Alan Feiler

”It’s a beautiful noise And it’s a sound that I love And it makes me feel good Like a hand in a glove Yes it does, yes it does“ —Neil Diamond, “Beautiful Noise” Once again, America appears to be having a “Neil Diamond moment.” Besides the surprise success of last year’s film “Song Sung Blue” — the biographical drama starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson about a Neil Diamond tribute band – the 85-year-old singer/songwriter (with uber-producer Rick Rubin) last month released his 35th studio...

Little Richard. Aretha. Count Basie. James Brown and Billie Holiday. Or for more modern tastes, Doug E. Fresh and Public Enemy. The biggest names in show business have appeared on the iconic fluorescent, bold-type posters produced by the Globe Poster Printing Corporation, which was based in East Baltimore and operated for more than eight decades. Founded in 1929 by Harry I. Shapiro and several of his brothers, as well as their cousin, Norman D. Goldstein, the legacy of Globe lives on.

Nancy Patz beams while looking around her home studio cluttered with sketches, easels, pens and brushes, notepads, books, figurines and art materials. “Isn’t this absolutely wonderful?” she says with a hearty laugh. For decades, admirers, associates and friends have said the same thing about Patz, a longtime Pikesville resident and award-winning children’s book author and illustrator.