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In this work, we studied protein binders in micro-samples from mural paintings from two 18th century Colonial Andean churches located in the northernmost region of Chile using a proteomic approach. The protein fraction of the samples was extracted with ammonia following a previously optimized methodology and analyzed by LC–MSMS. We identified collagen as well as egg white and yolk proteins, in accordance with a tempera painting technique. In addition, we detected for the first time the presence of muscle proteins in two of the micro-samples. The collagen and muscle proteins could be ascribed to bovine (Bos taurus) and llama (Vicugna pacos), a domesticated camelid used as food source and for transportation of goods in the Andes since pre-Hispanic times. These findings provide new aspects on the knowledge of old animal glues composition and painting practices in the Andean region with reliable information for restoration and conservation work.

Saponification occurring in paint layers of artworks represents a serious degradation process affecting the appearance and stability of paintings. Formation of metal soaps is mostly reported as a consequence of the interaction of lead white or zinc white with oil binder. We found the distinct symptoms of saponification in paint layers consisting of lead-tin yellow type I and egg yolk binder in a panel painting from the 15th century. This scarce finding induced the study of interactions between lead-tin yellow type I with three different binders: (i) egg yolk tempera, (ii) emulsion of egg yolk and oil, and (iii) oil. The interactions were studied in long-term model experiments using infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). Based on the results, a set of mixed lead carboxylates of the series Pb(C16)2-x(C18)x, where x = 0; 0.25; 0.5; 0,75; 1; 1.5 and 2, was synthesised as reference materials suitable as a basis for proper identification of neo-formed lead soaps by FTIR and XRD. The formation of lead soaps was detected already within 1 month of reaction in egg yolk containing binders, whereas no soap was formed during 6 months of the experiment in the oil mixture. The neo-formed soaps are various mixed lead carboxylates containing both palmitate (C16) and stearate (C18) in one crystal structure and the proportion of carboxylate anions is affected by the type of the binder. We found the C16:C18 ratio in mixed lead carboxylates is higher in egg yolk tempera samples in accordance with the more abundant palmitic acid in egg yolk fat. On the other hand, the lower C16:C18 ratio in emulsion binder correlates with increased content of stearic acid, suggesting contribution of both binders, i.e. egg yolk and oil, to the soap formation.

The darkening process of cinnabar and vermilion-based paint surfaces as well as pigment-binder interactions upon weathering have been studied by subjecting egg-yolk tempera dosimeters to UV-aging, RH cycling, and 2-year outdoor weathering with and without direct exposure to rain and sunlight. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy proved that photooxidation resulted in Hg enrichment in the cinnabar pigment surface of weathered paints exposed to direct sunlight and rain, which caused important binder loss as well as thermal-induced crack formation and severe darkening of the unprotected pigments. Remarkably, darkening occurred in the absence of halogens and all pigments, independent of their preparation process (ground minerals or synthesis by a wet-process), were affected. After UV-aging, RH-cycling, and outdoor weathering in the absence of direct sunlight and rain, in contrast, pigments were still covered by egg yolk and did not undergo significant alteration. The binder, however, suffered important conformational and physical changes, including crack formation. These changes were significantly influenced by the size of the pigment. Additionally, XRD results indicate the presence of metacinnabar as an impurity in the original cinnabar and vermilion pigments, which might have been mistakenly identified as an alteration product in previous studies.

Interferometric profilometry and hyperspectral imaging techniques combined with traditional analytical techniques such as spectrophotometry, stereomicroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, particle size analysis, and thermogravimetry were used to characterize tempera paint mock-ups. These paint mock-ups were prepared as binary mixtures made by mixing either egg yolk or rabbit glue binders with one of ten pigments traditionally used by mediaeval artists, namely lime, calcium sulfate, white lead, minium, hematite, cinnabar, azurite, lapis lazuli, blue smalt and malachite. We evaluated the effects of mineralogical composition, pigment particle size and morphology, as well as the type and concentration of the binder on the physical properties of the paintś surface. Results showed that all the above compositional aspects had a direct influence on the paintś color, reflectance, and roughness. Moreover, mineral impurities and neoformed minerals due to pigment-binder interaction during paint preparation had a crucial effect on the superficial physical properties of paints. The analytical results proved the usefulness of interferometric profilometry and hyperspectral imaging techniques for the characterization of paint surfaces. The gained information will help conservation specialists in the evaluation of the impact of conservation treatments on the paint surface and the assessment of surface damage caused by weathering processes.

In cultural heritage restoration and conservation, it has been proved that LIBS is an appropriate technique for pigments identification, analysis of multilayered paintings, and quantitative analysis of ancient materials. Generally, experiments involving the use of laser for paint cleaning and LIBS in order to identify the composition of the removed material are made. Here, we report LIBS studies on mastic and dammar varnishes removal using visible (532 nm) and UV (266 nm) laser pulses (5 ns) with fluences in the range 0.6-4.4 J/cm(2). The studied varnish layers were on-purpose painted on glass supports or were part of several mock-up samples having dammar or mastic as final layer - gold foil, yellow ochre or cobalt blue egg tempera as painting layer - chalk or acrylic ground as link to an wooden support. LIBS was used to monitor the laser induced stepwise selective removal of the layers and to analyze their composition. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adherent deposits are very aggressive towards ancient heritage paintings since they affect the varnish and the painting's layers, sometimes reaching the preparative layers. The biggest problem to the restorer is their removal without affecting the patina, the transparent varnish (well preserved) and fine colour glazes made during painting. Therefore, their removal requires preliminary cleaning tests that allow the optimization of the cleaning system composition that is going to be used. The study was focused on organic natural systems, as colourless supernatants, some of them used during ages, but insufficiently studied. The paper presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of cleaning varnished icons of the nineteenth century, with complex conservation cases using supernatants derived from aqueous dispersions extracted from vegetables and dry indigenous herbal infusions. Best results, after six consecutive cleaning steps, on tempera old icon was obtained for a mixture made of mature white onion juice + extract of Soapwort flowers + corn silk tea + acacia tea. As a best result after just one cleaning step was obtained for a quaternary mixture composed from mature white onion juice + mature carrot juice + corn silk tea + aqueous extract of Soapwort flowers.

In this study several non-invasive and minimally-invasive techniques were employed for the discovery of the original aspect of an old iconostasis belonging to a small wooden church in Vâlcea County (southern Romania). Preliminary examination of the iconostasis raised suspicions upon its actual age, the wooden carved decorations style pointing towards the Brancovan period, while images in raking light highlighted old lacunae painted over. Hyperspectral imaging and X-ray Fluorescence investigations were performed in situ, while Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and microscopic examination were performed on several microsamples. Corroborated results confirmed the presence of an older painting underneath the visible one. Cross-section analysis revealed the existence of multiple layers, while images acquired with hyperspectral camera revealed contours of the initial drawing. Several pigments were found such as smalt, Prussian blue, vermilion, red lead, red and yellow ochre, chrome yellow, chrome green, lead white and zinc white. A modified egg tempera technique - proteinaceous materials mixed with oil, was most probably originally used. The obtained results shed light on the traditional painting techniques used within the Brancovan period as well as essential information for art historians and conservators involved in the restoration of this valuable artifact.

Essence of the cultural heritage is the preservation of the historic objects. The first action on the preventative issues is to know the technique used through implementation of different analytical methods. The studied object is a panel painting of a Coptic icon for Anstasy Al-Rumi the painter and it is documented with date back to the 16th century. Optical microscopy (OM), Raman microscopy (RM), scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX) and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) are good tools for forensic investigation of the multilayers of the painting; wood, canvas, paint colors (pigment, binder and varnish). Imaging methods have succeeded in identifying the wood and the canvas type, while spectroscopic methods manifested the elemental composition and characteristic bands of the paint colors, and principal component analysis reduced the variation in the colors retaining most of the information. The painting technique was tempera style involving Juniperus phoenicea wood, hemp canvas, animal glue, pine resin, lead white, gypsum, green earth, Prussian blue, yellow ochre, vermilion, carmine lake, carbon black and gold leaf in the icon painting. After investigation of the materials, the icon has not been referred to the 16th Century. Prussian blue was discovered at the start of the 18th century and Anstasy Al-Rumi the painter lived in the 19th century demonstrating that the icon may encounter previous intervention. There was a color loss as an indication of the aging process and chemical interactions with the environmental conditions.

The wall painting fragments from the Mycenaean “Palace of Nestor” at Pylos, are characterized by their high artistic quality, their unusual iconographic variety and the use of tempera and secco painting techniques. Systematic in-situ XRF analyses combined with the results of other portable and laboratory analytical techniques have already revealed a rich gamut of inorganic pigments with respect to the common Aegean “palette”, including different white and black pigments, iron based ochres ranging from dark brown to orange and pinkish hues, manganese based umbers, natural copper based greens, goethite, Egyptian blue and organic purple dyes. Macroscopic X-ray Fluorescence (MA-XRF) imaging, although well-established for non-invasive analysis of historical or contemporary painted artworks has hitherto been applied in a few cases only regarding the study of ancient polychromy. The purpose of applying in-situ MA-XRF imaging on selected wall painting fragments from the Palace of Pylos was to evaluate the capabilities of this technique in identifying the composition of pigments and their spatial distribution within heavily deteriorated pictorial layers, and in revealing iconographic information invisible to the naked eye. The results of MA-XRF imaging allowed us to critically re-consider previous artistic reconstructions, providing significant evidence on the painting techniques and materials used by Late Bronze Age painters.

This paper deals with several approaches to the application of X-ray fluorescence analysis and micro-analysis to non-destructive investigations of paintings. The methodology is described and demonstrated on a painting of known structure that was painted with modern artistic tempera paints. There is also a description and a demonstration of three depth profiling techniques that provide information on the depth distribution of elements in the surface layers of a painting. The three techniques utilize (a) the internal X-ray ratios of the elements that are present, (b) X-ray fluorescence analysis with two detectors with different angles of detection of characteristic X-rays, and (c) a technique based on comparing X-ray spectra measured with a tilted sample. The capabilities and demands on instrumentation and interpretation of the results are compared for all these techniques.

The House of the Telephus Relief in Herculaneum (Naples, Italy) is a Roman domus , buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. The house had a wooden roof with decorated ceiling, which was discovered in 2009. The roof represents an extraordinary archaeological find and, although it was found mainly disassembled, some of its wooden decorative panels are still almost intact. Some portions of the original polychrome decoration and traces of gilding are still preserved. Within the framework of the Herculaneum Conservation Project, a diagnostic study was undertaken to characterise the materials used in the polychrome decoration and to assess the technique used by Roman painters to decorate the ceiling. Micro samples (c. 500 μg) of paint were analysed with a multi-analytical approach. The micro-morphological characterisation of the pigments and the paint stratigraphy was assessed using light (LM) and scanning electron microscopes (SEM). X-ray microanalysis (EDX) coupled with SEM and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used to investigate the inorganic components. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS) were used to identify the binding media and other organic materials. The nature of the sediment, where the findings had been embedded, was also investigated. The acquired data revealed that a tempera painting has been applied. Egg was used as binder, whereas lime, red and yellow ochre, and caeruleum were used as white, red, yellow and blue pigments, respectively. The paint was directly applied onto the wood surface. Some decorations involved the application of gold leaf: unfortunately, no trace of the mordant or adhesives was found. The results also highlighted some issues related to the state of preservation of the artefact, thus contributing to the planning of conservation strategies.

For a better description and chronology of the liturgical art of the Russian-Lipovan community of Romania and, in view of correct attestation, a set of five icons presumed painted in the first half of the 19th century belonging to the patrimony of Antim Monastery (Bucharest) and One-wood Monastery (Valcea county), have been investigated by means of non-invasive Digital Radiography (DR), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) and Raman (FT-Raman) Spectroscopy. Only a few fragments being left after some restorations have been analysed by invasive Epithermal Neutron Activation Analysis (ENAA). DR proved a relative good state of conservation of wooden panel evidencing the presence of different metallic artefacts, XRF confirmed the presence of Ca, Cr, Fe, Ba, Ag, Hg, Au and Pb as components of pigments or metallic ornaments, ENAA, although being reduced to only a few fragments, allowed to evidence the presence of Sr, as well as of small amounts of Zn and As, most probably as impurities. Judging on FT-IR data, a protein-rich binder, most probably hen egg yolk was used, suggesting tempera as the main painting technique. Complementarily, FT-Rama spectroscopy showed that in all cases painters had used vermilion, red lead and at a less extent - litharge as red pigments, while white lead, anhydrite, chalk had been used as white pigments or as components of the primer. Only in the case of the most elaborated Saint Nicholas icon, FT-Raman spectroscopy allowed to identify the use of chrome yellow and ultramarine. All data suggest the first half of the 19th century as a possible age of the icon painted in local ateliers belonging to the Russian-Lipovan community of Romania.

The painting “Donna Nuda” by Leonardo was acquired by Catherine II (the Great) from the R. Walpole collection, Houghton Hall, England, in 1779 for the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. By exploiting the EVA film technology (ethylene vinyl acetate polymer embedded with strong cation and anion exchangers and with C8 and/or C18 resins) we have explored the surface of the painting in order to ascertain the techniques used in its drawing. Five EVA films were affixed on the body and on the landscape for 60 min. Upon elution from the recovered films, the harvested material was analyzed by gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry as well as by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. “Tempera grassa” (consisting of linseed oil admixed with egg yolk) was used in the entire painting. The surface was then protected by a layer of conifer resin. It is hypothesized that access to the layer underneath the protective layer was obtained via micro-cracks on the conifer resin itself. Rosemary oil was used as diluent to slow down the drying process and so to perform the glazing technique, thus obtaining the “aerial perspective” in correspondence of the landscape. To our reckoning, this is the first time in which a Leonardo painting is analyzed in depth but also in which his artistic technique is deciphered via modern techniques for exploring Cultural Heritage. The EVA film technology might be used for ascertaining the authenticity of paintings and uncover frauds. Significance statement Leonardo da Vinci was the most famous Italian polymath of the Renaissance and one of the most important innovators of his time. He was the author of several important artworks such as “La Gioconda”, but he also painted the “Donna Nuda” conserved at the Hermitage Museum. Although some attempts permitted the identification of part of the materials used by Leonardo, to date no analytical investigations were able to fully characterize and decipher the recipes. We explored the surface of the “Donna Nuda” painting through a non-invasive approach that uses a functionalized film to adsorb nano-scopic amounts of materials that were then analyzed by mass spectrometry. This method has the potential to revolutionize the approaches used to analyze cultural heritage.

The tempera painting technique is one of the most common methods used throughout art history. Tempera is defined by the type of binders used and in this work we study protein-based temperas. Proteinaceous binders can be characterized by the chromatographic determination of the amino acids present where techniques are either based on gas chromatography or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to mass spectrometry. The objective of this work was to develop a derivatisation-free HPLC method with triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometric detection (HPLC/ESI-MS/MS) of 21 amino acids contained in the protein-based binders of tempera paints. The analytical method identifies the painting techniques of two contemporary artists: Sironi and DeLuigi. The sample data are compared to painting material standards. The results show that the samples from works by DeLuigi contain mainly animal glue binders, while the samples from Sironi paintings contain binders that are an amino acid mixture with an overall composition between that of eggs and casein. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cholesterol (1) constitutes approximately 5% of the lipid fraction of eggs. The compound is therefore abundant in fresh egg tempera paints. The fate of cholesterol upon light ageing of egg tempera paint binding medium was investigated by direct temperature resolved mass spectrometry (DTMS) and tandem mass spectrometry (DTMSMS). Cholesterol oxidation products (COPs) such as 5,6-epoxycholestan-3-ol (2) and 3-hydroxycholest-5-en-7-one (3) were positively identified in light-aged egg binding medium. Given the fast rate of oxidation of cholesterol, the corresponding oxidation products are better markers for egg tempera than the cholesterol molecule itself. Cholesterol and COPs were discovered in paints on German baroque altar pieces from the 16th and 18th C and in a 20th C glaze on a Mark Rothko Seagram Mural painting at Tate by DTMS fingerprinting analysis of paint microsamples.

The thirteenth century wall paintings (45 scenes) recently discovered under the Siena Cathedral (Italy) constitute an unusually important pictorial cycle within the panorama of European medieval painting. Scientific research was carried out to acquire detailed information to provide technical and philological support to the current restoration. This paper deals with the mineralogical and petrographic characterization of the materials, as well as inferences about the painting techniques (suitable reference specimens were prepared for this purpose) and the state of conservation of the wall paintings. The study is primarily based on analyses of microfragments in thin cross-sections by means of a polarising microscope equipped for observations in transmitted and reflected light; XRD, SEM-EDS and Micro-Raman spectroscopy were also used to confirm and supplement the microscopic data. Plaster joints with a specific horizontal and vertical trend that follows the separation of the different scenes indicates a “pontate” method of execution. The supporting plaster, lying directly on the masonry, is monolayered. Two main types of plasters were observed: lime plaster and lime plaster with cocciopesto. In the first type plant fibres are locally present. The paint film is often multilayered. Thirteen pigments were identified, all of them used in the original paintings or, at most, in repaintings before the middle of the fourteenth century. Two pigments, crocoite and chrysocolla, have never been found before in medieval wall paintings. The finding of crocoite (very probably of natural origin) is of particular historical-scientific importance. The most typical microstratigraphies in the main figurative elements are illustrated. The painting techniques used are fresco (including the variant lime fresco painting), tempera and lime painting, very often combined in the paint film. The distinguishing petrographic features of each technique are described and illustrated. The main results of the study are discussed in regard to their historical and artistic significance, and they are compared with materials and techniques known in other contemporary pictorial cycles. The state of conservation of the wall paintings before the restoration is illustrated and related to the complex history of the room hosting the paintings. Referenced digital mapping of the preservation status was carried out for the major scenes using a Geographic Information System (GIS), which allowed adequate processing of the entire data set.

Two mural paintings by Ciro Ferri from the second half of the XVII century that decorate the Saturn Room–Palatine Gallery–of Pitti Palace in Florence, have been investigated by optical and SEM-EDS microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, micro FT-IR, photoluminescence and Mossbauer spectroscopy, in order to throw light on the painting technique, the original constituent materials (pigments and binders) and those employed in repaintings, and their state of conservation. The blue mantle of the king is of particular interest, painted by using smalt in fresco and then egg tempera of ultramarine blue. Smalt was found to have an anomalous discoloration, while the ultramarine blue pictorial layers were studied in order to understand the nature of the employed pigment (natural or artificial) and binders. Micro FT-IR and photoluminescence spectroscopies were particularly successful in the identification of the nature of this pigment, helping us in assessing whether the blue painting layers are original or not. These techniques applied to a series of ultramarine blue samples of well-known provenance, allowed us to propose specific markers. Micro FT-IR spectroscopy, applied directly to the sampled powders and fragments or to their solvent-soluble fractions, could be a fast and easy technique for the identification of organic binders, coatings and adhesives. Specific infrared bands can be used to identify the employed materials and/or as decay markers, rendering easier therefore a more appropriate description of the state of conservation of the investigated paintings.

This paper describes the effects of accelerated artificial and natural ageing on samples of azurite paint tempera prepared according to traditional early Italian recipes. The pigment used was basic copper carbonate in the form known as azurite and this was mixed using whole egg tempera medium. Artificial and natural ageing of the dosimeters was performed using controlled ageing chambers and selected sites of varying environmental conditions. The effects of ageing were quantified using a number of analytical techniques, which include the following: thermal analysis (DSC and TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The data were then compared with those obtained from samples which were naturally aged by exposure in selected European art galleries and historic castles for a period of 9 months. It was found that the changes observed on artificial light ageing alone were minimal. Mass spectrometry (DTMS) showed that samples had already undergone oxidation during the curing stage of 3 months [O.F. van den Brink, G.B. Eijkel, J.J. Boon, Thermochim. Acta 360 (2) (2000), this proceedings]. There were, however, measurable differences in the samples that had been subjected to thermal and pollutant ageing, and this was used to rank the sites.

One of the main concerns of conservators and curators is to find a method for evaluating the damage incurred by works of art in major galleries, historic houses, and castles with differing indoor environmental conditions. For this purpose, test tempera paintings were prepared and exposed at selected sites. The test paintings act as dosimeters and integrate the contributions from a range of factors which determine the overall environmental hazard to which paintings are exposed. Subsequent analysis of the test paintings involved an interdisciplinary approach using mass spectrometry (FOM Institute, the Netherlands), thermal analysis (Birkbeck College, UK) and non-invasive spectroscopic analysis (CNR–IROE, Italy). These techniques gave a measure of the physicochemical change and hence the resulting damage. In this paper, the thermoanalytical data will be presented, in particular of smalt tempera. Prior accelerated ageing of similar test paintings using controlled conditions was also performed to provide a comparison between artificial and natural ageing and a means for calibrating the test paintings.

The monitoring and control of environmental parameters provide useful information in order to reduce the decay of works of art. Dosimeters that reproduce the pictorial structure of paintings as closely as possible were prepared and tested to evaluate the effects induced on works of art by the ‘‘global’’ indoor environment. These dosimeters were aged under different conditions in ageing chambers, and successively were placed in the Uffizi Gallery for several months. The data obtained from the naturally aged dosimeters were compared with those found for the artificially aged, thus providing information on the alteration process induced by the environmental factors. # 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The aim of this study is to develop a laboratory technique to simulate a natural ageing of canvas paintings adopting artificial ageing methods in air (thermal oxidation), in the absence of light. Four models of canvas paintings aged up to 315 years are considered. Paintings are constituted of oil film on oil ground layer, oil film on tempera ground layer, tempera film on tempera ground layer or by tempera film on oil ground layer. Surface strength and the colour of the paintings and the degree of polymerization (DP) of linen canvas were evaluated at different steps of ageing. The degradative result was estimated as the DP of linen canvas after prefixed times of microbial attack.

Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to a very simple case of a tempera panel painted with four known pigments (cinnabar, malachite, yellow ochre and chromium oxide). The four pigments were spread pure as well as dilute with carbon black (5% w/w, 10% w/w) thus creating 12 homogeneous areas of the same size. The panel was imaged by a Vidicon camera in the visible and near-infrared regions (420–1550 nm) resulting in a set of 29 images. PCA was applied by taking various subsets of the input data. From the analysis of this simple and predictable case study some guidelines are synthesized and proposed for the application to actual work of art. Results are presented for the painted panel. Preliminary results are also reported for the Luca Signorelli's “Predella della Trinita”. The multivariate image analysis results in the visible and near-infrared regions show that it is possible to use the multispectral image data in order to get a segmentation and a classification of painted zones by pigments with different chemical composition or physical properties.

J Obstet Gynaecol Can 2013;35(12):1152 J van Eyck created the complex and beautiful Arnolfini Wedding in 1434 (32′′ × 24′′ oil on oak panel). It is perhaps the oldest surviving masterpiece made with oilbound pigments; egg tempera was the medium of choice before this. But why would a wealthy and successful young couple choose to immortalize their awkward predicament, with the bride already pregnant at their nuptials? Giovanna Cenami does indeed seem heavy with child, but on closer inspection, she’s simply holding up her full-skirted dress in the contemporary fashion. Look again and you’ll see that her torso is erect rather than tilted backwards to balance the weight of a term pregnancy. Van Eyck may well have highlighted this sartorial gesture as a reference to the couple’s desire for children. This is one of many iconographic elements to this painting. Others include the small dog at their feet, symbolizing faithfulness, a carved figure of Saint Margaret (the patron saint of childbirth), shoes, a single burning candle, prayer beads, brush, oranges, and more. These have been variously interpreted as having domestic, religious, nuptial, and sexual significance. There are too many icons and details to relate in this short missive. Better to go and see the painting at the National Gallery in London, where it was purchased for £600 in 1842!

THIS FLAG (Fig. 1) is the symbol of Hands to Love, a nonprofit organization created 12 years ago to serve children with congenital upper extremity differences and their families. An annual camp in north Florida has drawn attendees from all over the country since 2000. Empowered with a mission that difference does not equal disability, Hands to Love embraces the mantra that “anything is possible.” The 3 5-ft nylon fabric flag contains the tempera paint prints of participants from the 2012 Hand