Seton Hill alumna and artist Mary D. Ott ‘65 will present a solo show Branching Out: Original Prints at Touchstone Gallery in Washington D.C. May 1 to June 2, 2019.

A Meet the Artist event will be held on Saturday, May 18 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The exhibit features hand-pulled prints that celebrate natural arboreal beauty. Much of Ott’s previous work comprises figurative and abstract prints that capture the subtle beauty of grasses. Her current interests “branch out” to focus on the intricacies of trees, leaves and landscapes. 

Among the print media employed by Ott are intaglio etching and dry point—the design is etched or scratched onto a metal plate—and paper plate or polyester plate lithography in which the image to be printed is created on paper or polyester surfaces. For both intaglio prints and lithographs, the plates are inked and then the images are printed on fine art paper. These artworks, whether black-and-white or color prints, express Ott’s love of nature. 

Ott studied physics at Seton Hill and worked both as a scientist and educational researcher early in her career. In 1990, she began taking art classes and has been honing her craft ever since.

She has been a member of Touchstone Gallery since 2001. A painter and printmaker, Ott has studied with Washington artist Anne Marchand, at the Corcoran College of Art + Design, and at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, Md. 

Touchstone Gallery is located at 901 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. Days and hours of operation are Wednesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit www.touchstonegallery.com or email info@touchstonegallery.com.