If you've never been to a live auction and feel intimidated by the process, don't be. It's as easy as raising an arm, says auctioneer Jay Karp, who has some tips for auction novices.

The silent auction is easy: Each of the 72 pieces will have a sheet listing minimum bid ($500 or $1,000) and bidding increments ($25 to $100). When you find one you like, simply write your name, the bidding number ArtWorks assigns when you arrive and the amount of the bid.

Tip No. 1: Go back often to make sure you still have the high bid. With popular items, it's not unusual to have to bid five or six times.

Tip No. 2: Check more frequently as it gets closer to the assigned closing time. Pieces on display around the rotunda will close in groups of six to 10 every half hour between 7:30 and 10:30 p.m.

The live auction is just as simple: Bidders get numbered paddles when they check in. When your item comes up, raise the paddle and a "spotter" will make sure auctioneer Karp sees it. The auction will take place in Cincinnati Museum Center's Losantiville Room, but closed circuit TV will make bidding possible from the rotunda as well.

Tip No. 1: Take it easy at cocktail hour. Veterans of these affairs can tell a million stories about bidders getting carried away after a couple glasses of wine.

Tip No. 2: Avoid impulses. Decide in advance on the piece you want and figure out how high you're willing to go for it.

Tip No. 3: Pay attention to bidding increments. Bids will go up in $100 increments until the bidding hits $3,000; then it goes up in $250 increments; at $5,000, increments hit $500; and at $10,000 you'll be bidding in $1,000 increments.

Tip No. 4: Can't be there? Absentee bids are accepted at 333-0388 until noon Thursday. Figure out what you want to spend and submit it. Karp emphasizes this: If your absentee bid is $5,000 and the live bidding only hits, say $2,000, you get it for that price.

Tip No. 5: Jump into the bidding right away. One theory holds that bidders should play things close to the chest and not get involved in the early stages. "Nope, if everyone did that, the auction would never happen," Karp says.

Jim Knippenberg