Paper Circle Press Release, July 8, 2021

Event Contact: Scout B Ery (she/her), shop.papercircle@gmail.com; (740) 331-1893; papercircle.org

Event Date: July 26 through 30, 2021

Event Location: Paper Circle, 35 W. Columbus St., Nelsonville, OH 45764

Headline: Nationally-Known Artist Delita Martin to Have Art Residency at Paper Circle Studio

NELSONVILLE, OHIO: During the week of July 26–30, 2021, Paper Circle in Nelsonville, Ohio, will be hosting the nationally known printmaker and multimedia artist, Delita Martin, for a paper making residency.

Martin, who is based in Huffman, TX, works as a full-time artist in her studio, Black Box Press [https://blackboxpressstudio.com/]. While in Nelsonville, she will be learning the craft of hand papermaking at Paper Circle, whose mission is to educate the public about the creation of handmade paper.

“We’re very excited and honored to have an artist of Delita’s stature spending time at our studio,” says Paper Circle executive director, Scout Ery. Ery met the artist while visiting museums in Washington, DC, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. They talked about Paper Circle’s studio and the idea for the residency was established.

Martin’s work explores the power of the narrative impulse, drawing inspiration from oral traditions and from vintage and family photographs. In her process, she layers various printmaking, drawing, sewing, collaging, and painting techniques which allow her to create portraits that fuse the real and the fantastic. Her work combines signs and symbols with storytelling to offer other identities and narratives for women of color. Martin’s goal is to create images as a visual language to tell the story of women that have often been marginalized, offering a different perspective of the lives of black women.

Martin is the founding member of Black Women of Print, and her work is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, DC, among many other places.

At the end of her residency, Martin will be donating pieces of completed work to the Paper Circle gallery. Later, Paper Circle will be auctioning these works of art.

This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest GIG Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts. Local support comes from Paper Circle,  Stuart’s Opera House and Nelsonville Emporium.

Paper Circle is a non-profit studio and gallery located at 35 W. Columbus Street in Nelsonville, OH. Founded by Sara Gilfert in 2002, the organization is dedicated to the creation and promotion of art using handmade paper from recycled and natural fibers. The working studio promotes public understanding through exhibits and educational programs. Its signature paper, O-Gami, is uniquely suited to origami art.