Photo By Art Academy of Cincinnati

At the Chidlaw Gallery, Tracy Featherstone's "Long Division" demonstrates the fragile nature of stability.

Make sure you find your way to The Intersection of Mammoth and Hebenstreit, the new exhibition at MAMMOTH COFFEE (515 Monmouth St., Newport). Not only are you in for great atmosphere and steaming coffee, but you can witness the work of a talented family all in one space. CARIN, ROBERT, MARIENA and JOHN HEBENSTREIT exhibit a selection of portraits that are nothing short of elegant. Carin offers a combination of soft pencil sketches and classical portraits, but it's her portraits that require a deeper look. Using understated oil paints, she creates compelling, expressive images of gentle mothers with their children. Robert also works in oil, depicting landscapes with a skilled and adept hand, but his two watercolor pieces caught my attention. So unlike the classical landscapes, they radiate a smooth contemporary feel with short dabs of color. Mariena's work focuses on animals, including horses and sheep, who come alive with the rich, burnished colors. Lastly, John, the sculptor in the family, focuses on busts, set up on stands scattered around the space. One piece, a terracotta depiction of a couple entwined among each other's limbs, inspires with its distinct lines and smooth finish. Make a stop at this intersection. Through Dec. 31. ...

Next time you head through Eden Park, head over to the ART ACADEMY'S CHIDLAW GALLERY (951 Eden Park Drive) for an exhibit by artist and Miami University Art professor TRACY FEATHERSTONE. Her work combines soft sculpture, drawing and installation in a truly inimitable style. In this most recent exhibit, her work is, "a rumination on structure and personal environment. The fragile nature of stability and permanence is expressed through naíve construction, found materials and transparent structure." Using a variety of materials, including wood fragments, fabric collages, newspapers and scraps of furniture, she creates pieces that demonstrate the fragility of permanence: Her constructions resemble the forts and secret spaces we built as children, our "private fantasy environments," that seemed stable, but could quickly collapse under the reality of the outside world. The strong, almost harsh lines of each piece balance her use of soft pillows and fabrics, and the gallery seems strangely overtaken by the presence of these intricate installations. In a remarkable jumble of materials and ideas, Featherstone successfully conveys the question of security versus vulnerability. Maybe it can answer some of your questions. Through Jan. 2. ...

Take in some holiday scenery Thursday, 6-8 p.m., on your drive to the FITTON CENTER FOR THE ARTS in Hamilton (101 South Monument Ave.). Two new exhibitions opened on Dec. 10, and Thursday you'll have the opportunity to meet artists SCOTT ADDIS and CAROL MACCONNELL. Addis' Between Two Worlds exhibition features mixed-media paintings examining the balance between primitive and sophisticated ideas after he moved from the Midwest to northeastern Canada. Life is Good, a body of atmospheric landscapes from MacConnell, showcases her use of under-painting, a technique that allows paint to glow through several layers. Don't miss what promises to be a fun and informative evening.

MINI REVIEWS
On view at the CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER (Sixth St., Downtown) is Susan Unterberg's A Retrospective, Multiple Strategies and Rendering Obsolete. Each exhibition addresses human progression and desire. Her retrospective concentrates on the sociological shift in perceptions toward traditional relationships. (Through Jan. 30.) Multiple Strategies deals with commercial and fine art created with the intent of reproduction and replication. (Through Aug. 21.) And on view in the UnMuseum is Rendering Obsolete, which capitalizes on technological refuse. (Through Jan. 30.) The three exhibitions re-address the idea of objectivity and its relationship toward functionality channeling the development of pop culture evolution. (Jacqueyn Vaughn) Grade: A-