Yolanda attended California State University, Hayward (1988) to study music but was introduced to lithography where she instantly fell in love with the laborious, mind-bending, and magnificently serendipitous processes of printmaking. She studied under the renowned Tamarind master printmaker Kenjilo Nanao and monoprint expert Linda Goodman. Married at the age of 25, she took a hiatus to parent 3 children. Returning to printmaking in 2013, she found Bernadette Martinez at Artery Press who nurtured her re-acquaintance with the medium. She’s currently focused on monotypes & monoprints, and although in 2015 she used mostly relief processes, she anticipates 2016 will include more intaglio. Experimental by nature, she keeps her methods fresh while her focus keeps her subject consistently on urban culture, the power of nature, and other environmental inspirations. Her images as well as their depth of meaning are often layered and printed on handmade paper or cotton rag, using plexiglass in addition to wood, lino, and nature itself as a printing plate. She personally executes all the steps involved in the printmaking process, from developing the image, gouging, inking, and pulling the print by hand from a Takach press. Yolanda chooses the antique technology of fine art printmaking to express the conflict she finds within contemporary issues, creating impressions that inspire peace and love within self and community. Yolanda is currently teaching printmaking at 3Dot Art Gallery in Alameda, California and has shown at over 60 group shows/venues with 2 solo shows. #cottonturner https://cottonturner.com/bio/