In Summer's Imprint, artist Lisa VanMeter Walls offers a deeply personal and vibrant tribute to the beauty of Indiana's natural world. Through carefully carved basswood and linoleum blocks, she invites viewers to explore the living textures of birdsong, flowering branches, and quiet wildlife moments that populate her new neighborhood in the Old Northside. "Every day, as I walk my sweet dog around our new place, I soak in the wildlife and the beauty of this city," Walls shares. That habit, of slowing down and really seeing what's around her, influenced her show. There's a quiet joy in these pieces, a sense of being at home and paying attention to the world outside your door.

Though each print stands strong on its own, there is a subtle thread of memory and legacy woven throughout the exhibition. Walls notes that "all of the vessels in the still life pieces are my mother's," and that "her English Chintz China patterns are in some backgrounds." These quiet personal touches add a layer of emotional resonance to the natural subjects. The prints are not only records of seasonal beauty but also containers of family history, acts of remembering carried forward through craft. As she imagines the scenes coming to life, she paints a vivid mental picture: "the birds, insects and bees visiting the plants and the trees… the fox and heron searching… horses grazing. It would be quite an ecosystem!"

The work is grounded in process as much as place. Walls' prints begin with carving, each piece etched by hand into basswood or linoleum. "Art was everywhere and everything," she recalls, reflecting on the influence of her grandfather, a professional engraver who first taught her to draw, sculpt, and carve. Block printing is a slow, layered method of mark-making. After carving a block, it is inked and printed, then carved again for the next layer; each pass adding depth, dimension, and complexity. This rhythm, carve, print, carve again, becomes a kind of meditation, echoing her walks through the neighborhood or drives through the Indiana countryside. The tactile, physical labor of printmaking mirrors her relationship with the natural world: attentive, deliberate, and wholly immersed.

Place is central to Summer's Imprint. The exhibition is not simply a celebration of nature, but of belonging; to a new home, marriage, and a season of renewal. "When I was asked to show in the Harrison Gallery," Walls says, "it took one look at my new husband to know I wanted to celebrate our love of this place." Her creativity is sparked by being outdoors, wandering, and taking in what the land offers. "Getting outside and taking a walk, or Brian and I driving to a new town… that gets me inspired every time." These small rituals, deeply rooted in the world around her, are translated into each print.

Lisa VanMeter Walls brings together memory, nature, and place in a gentle yet vivid celebration of life's quieter rhythms. Her work is shaped by early memories at her grandparents' kitchen table and sustained by the belief her children continue to hold in her. "They have believed in me for twenty years," she shares. "I want to continue to grow my skills and my body of work to make them happy." In Summer's Imprint, the viewer is invited to slow down, look closer, and rediscover the beauty surrounding us, moments that may seem fleeting but leave a lasting impression. "I hope you find harmony and inspiration within my work," Walls writes, "and a deeper connection to the flora and fauna that inhabit our worlds."