NORWICH – Paper is assumed to only come alive when the living stories and emotions of life fill its spaces, transcribed in the printed word.

However, without words paper still has a story to tell, and after 10 years of listening, local artist June Tyler has fallen in love with making it speak an organic language that often goes unheard.

“You’re taking something that’s ordinary,” said Tyler, who owns and operates Pondside Pulp and Paper, a studio and workshop specializing in manipulating the varied world of handmade paper. “And you’re making something original with it.”

Ten years worth of handmade paper artwork from Tyler and 21 other artists from Pondside will be featured July 21 through Aug. 25, in an exhibit titled, “A Decade of Papermaking.” The exhibit will be in the Mariea Brown and Raymond Loft Galleries at the Chenango County Council of the Arts, located at 27 W. Main St. in downtown Norwich.

The exhibit’s opening reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, and the range of work includes sculptures, hanging pieces, lamps, books, paintings and a number of other traditional and eccentric pulp productions. The pieces vary in thickness, and many are embossed with common and uncommon designs, and some even include various pieces of the paper’s original producer – the earth.