Yolanda Ward

Yolanda Ward is a paper collage artist. She studied at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia College of Art, Philadelphia Printing School, Arcadia University as well as attending workshops at the Abington Art Center and the Woodmere Art Museum. The art of Yolanda Ward has been selected for juried exhibitions and also exhibited at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA. Her background as a designer, art director and creative director in a corporate environment for over 30 years has kept Yolanda Ward tuned into the creative process for most of her life. “I was always involved in some way with the look, feel and creative approach to projects and programs from national sporting events, company and community programs and major art exhibition sponsorships at the Philadelphia Museum of Art”, she said. “Now, as a full time artist, I am concentrating my energy on the many facets of paper. I have been carrying paper with me for over 40 years and now I know why.... Paper collage is how I have chosen to express my creativity.” To further enhance and refine her creative process and evolve as a fine artist, Ward traveled to Italy last year and studied with a master paper maker. Ward now makes her own paper, and combines it with vintage paper from rare magazines and other handmade paper to form the foundation for her images. She then adds other medium and techniques, including inks, acrylic paint, and hand tearing and layering the paper to form visually stunning, highly textured images. Yolanda Ward “There’s magic in the smallest things in life.... For me, it’s in the bits and pieces of paper.”