Michelle Barnes has won numerous awards for her illustrations in books, magazines, and newspapers, including a Society of Illustrators Silver Medal Award. She is a former teacher at both the Schools of Visual Arts and Parsons in New York City, as well as at the Art Center College of Design in California. Her work has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Sports Illustrated, Spin, and Ms. Her latest projects include an illustrated book with a CD of her original music, entitled Visions of Vespertina, and painting 225 individual pieces for an interactive CD-ROM of the Bible