Arts Headlines / March 31, 2006

Arts Beat: Experiencing idol search   It’s Saturday and the St. Laurent shopping centre is like an amusement park. Excitement and anticipation create a thick layer that hugs the contestants who are waiting in line to audition for the fourth season of Canadian Idol.   Local author says erotic literature is for ‘good girls,’ too   An Ottawa writer will release her first fiction novel about the sexual escapades of a liberated woman and her hybrid vampire lover in early April.   Ottawa artist receives highest honour   Six decades ago, Ottawa painter Kenneth Lochhead met a friend of Pablo Picasso in a cafe in southern France. With little persuasion, this friend arranged for him to meet the artist himself at Picasso’s second-floor studio . . .   Program uses art to promote literacy   Educators in Centretown are committed to helping children learn through art.