As interest in the visual arts continues to increase, so do helpful publications. Some of the most helpful resources come from Lutheran and Roman Catholic sources. All of these items are available from the following publishers:
- Augsburg Fortress: Minneapolis, Minnesota; 800-328-4648; www.augsburgfortresss.org
- Concordia Publishing House (CPH): St. Louis, Missouri; 800-774-0274
- Liturgy Training Publications (LTP): Chicago, Illinois; 888-933-1800; www.ltp.org; info@ltp.org.
- Meriwether Publishing, Ltd.: Colorado Springs, Colorado; 800-937-5297
- Resource Publications: San Jose, California; 1-888-273-7782; www.rpinet.com
- The Liturgical Press (LP): Collegeville, Minnesota; 800-858-5450; www.liturgicalprress.com
You may want to contact the publishers to learn of more available resources. Some publishers provide extensive catalogs of liturgical art. For example, Augsburg Fortress provides Ecclesiastical Arts and Handcrafted Paraments for the Church, both beautiful four-color catalogs.
Banners
Banners for All Seasons: How to Make Creative Banners for Holy Days and Holidays. Joyce Pike and Anne Robinson. Meriwether, 2001. 105 pp. $15.95. ISBN 1-56608-059-2.
Color illustrations for 15 banners with detailed lists of materials and patterns on grids. Techniques include tie-dye, sun paint with templates, color crayons, candlewick stitching, and quilting. Covers the liturgical year plus communion and wedding.
Banners on Favorite Bible Verses. Sally Beck. CPH, 1998. 96 pp. $10.99. ISBN 0-570-04988-1.
Complete instructions for making and hanging. Easy to make. Also could be used for bulletin covers, clip art, or bulletin boards.
>Banners with a Conscience: 37 Banners on Sensitive Issues. Dale A. Bargmann. CPH, 1997. 63 pp. $9.99. ISBN 0-570-04897-4.
Complete instructions for making and hanging banners with simple designs; rather wordy. Emphasis is on Christian service; specific ideas include grief, mourning, hunger, shelter and food, divorce, disabilities, abortion.
Celebrations of Faith: 60 Banner Patterns. Carla Krazl. CPH, 1999. 89 pp. $10.99. ISBN 0-570-05393-5.
Contains all the fundamentals for making and hanging banners. Simple designs; easy to make; for occasions such as baptism, funeral, wedding, installation rather than liturgical year. Could be used for bulletins.
Lenten Banner. Gary R. Shiplett. Meriwether. $19.95. Order #BR-P324.
An eight-part sequential presentation (for each Sunday of Lent) using drama and a banner. A symbol is added to the banner each week, accompanied by the reading of a corresponding script. Meriwether’s Contemporary Drama Service provides the banner patterns and short scripts. (One in a series of banner/drama combinations for various seasons.)
Luminescent Banner Design. Marie E. Pierce and Ruhland Koehlinger. CPH, 1998. 95 pp. $9.99. ISBN 0-570-05341-2.
Uses fabrics that have light-reflective qualities and often give the illusion of being three-dimensional. Includes some symbols; also pictures for Christmas and Easter and other special celebrations. Large-scale, intense; not for beginners! Complete instructions for making and hanging.
Raise the Banners High! Making and Using Processional Banners Pamela T. Hardiman and Josephine Niemann. LTP, 2002. 168 pp. ISBN 1-56854-368-9.
Practical guide for designs for the entire church year and the sacraments, with separate chapters on hardware, ribbon banners, quilted banners, and more.
Books on Art for the Whole Worship Space
Seasons for Praise: Art for the Sanctuary. Eleanore Feucht Sudbrock with Kenneth Manglesdorf and Sally Beck. CPH, 2000. 72 pp. $9.95. ISBN 0-570-05275-0.
“There’s something special going on here.” That’s what adorning the sanctuary for different seasons says to worshipers. Deals with using the whole space in the sanctuary. Encourages groups to use word associations to create ideas that fit the season or service. Some ideas easy, some more difficult.
Spaces for Spirit: Adorning the Church. Nancy Chinn. LTP, 1998. 72 pp. $26.00. ISBN 1-56854-242-9.
Gorgeous color photos of textile and paint installations including canopies, mobiles, banners. Creative ideas using paper lace, painting on nylon, fabric on netting, painting on paper. Instruction and guidance based on principles of art and design; includes case studies of different churches.
Symbols for all Seasons: Environmental Planning for Cycles A, B and C. Catherine H. Krier. Resource, 1988. 175 pp. $17.95. ISBN 0-89390-125-3.
Introductory chapters on the role of environment with planning ideas. Includes a listing of strong visual or evocative images found in Scripture passages assigned in the three-year Roman Catholic lectionary. No patterns, but encouragement to let the Scripture evoke visual interpretation.
To Crown the Year: Decorating the Church Through the Seasons. Peter Mazar. LTP, 1995. 297 pp. $19.00. ISBN 1-56854-041-8.
Includes for each season a sense of the season, overview, specific days. Does not include patterns or examples but has many ideas, principles, and reasons for decorating all areas of the sanctuary. Also has a short section on sacraments.
Clip Art
Books
Faith Images 2: Clip Art for the Liturgical Year. Placid Stuckenschneider. LP, 2000. 66 pp. $15.95. ISBN 1-58051-049-3.
Some line drawings, others more detailed; variety of lettering. Could also be used for banners. Covers the liturgical year and other events and celebrations of the church.
Clip Art of the Old Testament. Helen Siegl. LP, 1994. 117 pp. $15.95. ISBN 0-8146-6010-X.
Helpful table of contents by book and verse. Interesting blockprints.
Clip-Art for Feasts and Seasons. New Expanded Edition. Gertrud Mueller Nelson. LP, 1990. $15.95. ISBN 0-8146-6041-X.
For all church occasions and activities, from liturgical art to youth group gatherings to birthdays. Organized around the church year by month and broken into the categories of “church and school” and “family and community” each month.
Clip Art for Year A. (B, C also available). 3 vols. Steve Erspamer. LTP, 1992. $25 each. ISBN 0-929650-59-X (A); 1-56854-009-4 (B); 1-56854-035-3 (C).
Includes introduction to artist, copyright information, and uses for artwork. Contains excellent stylized and some multicultural designs.
Clip Art for the Liturgical Year. Clemens Schmidt. LP, 1988. 117 pp. $15.95. ISBN 0-8146-1582-1.
Line drawings and calligraphy offer a wealth of illustration for the church year. Index includes Scripture references with possible illustrations for each.
More Clip Art for the Liturgical Year. Placid Stuckenschneider. LP, 1990. 117 pp. $15.95. ISBN 0-8146-1959-2.
Variety of styles from simple to more elaborate. Some on specific Scripture verses; good index in back naming each design.
Even More Clip Art for the Liturgical Year. Placid Stuckenschneider. LP, 1992. 125 pp. $15.95. ISBN 0-8146-2169-4.
Distinctive and bold designs for all occasions. Perhaps too complex for banner use, but very appropriate for bulletin covers.
CD-ROM
Clip Art for Feasts and Seasons, Celebrations and Service. Gertrud Mueller Nelson. LP, 1996, 2002. $39.95. ISBN 0-8146-6188-2.
“Autoload” CD-ROM includes above book and also Clip Art for Celebrations and Service. Over 700 images include liturgical celebrations as well as school year activities and service/ministry work. Windows and Macintosh; call for system requirements.
Clip Art, More, and Even More Clip Art for the Liturgical Year. Clemens Schmidt and Placid Stuckenschneider. LP, 1996. $39.95. ISBN 0-8146-2426-X.
CD-ROM of 3 book titles above. Windows, Macintosh; call for system requirements. Includes Kudo Catalog Reader to identify and locate images, help menu, and sortable index of notes describing each image.
Clip Art for Catechesis. George F. Collopy. Resource, 1997. $59.95.
Two hundred images for the liturgical year and more. Variety of styles from classic to modern. Windows, Macintosh; call for system requirements.
Graphics for Worship 2.0. Lynn Joyce Hunter, Ann Delgehausen, eds. Augsburg, 1999. $109.00. ISBN 0-8066-3966-0.
Includes 358 images from the liturgical year and other occasions, some multicultural. Graphics vary from detailed to simple lines to blockprint style. Could be used for banners. Thematic index with keywords. Windows, Macintosh; call for system requirements.
Icon: Visual Images for Every Sunday. Tanja Butler. Augsburg, 2000. $199.00. ISBN 0-8066- 4077-4.
Over 600 images based on the church year, lectionary gospel readings, major festivals, as well as worship and sacramental themes. Combines symbols and subjects found in catacombs, Byzantine icons, medieval manuscripts with fresh style of contemporary art. Papercutting technique has clear lines and bold contrasts. Includes helpful user guide; Portfolio Browser allows for multiple search and index functions. Windows, Macintosh; call for system requirements.