Paperworkers Local

A new show is opening on Thursday, July 23rd from 6-8 pm, featuring .blake.design and ! Mark your calendars and plan to stop by for art, snacks, and a great time!

Childhood in the South brings together two Southern printmakers
whose work reflects the enduring imprint of place, memory, and shared culture. Growing up in the South means moving to a distinct rhythm— long summers spent outdoors, stories passed around crowded tables, and family gatherings filled with food, laughter, love, and, at times, their opposites. These experiences become part of our collective psyche, shaping how we understand ourselves and how we are seen by others.

Nancy Carney Barnhart, a Birmingham native, has lived and worked in the South for most of her life. Upon retirement, she returned to her childhood home to pursue the artist’s life she had always hoped for. She utilizes a wide range of styles from traditional to digital. Her printmaking repertoire includes monotypes and photographic applications in intaglio, lithography, and cyanotype. She is a member of PaperWorkers Local.

Cat Blake is a printmaker and graphic designer pursuing themes of southern identity, culture, and temporality. She was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and is a senior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, earning a BFA in graphic design and printmaking. She currently works as a graphic designer and is a member of PaperWorkers Local.

The opening reception will be held Thursday, July 23, 2026, from 6 pm to 8 pm at PaperWorkers Local, 2717 Seventh Avenue South, Suite 203, Birmingham, Alabama 35233. Following the opening, the exhibition can be seen during our regular gallery hours on Saturdays from noon to 4 pm. The show closes on Saturday, August 29, 2026.

Postcard images: (left) Cat Blake, “Southern Tradition,” 2024, linocut; (right) Nancy Carney Barnhart, “Memorial Day to Labor Day,” 2026, archival pigment print.