A retrospective of artist Rose Marie Wallen will fill the Smoky Valley Arts & Folklife Center January 30-March 1. The exhibition, Been Around the Block: Prints et cetera from my 75 years, will have an artist reception, 2:00-4:00pm on Sunday, February 1.

Known primarily for printmaking, Wallen also works in painting, photography, and occasionally jewelry or stained glass.

For the exhibition, she has selected a sampling from her 93 editions as well as the Christmas card collection that she has produced every year since age nine. Wallen is drawn to the strong impact of block print images and because of the detail required, she makes linoleum cuts more often than woodcuts. For her other work, she is attracted to wildlife and landscapes, usually local scenes.

Wallen participates in the Christmas Artists’ Studio Open House and the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery’s Holiday Gift Show each year and donates her work to the Art Lover’s Affair and Auction for the Lindsborg Arts Council. Wallen has also been a docent at the Sandzén Gallery for 25 years. Some of her other interests include archeology, Mexican culture, historic preservation, environmental issues, and travel. Read more about Wallen in the Visit Lindsborg blog.

Smoky Valley Arts & Folklife Center, a volunteer-run organization, is located at 114 1/2 S. Main Street. Business hours are Friday-Sunday, 1:00pm-5:00pm. SVAFC is supported by the Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, the McPherson County Community Foundation, and the Raymer Society.