"Current Impressions: The Printmakers Society of the Lehigh Valley," through Feb. 3, The David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries, makes quite an impression at the Baum School of Art, Allentown.

It's an exhibit you can get lost in. Some 64 works represent the depth and breadth of contemporary printmaking. There are multiple examples of aquatint, drypoint etching, monotype, collagraph, woodcut reduction, photogravure with lithography, etching, silkscreen with collage and more.

The exhibit is like a "who's who" of Lehigh Valley artists: Rudy Ackerman, Khalil Allaik, Pat Badt, Alison Bessesdotter, Pat Delluva, Kay Frederick, Lucy Gans, Deb Hamburger, Sook H. Kim, Tina Madonia, Michelle Neifert, Rigo Peralta, Richard Redd, Jodie Scharadin, Thomas J. Shillea, Evan Summer, Patti Tinsman-Schaffer and Brandon Williams.

The Printmakers Society of the Lehigh Valley, founded last year, has 21 members, 18 of whom have several examples of their work in the Baum show.

"We interact as people instead of hanging on the walls together," Redd quipped during the Jan. 7 opening reception at Baum where he has four pieces in the exhibit. Redd, of Upper Saucon Township, is retired head of the Lehigh University art department and one of the Society's founders.

The Baum exhibition is the group's seventh. The area printmakers' first exhibit was last year at the Rotunda Gallery, City Hall, Bethlehem.

"We needed to get a group together to promote it [printmaking]," said Kay Frederick, of Lower Macungie Township, who has four pieces in the Baum exhibition.

Upcoming: "We Make An Impression," with an opening reception, 6:30 - 8 p.m. Jan. 15, Gallery at the JCC, 22nd and Tilghman streets, Allentown, where the exhibition continues through Feb. 26.

"Now you're seeing a lot more people taking an interest in it [printmaking]," said Tina Madonia of North Whitehall Township, who has four pieces in the Baum show.

The Baum exhibition makes a varied impression.

The realistic "Fall," a monotype of muted colors by Delluva, could be an illustration in a children's book.

In stark contrast is "Mazzacchio," an etching by Summer, which resembles a geodesic dome.

"I Appreciate It," an etching by Williams, is Daliesque.

"We All Came From The Goddess," a collagraph by Redd, has an amazing textural complexity.

And "Morning Walk," a monotype by Madonia, is wispily gestural.

"Family Portrait," Gans' series of four photogravures with addition applications, is inventive so as to be in a whole other category.

One-person shows by Printmakers Society members or a group show by, say, four artists, would provide even more of an opportunity to get into each artist's work.

"Current Impressions," with prices from $100 to $2,000, is an excellent and impressive overview.

"Current Impressions: The Printmakers Society of the Lehigh Valley," through Feb. 3, The David E. Rodale and Rodale Family Galleries, Baum School of Art, 510 Linden St., Allentown. Hours: 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Monday - Thursday, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday. baumschool.org, 610-433-0032