Although cows, goats, and chickens take center stage at the Ohio State Fair’s livestock competitions, a creature from the depths of the ocean has stolen the show at this year’s Fine Arts Exhibition.

Ohio Northern Professor of Art Emerita Judith Greavu received the 2017 Peoples’ Choice Award for her recycled copper and fused glass sculpture, titled Squid: A Celebration. The award is an annual prize sponsored by the Ohio Arts Council that is given to the piece that receives the most votes from the public.

As its name suggests, Squid: A Celebration was inspired by the complex forms, movement, and biological capabilities of many squid species, Greavu said.

“My childhood was spent exploring the plants and animals of rural coastal Florida. That interest in organic forms, especially freshwater or ocean life forms, has made its way into much of my work in bronze, assembled copper, glass, and clay,” she said. “This sculpture is added to my continued honoring of ocean life forms and concern for fragile water ecosystems.”

Greavu’s Squid: A Celebration also received the Hazen-Taft Award at the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition’s opening reception and awards ceremony on July 25.

Located at the Cox Fine Arts Center, the Ohio State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition is an annual tradition that is considered the largest juried art show in Ohio. The 2017 exhibition features 373 works by more than 280 Ohio artists. It includes artwork that is representative of 48 Ohio counties.

ABOUT THE OHIO ARTS COUNCIL: The Ohio Arts Council is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically.