NORTHBRIDGE — It’s hard to believe the image of receding snow and delicate windblown leaves bordering a vernal pool, a rich landscape in brown, black, green and white, is a print made from relief engraving. The intricate design resembles a detailed pen-and-ink drawing.

The “Vernal Pool” print is one highlight of wood engraver Abigail Rorer’s engravings, etchings and fine press books on display in the “Works of Nature” exhibition at the Heritage Gallery in the Whitin Mill at Alternatives Inc., a human services agency in Whitinsville. The exhibition opened with a reception Dec. 5 and runs through January. Ms. Rorer publishes her pictures, letterpress-printed fine books and broadsides at her company, The Lone Oak Press in Petersham, as well as through collaboration with other printers and binders. Her work is found in collections at the Worcester Art Museum, the Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and Houghton Library at Harvard University.

The process of engraving,whether it’s in traditional wood or blocks of Corian — DuPont’s solid-surface compound, which she frequently uses — is what first captivated Ms. Rorer about the art. “When I was in high school outside Philadelphia, we did wood cuts in German Expressionist mode. I loved it, I loved the whole process,” she said.

Although she studied printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design, a wood engraver in Northampton helped her with the nitty-gritty of engraving.

“The thing about wood engraving is, it’s basically a lot of just practice, practice, practice. Then it’s a lot of figuring things out on your own,” Ms. Rorer said.

The gallery exhibit includes “Of Woodland Pools, Spring-holes & Ditches,” a book by Ms. Rorer that is hand-bound in leather with marbled paper and includes 27 engravings, including “Vernal Pool.” The book, which features springtime entries from Henry David Thoreau’s journal, sells for $1,600.

Ms. Rorer recently received commissions from The Folio Society in London to make original engravings for Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” and Walt Whitman’s “Leaves of Grass.” “It’s a real honor as a wood engraver to be asked to engrave a book for The Folio Society,” she said. Art patrons at the exhibition’s opening reception were impressed with the detailed engravings of pastoral landscapes and the occasionally humorous look at nature, such as a trio of vultures titled “The Moderator and his Cronies.”

“I haven’t seen her work before and I’m fascinated by the process,” said Barbara H. Gaudette of Whitinsville. “So many of them are funny, too. They’re beautifully done.”

The Heritage Gallery in the renovated Whitin Mill also drew praise. “If I didn’t know about it, it would be surprising that there’s a gallery in an agency like this,” said Thomas L. Horn of Thompson, Conn. “That an agency that serves people with mental disabilities is connected to the community in such a way is striking.”

“I think it’s wonderful,” Ms. Gaudette said. “It’s such a nice addition to the Whitinsville scene.”