Q & A with Mary D. Ott - October's Featured artist

Mary D. Ott, October's featured artist took a few moments to answer some questions for us before her opening Friday night-

Q- When did you first call yourself an artist?

A- I first started to take art lessons—at the Torpedo Factory—in 1991. I started to consider myself an artist in 1995 when I sold my first painting at the Art League student show.

Q- What are people most surprised to find out about your work? 

    A-Most people have no idea about what is involved in printmaking. They are surprised        when I explain the processes to them.

Q- Do you have a favorite color palette? 

A-My favorite colors are blues and greens, as well as reds and oranges—you can see that in the works in my show.

Q- Do you have a favorite piece in the upcoming Grass Etching and Paintings show? 

A-My favorite piece is "Wide Grass." It turned out just the way I was hoping it would.

Q- Is there anything you would like us to know? 

A-The idea for the "wide grass" etching plate came from the way I create my grass paintings. 

This special Gallery Underground exhibit features two related bodies of work:

Ott created the “grass paintings” by dipping embroidery thread in acrylic paint and running the thread down the canvas. The thread acted as a fine brush, producing lines that look like blades of grass.

The “grass etchings” were all printed from the same “wide grass” etching plate but on different types of paper, with different colors of ink, twice on the same piece of paper, through two layers of paper, and so forth. Some of the etchings appear realistic, while others are abstract in nature.  

Come meet Mary and many of the Gallery's resident artists this Friday October 4th from 5 to 8!