Bound for Glory: Celebrating the Gift of African American Spirituals through Expressive Calligraphy

I was already a big fan of Timothy Bott's Artwork, but this is like a daily devotional as well, and has deep cultural ties as well. A feast for the eyes as well as the spirit!

A most beautiful book. Timothy Botts is a great artist and my favorite calligrapher. And Spirituals are so deep and express so much about our wonderful Lord. This is a lovely book to display as a coffee table book or to give as a gift.

Quality of paper poor.

Beautifully illustrated. A strong reminder if my childhood songs that give so much strength and encouragement in these hard times. A must to share with the next generation of faith and fortitude.

I have all of Tim Botts' books but this one is super special because it is a signed copy! Love his work and am inspired by it!

I loved the illustrated calligraphy and the authors expanding on the songs. Beautiful!

Terrific

Bound for Glory is a collection of spirituals which Timothy Botts presents as a way to celebrate African American music. Each song is presented in its entirety (at least it seems to be complete songs), and Botts created illustrations to go with each. The illustrations usually incorporate some of the lyrics, and they're presented in a way to evoke a visual representation of the song. For example, with the song "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" the image features chariot wheels, but also has flames underneath the printed chorus. It's a beautiful picture which blends colors, textures, and even the chosen font to depict the song. Working with Patricia Raybon, personal reflections are offered on the songs, and they write about why the song is important to them.On the whole, I really enjoyed this book. I recognized many of the songs when I was a child, many of which now are widely popular as songs taught to children. I remember learning songs such as "The Blind Man" at the summer camp I attended, even though it wasn't presented as an African American spiritual. There were also a number of songs I didn't recognize, and though I didn't know the rhythm, it was easy to either guess or search online for many of them.I also enjoyed just seeing the illustrations and seeing how Botts chose to represent the song. I loved that the illustrations seemed quite diverse. There were some I enjoyed more than others, but I liked the majority of them. Some were more obvious in the depictions, while some seemed more subtle. The main thing I didn't like with some were the fonts chosen for the lyrics. At times they seemed to bold and took away from the image behind, but that was only a problem for a few.Songs include:Rock-a-My soulWhere you There?I Couldn't Hear Nobody PrayLord, I Want to be a ChristianDown by the RiversideI Want to Be ReadyAll God's Children Got ShoesAnd many more. If you enjoy many of the African American spirituals, you may enjoy this book.4/5 starsI received this book free from Tyndale. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

The artist understands the themes very well - each and every piece.