Art is a medium in which one can express who they are and what they have gone through. It can also serve as an outlet for frustration, joy, sadness and anything in between.
Spread throughout this local artist’s home are some of her own acrylic pieces done in abstract. “I have always done abstract, even when I was little I drew the same way,” said Yvonne Morehead. Morehead says art has always been her passion and when she was little she would watch her aunt, another artist, paint landscapes and portraits. “I always adored watching her,” she says. Morehead says although she does not do landscapes, she feels her experience with her aunt led her the direction in which she is going today.
Morehead grew up in Oxford and graduated in 1987. Following high school she says her parents wanted her to get a “fall back” plan and not go to college to study the arts but to study nursing. “You can guess how that went,” says Morehead. “An artist taking nursing courses just doesn’t fit.”
Within two years after high school, Morehead says she left home, got married and had her first of three children. She and her husband moved to Endicott and over the course of the years moved to and around Virginia and Pennsylvania before deciding to come back home. “We wanted the kids to be closer to their grandparents and grow up with more family,” said Morehead.
During the years Morehead starting raising her family, she explains she found it hard to be both devoted to her children and family and yet have enough time to explore the world of art. She says her interest in art was not fully explored for some time.
After returning home Morehead’s marriage ended and her art, until six or seven years ago, was not something she pursued actively. After meeting a woman named Lisa Smith, an expressive art therapist, Morehead explains it was then when she began to concentrate more on her talent. “If it were not for her, I would not have started it again,” said Morehead.
Over the years she says has done several pieces of art, some of which have taken just hours and some which have taken years to complete. “I just throw on my iPod, and get in the zone,” she said. In time Morehead says she would like to get into doing some portraits or landscape paintings, but for now she likes abstract and expressive art.
Morehead has shown her work both locally at the Chenango County Council of the Arts gallery, at the Bohemian Moon restaurant and in Binghamton at the First Friday art walk show. The First Friday show is one that Morehead says she would like to be included in again. The show started in 2004 and takes place from the first Friday on every month. It highlights the artist community in the Binghamton area including offering gallery hopping, artist openings, music and theater shows, dining and entertainment. There are anywhere from 35 to 45 different locations to find various types of art and music throughout the Binghamton area.
Morehead does commissioned work and sells her art as well. She says in the future she hopes to continue showing her work locally, regionally and work her way into the New York City artist crowd. For more information about her work call her at 267-1787 or at 336-9284.

Editor’s Note: “Chenango Stories” puts the spotlight on those people whose compelling stories you might not otherwise hear. If you know someone who is interested in telling their “Chenango Story,” contact Jill Osterhout at 337-3075 or e-mail: josterhout@evesun.com.