For the last 30 years, artist Seeroon Yeretzian has dedicated her life to showcasing the long-lost art of medieval-era Armenian illuminated manuscripts. Out of Roslin Art Gallery in Glendale, named after 13th-century illuminated manuscript master Toros Roslin, Yeretzian studied through a watchmaker's magnifier, immersing herself in the world of the miniature medieval art form. With oil, gouache and gold leaf as her media, she continued the tradition, re-creating the miniature letters (called trchnakir in Armenian) that her centuries-ago counterparts painted to reflect the word of God in nature. She added her own touches along the way, incorporating fish, pomegranates and peacocks in the ornate initials, and completing Hebrew, Arabic and English letters in the style as well. The results are vividly breathtaking with universal appeal. With clients from Russia to Lebanon, Ukraine and France, Yeretzian has had her unique illuminated alphabets printed into posters, postcards and wedding invitations and contributed significantly to the survival of an ancient art form whose demise was sealed by the printing press centuries ago. 111 W. California Ave., Glendale. (818) 241-0611, roslin.com.

—Liana Aghajanian

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