Psalms of Nature: the Illuminated Art of Barbara January 23, 2008

Barbara Wolff is a New York artist whose work focuses on the natural world. Her artistic guides are the master illuminators of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, artists who used gold leaf to reflect brilliant flashes of light to enhance the effect of their illustrations. Not only does Wolff meticulously embellish her illuminations with gold leaf, but she paints them on parchment, a traditional material made from animal skin. She grinds minerals like azurite, malachite and lapis lazuli into precious pigments to replicate the rich colors of those ancient images.