An exhibition of prints, mixed media and encaustic works by Pamela W. Wallace will open with an artist's reception and gallery talk at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22 in Sweet Briar College's Babcock Fine Arts Center Gallery. The show will run through March 13.

"Ascension," an encaustic and oil stick on panel from Pam Wallace's "Detritus" series, will be exhibited in Babcock Gallery.In 1987, Wallace gave up her psychiatry practice in Lynchburg to pursue painting and printmaking. Art was a pastime she had enjoyed since childhood, and it remained an outlet as she built her practice and raised a family. In 1992, she completed the equivalent of a bachelor's in studio art at then-Randolph-Macon Woman's College. She began working as an artist full time in 1999.

Her prints reflect her love of both nature and science, and often are characterized by intricate details. As she has begun working with encaustic more recently, Wallace says she has found endless possibilities between the two media, because there are so many materials and processes to experiment with to achieve varying effects.

The encaustic medium is a mixture of beeswax, resin and pigment. Heat is applied to melt the wax, which is painted on with a brush or spatula. The wax can be further manipulated using heat and sculpting tools.

Wallace plans to show several pieces from her "Detritus" series. The name derives from the ribbons of multicolored wax that have been scraped off previous works to create new ones. She fuses the old wax onto a clean panel, then brushes over it with a selected color of either fresh or recycled wax.

"Germination" also is from Pam Wallace's "Detritus" series.After fusing the layers, Wallace scrapes the surface revealing "nubbins" in various colors below. The resulting images suggest "imaginary primeval landscapes," she said.

"They are open to interpretation, which is what I like," she said, noting some viewers see distinct features, others see the works as abstract.

Within the suggested landscapes, Wallace wants people to find something reminiscent of places or experiences in their own past that are comforting to them.

Gallery hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Friday and 1 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Admission is free and tours are available on request. For more information, contact Sweet Briar art galleries director Karol Lawson at klawson@sbc.edu or call (434) 381-6248.