The current exhibition at the Printmakers Gallery in the Arkansas State University Fine Arts Center, located on Caraway Road, is entitled "Around the World in Lots of Ways." The exhibition will be on display through Nov. 16.

This exhibition is a fantasy trip around the world as seen through the souvenirs and memories we could have collected during our travels and visits to exotic attractions. The works of several artists provide the vision for this imaginary journey.

Kayo Hasegawa's etching shows how our trip began in a dream about seeing remote areas of the world. As suggested by the title of the exhibition, we used many modes of travel. An engraving by Ginny Gray depicts part of our journey via hot-air balloon. Michael Chronister's embossed color etching documents our harrowing experience in the old aeroplane. An etching by Ralph Slatton records our journey by steam locomotive, and Sarah Sears used the etching process to show our trip down Twentieth Street in the auto.

Every place we visited had its own character. A color etching by Hiroko Kajihara shows the French Island of La Grande Jatte as she imagines it might be seen in Japan. Other exotic souvenirs are shown in a wood graving by Thanalaxmi Krishnan and a copperplate engraving by Lyuba Makogonova. We saw architectural wonders documented in another engraving by Ginny Gray and an etching by Roberta Bayless. We viewed wildlife as recorded in etchings by Sara Jessica Doyle and Betty Lipsmeyer.

We attended cultural events including the mad piano recital recorded by Sarah Sears' etching and the ballet etched by Beverly Dyrhood.

We would have purchased many maps while travelling. Ralph Slatton's etching depicts a decorative world map that would have left us hopelessly lost. Sharon Herndon's etching reminds us that we had to purchase tickets to every attraction we visited.

And every purchase cost money. We saved five examples of currency as shown in etchings by Hubert Crain, Roger Bowman, Sheiron Ramsey, Steven Harris, and Hiroko Kajihara.

The result of our trip around the world is that we no longer see familiar things in the same way. We are reminded of this by Jane Galloway's etching of a fantastic vision of the moon that watched over us as we made our way around the world.

All prints shown in this exhibition were selected from the archive of the Printmakers Gallery, a collection of original prints done by students majoring in art at ASU. The Printmakers Gallery is dedicated to exhibitions of contemporary original prints.

The Printmakers Gallery is open to the public in the Fine Arts Center 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and noon to 5 p.m. most weekends.


LEGEND FOR THE REPRODUCTION: This etching, entitled "Seurat in Japanese Version," is one of the prints in the current exhibition at the Printmakers Gallery in the ASU Fine Arts Center. Hiroko Kajihara used the composition of one of the most famous paintings in French art to create this satire about the differences between French and Japanese fashions.

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