encouraging people not only in their lettering and artwork but also in living a christian life and overcoming certain struggles that have become all too common in our modern world.
I highly recommend this book for anyone just starting out with creative lettering. With it’s good explanation of basics, step-by-step instructions of starting alphabets and projects, encouraging tone, and many extras for you to put your own touch to, any beginner should find a great place to start. Even those much more experienced with lettering might want to add The Art of Words to their library since the complete alphabets and numerous projects and examples will always be useful for reference and inspiration.
Are you planning on buying this book? If you already have what’s your favorite part? Do you follow Valerie Wieners at all? What other lettering books would you recommend? Let us know in the comments.
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This book is available at (includes some affiliate links)
and many local Bible bookstores
_______________________________________________________
Photography by hannah C brown
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