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Is there anyone out there looking for a good reference book on lettering on paper or fabric?  If so, here’s the book!

Modern Mark Making From Classic Calligraphy to Hip Hand-Lettering
by Lisa Engelbrecht (Quarry Books) is a winner.  It’s subtitled “an all-in-one workbook for artists, crafters, and journalers.”  And that it is.  The book is hardcovered but has a wire spine making it easy to keep open while working.

It’s 160 full color pages with lavish illustrations.  It starts with tool, surfaces, materials, and the basics of getting started.   She explains tools for script writing, and pens, her favorites, and so on.

But the beauty of the book is in the large variety of lettering and the gorgeous examples of them used in everything from invitations to fabric art.   I love how she covers the classical but moves into the modern and urban, graffiti-looking lettering.  For making the more funky types of lettering, she explains how all types of pens  can be used, including those you make yourself.  For example, there is a page on making a “Stimudent Pen.”  What kind of pen is that, you wonder?  It’s made from Stim-U-Dent plaque removers!  She explains how even a yogurt container can be made into a pen.

Last year I had an opportunity to listen to Lisa as she taught in a brief introduction to calligraphy on fabric.  While the session was only about 15 minutes, she jammed it with information.  I was impressed.  In short, if you have  any interest at all in learning a variety of options for lettering on paper or fabric, I highly recommend this book!

If you’re interested in purchasing the book from Amazon, click on the book cover above. However, Lisa is also selling the book directly, which she’ll autograph for you.  Visit Lisa’s blog for more information, and tell her I sent you!  :)

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 29th, 2008 at 7:00 pm and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.