Julia Martin is a mixed-media artist whose hand-stitched compositions explore the delicate balance between the inner self and the external environment, inviting viewers to dialogue between the two. Her habit of jotting down thoughts, poetry, and questions on scraps of paper, which she carries in her pockets, allows her to organize and interpret her experiences, coding them into tangible fragments that reflect her journey through the past and present. These scraps become part of painted and sewn assemblages that delve into the power of fleeting moments and memory through unruly threadwork, mark-making, and layers of oil and wax. Some pieces reflect tightly bound tender thoughts that demand preservation, while others are free and open, evoking a sense of release. Largely self-taught, her work is deeply influenced by storytelling and the tactile traditions of fiber arts from her upbringing in the American South. Julia also draws on her experiences of intimate joy and grief as a former nurse midwife. These influences inform her distinctive practice of sewing together disparate elements to create harmony in unexpected places. "There is a place inside me where what cannot be taken and what I have lost meet; I create from that space. I work with paper for its delicate and pliable nature, which allows me to mend it like skin – an act of repair and resilience. The stitches and threadwork are loose and taut, shrouding my drawings and writing. Some ideas are tender and private, needing a cocoon to keep them safe, while others are more freely given. They remind me that everyone carries their version of “pocket notes” – memories and experiences we can’t see but are tucked away and held nonetheless. May we soften for them."