This Friday! Steve MacDonald & Rachel Budde

Work by Steve MacDonald (San Francisco, CA) & Rachel Budde (Brooklyn, NY)
May 2nd- 31st 2008
Curated by Faythe Levine

Steven MacDonald, Cargo Ship 1, 2008
Canvas, Gesso, Thread 2' x 3'

Please join us for the opening reception May 2nd 7-10pm
Both artists will be in attendance from their respective coast!

For additional information & further print images please contact Faythe Levine

Curator's Statement:
I can't remember when I first came across the stitchery of San Francisco based artist Steve MacDonald, however, once I saw it, the bold lines and imagery was burned in my brain. MacDonald has shown his machine stitched wall based work in gallery's around the world, from Tokyo to Jerusalem and I am very pleased to bring his work to the walls of Milwaukee. Aside from his machine stitched gallery work, MacDonald has a creative resume that extends into all mediums and methods from film and music to fashion, including design work for Modest Mouse, Timbuk2 to name a few, of many, impressive clients. Since Paper Boat loves artists who cross the lines of the creative world we are happy to be selling a brand new line of MacDonald's t-shirts along with his show.

Along with MacDonald's wall based work will be the mixed media work of Brooklyn based artist Rachel Budde. Budde has recently been published in two books "Graffiti Women" by Nicholas Ganz and "Stencil Pirates" by Josh Macphee and has also assisted street artist SWOON from 2004-2007. For her upcoming exhibition at Paper Boat she will be installing a collection of her paintings in a way that references shrine building. Budde says "I hope to take the viewer into the paintings while also calling attention to the everyday objects outside of the paintings, creating a juxtaposition and a dialogue."

The combination of MacDonald and Budde's work will bring attention to urban landscapes, over-looked objects, and detail's of the handmade in innovative presentation and form. Both artists will be joining us from their respective coasts, please join us opening night, Friday May 2nd 7-10pm.


Steve MacDonald Artist Statement:
www.ramblinworker.com

Characteristic of Steve MacDonald's work is crimson thread, making its way across a sea of golden canvas and arriving at surreal destinations. A close-up examination of the red stitching is required in order to understand the laborious and compulsive nature of the process employed by nothing more than hands, paint and an old Singer sewing machine driving its red thread. The mood of the stitching varies from one painting to the next and many times within a single painting, describing the texture and lines of any given element; whether it be foliage, water, the grooves carved into a mountainside or lineament of buildings. Tailored patches of peaks, fog, superstructure and shrubbery adorn these unusually luminous vistas, a perfect backdrop for myth and magic.

Read an interview with Steve MacDonald on Razor Apple HERE

Rachel Budde Artist Statement:

In my work, I am attempting to express (through a multiplicity of symbolic images) a relationship between the ethereal and the mundane, the sacred and the profane. An individual’s physical orientation can contradict that individual’s ideological, spiritual or political orientation, one is able to exist on many levels within one space. I am interested in the places where art and the everyday meet, whether it be through adornment of a car, or through creating religious shrines in a home. Adornment and ritual infuse banality with a sense of transcendence. Symbols in our churches or on our billboards are a part of a continuum of evolving ancient symbols; symbols that maybe profane in a contemporary context may have at one time been sacred. Symbols flip and flop, and I am interested in a symbols ability to carry historical residue with it, creating vast complexities within each given symbol. My aim is to take my own interpretation and experience with a number of given symbols and activate them, adding yet another layer to a symbolic history.

Featured Designer #2 Ben Floeter

Paper Boat is pleased to introduce you to a new addition to our shop and this weeks featured designer, Providence based artist Ben Floeter. Ben makes an awesome variety of handmade products including wooden bricks, mustache key hook and whale chalkboards all available in the shop!

Name: ben floeter

Location: Providence, RI

1. Tell us briefly what you make:

aaarrrrrrrrrt!

2. How long have you been doing it?

i've been making things as far back as i can remember. this most recent run of stuff started with the brick blocks. i made the first bricks in january 2008.

3. Where did you learn your skills?

i grew up surrounded by creative people. my dad is a carpenter and my mom is an artist. i've learned a lot of things on my own, just by having an idea and figuring out the best way to do it.

4. What is your current inspiration?

trash night, a good batch of mashed potatoes, the comedy stylings of kristen wiig, and my wife natalie who puts up with all my shenanigans.

5. What have you been listening to while you work?

right now i'm listening to a compilation by P572, but i listen to a lot of different stuff every time i'm in my studio. lately it's been 70's reggae, led zepplin, johnny cash, brant bjork, ghostland observatory, and a little rick ross.

6. What else do you do to keep busy?

i have a solo show at a gallery in DC called artwhino in november, so i've been painting a lot. when i'm not in my studio, i am riding one of my bikes or playing fetch with my cat, olive.

7. Any summer plans you are looking forward to?

right now i am getting ready for the renegade craft fair in brooklyn. after that i am going to alaska with my entire family. but what i'm really looking forward to is spending most of the summer with my family in wisconsin!

* If you can make it into Paper Boat to check out Ben's work visit his shop HERE

Mary Louise Schumacher offers her picks for Gallery Night

Amy Rice, Paper Boat 24" x 12" Spray Paint, Acrylic, Ink, Collage

Watch the slide show narrated by Mary Louise Schumacher who offers her Spring Gallery Night picks and the Amy Rice show at Paper Boat is included!

We look forward to seeing you this Friday and remember you can meet Amy Rice who will be here in person from 7-9pm.

Featured Designer #1: meghan williams of birdcage jewelry

This is our first, of many, Featured Designer posts. At Paper Boat we stock our shop with items from over 200 artists, crafters & designers from around the country and abroad. So, we decided to ask a bunch of our designers 7 questions to get to know them better.

A large part of the Featured Designer aspect of our Blog is that it helps us remember that one of the many reasons to support independently produced work, is there is a person behind what is being created. Making with work more personable by knowing what makes the people tick, what music they listen to while creating and what inspires make the individual items much more personal and special to us.

So, with that said, we would like to introduce you to our premier Featured Designer......

*Please note that our interviews are not edited and pasted directly from the featured designer's emails.

Name: meghan williams
Business Name: birdcage jewelry
Location: san francisco, ca
(all images provided by the artist)

Paper Boat: Tell us briefly what you make & do:

meghan: i make pretty earbobs and necklaces from vintage beads, paper, horn, wood, bone and other fancy things. most of what i make is one of a kind which makes every girl that wears birdcage very very special.

PB: How long have you been doing it?

m: i started selling in spring of 2006, but i've been messing about since high school.

PB: Where did you learn your skills?

m: mostly self taught. i quit drinking and smoking a couple years ago and had quite a bit of time on my hands. making the jewels kept my hands busy and my heart happy.

PB: What's your current inspiration?

m: i am in school now at california college of the arts (cca) - learning metalsmithing. i fucking love it. it opens a whole new realm of possibilities for me. i am interested in continuing the asymmetry of my current work, but new and improved with METAL.

PB: What have you been listening to while you work?

m: kevin drew, broken social scene, say hi, the smiths, sterolab

PB: What else do you do to keep busy?

m: explore my new town. i moved to san francisco 6 months ago with my boyfriend. there is a ton of awesomeness here and there's always something going on. my new favorite is going to the ocean and taking pictures with my fancy new camera. i am absolutely amazed at how close i am to the beach. i was born and bred in wisco, so you can imagine the shock of it. it is february. i feel very lucky to be here.

PB: Any summer plans you are looking forward to?

m: i am planning to participate in a 3 week studio program in nyc sponsored by cca. i will live and make art and visit artist studios and galleries in brooklyn. i also plan to participate in art vs. craft and visit my hometown for a bit. (i miss you beans and barley! xoxo)

* If you can't make it into Paper Boat to check out birdcage jewelry in person or want to learn more about meghan and her company visit her site HERE.

Blog Review: My Love For You is a Stampede of Horses

Super sweet review of the current "Feather Your Nest" show at:

Check out the blog "My Love For You is a Stampede of Horses" HERE

Now Showing! Amy Rice & Abby Glassenberg

Come in a see this show, it looks really fantastic. Amy Rice has over 30 works on display and Abby Glassenberg's bird sculptures are installed into window scene's with fake foliage & rocks (just like the natural history museum!).

Join us for the reception on Friday April 18th, Amy Rice will be coming from Minneapolis to hang out, and the show is up until April 30th.

For photos check out this set here. Please call the gallery for more information on pricing.