Old Style Word Art in Word 2010?

There is a simple way: Save any document as a Word 97-2003 (*.doc) file. In that document you can click Insert > WordArt and get the old WordArt, along with its WordArt Tools tab on the ribbon. Create the WordArt. Then you can either copy/paste the WordArt to a Word 2010 (*.docx) document, or click File > Convert to make the current document have the new format and then resave it with the new extension.

This does also work in Word 2013.

That tab is a called a contextual tab.  Like a the "Table Tools" tab, a contextual tab is only displayed on the ribbon when the selection is the type context.

This is what I have done. I pasted each of the Word2003 WordArt formats into a Word 2010 document.  I then defined a building block (I used the Custom1 galley and created a category named "WordArt") for each of the formats.  Then I added the Custom1 gallery to the QAT.  Inserting one of the 30 (classic) WordArt styles is now just a two clicks away.  As soon as I insert and select the building block, the contextual "WordArt" tab appears on the ribbon. 

Yes, unfortunately this backdoor method appears to have been "partially" closed in Word2013.  You can do as Jay mentions, but simply copying and pasting an older format WordArt in a Word2013 document no longer presents the "WordArt Tools" tab.

I asked this question, too. I had three very quick responses, all helpful, and I very much appreciate the time, effort, thought, and ingenuity of my respondents. Prompted by them, I have found what I think is a way to get Word Art on the Quick Access Toolbar. Of course, this could be an old dog’s tricking himself. Be warned.

 1. Right click on the quick-access tool-bar ribbon and then click on “Customize Quick Access Toolbar,” which goes to the page of options,

 Customize the Quick Access Tool Bar

 Choose Commands from:                                            Customize Quick Access Tool Bar

 2. Under “Choose Commands,” Click on arrow to the right of “Popular Commands” and then click on “All Commands.” Near the bottom of the new long list are seven “Word Art” Commands, with the option to “Add” (in the middle, between left and right lists) to the right list under “Customize Quick Access Tool Bar.” The one I Added is the one with the right-tilted capital A at the left of “WordArt Styles” (#5 of 9 “WordArt” entries).The icon turns up on the quick-access toolbar; click on it and one sees all the old, familiar samples of “WordArt” in multiple curves and colors. If I had time, I’d try all nine options, and you may have to.

 Good luck!

Tom

Tom,

Yes.  Maybe I didn't understand your question.  What you've done will let you apply an old WordArt style to an existing old WordArt object in a document.  It won't, unless I'm not an old enough dog to see the trick, let you insert an old WordArt style in a new Word2010 document or apply and old WordArt style to an new WordArt object.  I think you could combine what you've done with the building block method I've used and get pretty good control over the whole thing though.