By JD Latorre • The Current Contributing Writer
There are often unforeseen benefits to the creative process when a relative seclusion or self-imposed isolation of the artist’s workshop serves inadvertently as a framework for an enduring collection of works. Not influenced by the changing of tides in the art world, as consciously as one could otherwise be expected to be when reciprocally connected to a larger artistic community – solitary working artists tend to establish a more personal and instinctual dialogue through their art.
Jim Thorpe’s multimedia artist Yvonne Wright, falls into the category of those rather introverted creative minds. She works most happily alone in her quaint, 100 West Broadway Studio, and only speaks her mind unabashedly through her art, otherwise maintaining a low profile. Being proficient in various fine art mediums from oils and acrylics, to lithographs, etchings, drawing and photography, Yvonne’s fascination with the whimsical and the surreal often leads the audience into a world of human frailties, observed compassionately and with a sense of humor.
When one looks at the Allegory of Woman, one immediately observes that there is something positively disturbing about this matrix of bones, cartilage and flesh, all swathed tightly together by layers of cloth. A construct emerges of a young female, upright and defiant, whose seemingly sweet smile is juxtaposed against the constraints of her body, superficially content, she betrays a concealed turmoil. This woman has wants, needs and desires woven into the fabric of her being… There are emotions, thoughts and life experience all bottled up to a point of breaking, as if the life rejuvenating energies capable of stirring life into the dead bones paused in distress, hardening the veins once pulsing with blood. The Allegory of Woman’s powerful narrative identifies with women regardless of their ethnicity who long to be unshackled, their voices heard and opinions counted… A reflection, perhaps, of the artist’s own personal experiences, giving a voice to the limitations and struggles most frequently encountered by her gender.
Inspired by an anatomical study Yvonne once did at the medical library, Allegory of Woman was created directly on a well polished limestone tablet with a special lithographic pencil. The drawing was later treated with a mixture of acid and the hardened sap of an acacia tree (arabic gum) to carefully etch the grease content of the image into the stone’s surface. Afterwards, the limestone tablet was washed, inked with a leather roller, and pressed onto a sheet of acid-free paper to produce a traditional, fine art lithographic print. Once a hand-pulled edition of the drawing was completed, Yvonne cleaned the limestone tablet and reused it for another project.
The value of hand-pulled lithographs in the art market is often defined by the number of impressions (prints) taken off the stone. Allegory of Woman comes in a edition of 23, which is considered small. Each print naturally tends to be slightly different from one another due to a natural use of the stone, pressure applied and even the artist’s strength in using the press. Therefore, the smaller the edition, the more valuable the prints. This laborious technique was first introduced in Germany in 1796, and today is practiced primarily by fine art printmakers. Undeniably, visiting Yvonne Wright’s Studio YNW at 100 West Broadway in Jim Thorpe, located in a mostly residential neighborhood and distanced from the busy downtown, maybe worth your efforts, as perusing the artist’s paintings, lithographs and digital media, may not only indulge your senses, but richly inform your aesthetics.
Yvonne Wright is the owner of STUDIO YNW at 100 West Broadway in Jim Thorpe. She can be reached at studio.ynw@gmail.com
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