The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County has added a must-see piece to its This Is Strobridge show of posters that Cincinnati' Strobridge lithography company made around the turn of the 20th century for theaters and other entertainment events. It is of a musical production of The Wizard of Oz, directed by one Julian Mitchell, showing a sleeping Dorothy being aided by her traveling companions after falling "under the spell of the poppies."

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The Cincinnati Art Museum has announced the winner of its second biennial 4th Floor Award for regional contemporary artists -- Darren Goodman of Waynesville, Ohio. He will receive $1,000 and a solo exhibition in the art museum’s Vance-Waddell Gallery this year from Sept. 17 through Nov. 27th.

According to a museum press release issued today, he earned his BFA from Bowling Green State University and apprenticed under glass master Leon Applebaum in Corning, N.Y.. Godman was commissioned by Ferrari to create trophies for the International Challenge Races (2009. From 2005 to 2007 he taught private classes in glass, and coordinated a glassblowing class for Wyoming High School students. In his work, Goodman explores color in glass and is inspired by natural forms. In his most recent installation, 2010's Tears of Joy, Goodman built on the “mistake” of molten glass falling to the ground. Using the same action, he created massive blue drops that were suspended together inches above the floor. In both his installations and individual pieces, Goodman endeavors to utilize the properties that are found solely in glass.

Three finalists each receive $500 -- Terence Hammonds, Casey Millard and Alice Pixley Young, all of Cincinnati,

ArtsWave has put out a very positive press release about the attendance for its first three Sampler Weekends, as well as information for the next three — including one this Saturday.

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"Hanging Garden," artist Shinji Turner-Yamamoto's 2010 art installation involving two trees — one live, one dead — suspended vertically in the middle of the abandoned Holy Cross Church in Mount Adams, has won a Gold Leaf Award from the Ohio Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture.

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Cincinnati Art Museum has just released attendance figures for the recently closed Wedded Perfection: Two Centuries of the Wedding Gown, and it was a blockbuster. The exhibit, which ran Oct. 9-Jan. 30, drew 63,176 visitors, making it the biggest CAM exhibit since Petra: The Lost City of Stone drew 62,203 people in the 2004-2005 season.

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Superman might be faster than a speeding bullet, but his all-too-human writer isn't.

The issue of DC Comics' Supermantitle that features the Man of Steel visiting Cincinnati was supposed to arrive at comics shops today, but has been delayed due to an illness by one of the creators. That put a crimp in the plans of a local comics shop, who planned to publicize the event in style.

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Sunday afternoon, some 100 people (perhaps many more — it was really crowded!) gathered at the downtown studio of artist Tom Bacher for a surprise party celebrating Dennis Harrington's 30-plus years of work in Cincinnati's visual arts community. Harrington currently is director of the non-profit Weston Art Gallery in the Aronoff Center for the Arts. He was hired there in 1995, when it was new, by Sally LoveLarkin and became director upon her retirement in 1998.

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It was sad news to hear that Thom Shaw, a well-known local printmaker and artist, passed away July 6 from complications due to diabetes. Unfortunately, I heard the news too late to write something in time for the memorial service that took place July 17.

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Cincinnati's visual arts community is rallying around the seriously ill artist Brian Joiner to raise money for his medical expenses. This Friday from 5-10 p.m., a retrospective of his work — everything from note cards to a 30-foot work, featuring subjects like running women, a school of fish and his portraits, florals and landscapes — will be on display at the studio of Mary Barr Rhodes

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Twenty years ago today one of the most significant moments in modern-day Cincinnati occurred: Police officers walked into the Contemporary Arts Center and presented CAC Director Dennis Barrie and board members with four indictments against Robert Mapplethorpe: The Perfect Moment, which had opened to the public that morning. Barrie (pictured) would later say the police "had symbolically walked into every arts institution in the country. When they demanded that we take the photos down they had found offensive, they were seeking the censorship of all art that was challenging, provocative or not politically correct."

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