Paper Boat: Boutique & Gallery

Closing Sale!

2009-04-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Bye bye Milwaukee! It's our last Gallery Night ever

2009-04-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

Kim and I couldn't be more pleased to have our last show be new work by Wisconsin artist and filmmaker Micaela O'Herlihy. Micaela's new series of portraits document her 10 year old son Thurman's tormentors at school. Both Micaela & Thurman will be in attendance to tell you more stories about them.

Friday, April 17th 7-10pm
"Bullies"

"Mikey"

"Jeshua"

Paper Boat is closing!

2009-03-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Dearest patrons of Paper Boat,

As of May 31st Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery will be closing its doors after 4 great years of being open. The current economic climate is the main reason that led us to this very difficult decision.

We really hope you can join us for our last Gallery reception featuring work by Wisconsin artist Micaela O’Herlihy on Gallery Night, April 17th from 7-10pm.

There will also be a closing sale for the month of May to help us reduce our inventory. It will be a great time to pick up those items you’ve always been meaning to get. Also, don't forget to spend your gift certificates if you have been holding onto one!

We thank you so very much for your support over the past 4 years. Even though the Boat is closing, we are excited to seek out new opportunities and projects. We also want to stress the importance of supporting the remaining small businesses and galleries in Milwaukee. Those spaces are vital to keeping our city and our community unique and enjoyable.

We hope to see all of you during the last couple of months of being open!

Warm regards,
The ladies of the Boat-
Faythe Levine & Kim Kisiolek

Join us for our last show ever!

"Bullies"
New Work by Micaela O'Herlihy
April 17- May 31st, 2009

Opening reception Gallery Night 7-10pm

Opening January 16th 2009, Happy Smiling People, work by Sarah Neuburger!

2009-01-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

Paper Boat Gallery presents:
Happy Smiling People: Photographs + Clothespin People
A solo show with work by Sarah Neuburger
January 16- March 1st

Opening reception Gallery Night, Friday January 16th 7-10pm

Paper Boat Gallery is very pleased to welcome back Athens, GA based mixed media artist Sarah Neuburger for her second show in Milwaukee . Neuberger's 2007 "Peeps" show nearly sold out and we could not be more pleased to be featuring her work in our space a second time. This exhibitNeuburger will not only be showing her world famous detailed tiny clothespin peeps but also a variety of her mixed media work including "retouched" photos where she is "rewriting history and giving everyone that perfect camera smile everytime."

For images of Sarah Neuburgers Clothespin Peeps goHERE
For images of Sarah Neuburgers reworked photos go HERE

Artist Bio

www.thesmallobject.com

Sarah Neuburger was born in Normal, IL and was quickly transplanted to the middle of South Carolina where she grew up acquiring a subtle southern accent and one very big sweet tooth. After attending Columbia College, she decided to head up further the East Coast for a little snow and received her Masters of Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. After school, she worked for a non-profit arts organization as an arts administrator for several years and left it all one fateful summer to start her own business. Her unique, quirky designs and illustrations gracing everything from needle cases and rubber stamps to metal canisters and embroidered patches along with the sale of her original artwork. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally and is in hundreds of collections worldwide.

Named the “Next Big Thing” by Fred Flare (www.fredflare.com) in their annual product design contest, three years in a row. While she was the only designer chosen three straight years, she is assured in the fact that this simply must mean she is destined for great big things any day now. Her own illustrations and products have received a prestigious place on the glossy pages of several books, including: Tease: 50 Inspired T-shirt Transformations by Superstars of Art, Craft and Design published by Perigree Books, which also features work by Amy Sedaris, Todd Oldham and Debbie Stoller; The Crafter’s Companion published by Snowbooks; Handmade Nation by Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimerl; from Chronicle Books her illustration was featured in Picture Perfect Knits by Laura Birek; as well has her original design inThe Pillow Book by Shannon Okey and another original project featured in Handmade Hellos by Sabrina and Eunice Moyle who are the creative pair behind the popular brand Hello!Lucky.

She was honored with being included in the Taiwanese art + design magazine, dpi, in their issue devoted strictly to international women designers. Her work was showcased again the magazine’s special issue entitled “60+ Design Stars Boulevard” published in late 2008. Sarah’s work has been published in several other magazines such as Vogue Girl Korea, Mary Engelbreit’s Home Companion, CRAFT, Bust, Bitch, Adorn, Readymade Magazine, among others.

She has appeared on the national cable television show Uncommon Threads (broadcasts on HGTV and DIY networks) and her stamp sets are scheduled to be showcased on the Bay area television talk show The View from the Bay later this summer.

Most recently, illustrations have been commissioned for If’n Books + Marks (www.ifnbooks.com), Art Star (www.artstarphilly.com), Hello Yarn (www.helloyarn.com) and The Sampler (www.homeofthesampler.com). Her online store has been mentioned on several well respected web blogs which include: Daily Candy, Boing Boing, Mighty Goods, Oh Joy! and Design*Sponge. Blueprint magazine posted the Nesting Doll Stamp Sets as one of their favorites on their web blog entitled Bluelines. Followed by Parent magazine proclaiming on their web blog, Goodyblog, that “artist, Sarah Neuburger, [is the] creator of the most amazing rubber stamps ever!” Currently, she is working on several projects with Chronicle Books which are scheduled to be released in Fall 2009.

Faythe Levine, Lisa Congdon, Kim Kisiolek

2008-12-15T14:13:00.001-08:00

Lisa Congdon's show was a smashing hit. To check out our pictures from the show and opening (recently featured on the Free People site here) go to the flickr set HERE.

Friday, December 5th: Life in Wondermountain

2008-12-04T13:17:00.000-08:00

Faythe's mom sent some fancy organic cheese from her dairy, Pabst has been sweet enough to donate some beer and there will be all sorts of snacks to munch on. Come meet Lisa Congdon, check out her rad show and stay warm.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX faythe.

Lisa Congdon
has been installing her show "Life in Wondermountain" at Paper Boat all week.
The press release is HERE and more photos are HERE. Come to the opening tomorrow from 7-10pm

Tomorrow! Art vs. Craft!!!

2008-11-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

Details on the website: www.artvscraft.com

Coming soon....Lisa Congdon

2008-11-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

For immediate release: Paper Boat Gallery presents

Life in WonderMountain
New work by Lisa Congdon {San Francisco}
December 5, 2008- January 11, 2009

Please join us:
Opening reception Friday, December 5th 2008 7-10pm
Artist will be in attendance from San Francisco, CA

Mountain Dweller Levi, gouache on masonite, 6"x12"

Living In Bubbles, mixed media in a shadowbox, 8"x10
Curator Statement
Like many of her fans, I first came across with work of Lisa Congdon through the blogosphere. Her online presence on art and design sites is one hard to avoid. Lisa's strong style and saturated color pallet draws the viewer in immediately. I find it difficult to look away from the work wanting to pick it a part, figure out where all the elements came from. In 2007 sent her an email hoping that we could work together and we are so excited to not only have this be her first show in Wisconsin but also a show with all new work. Lisa will be installing for a week previous to the opening and attending the reception. Please join us in welcoming Lisa Congdon to Milwaukee with her very special show- Life in WonderMountain that will incorporate wall based work as well as a site specific installation.

Bio
Visit Lisa Congdon's website at www.lisacongdon.com
San Francisco mixed media artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon did not begin making art until she was 33 years old; at age 40, it is now the most significant part of her life and livelihood. Aside from a painting class, Lisa is entirely self-taught. She uses her lack of training to her advantage: instead of following refined technique, she works with her own sense of color, composition and design as her guide. Lisa is most known mostly for her brightly colored, other-worldly paintings of animals and birch tree forests and her three dimensional shadowboxes that combine strange Victorian objects and ephemera with modern, graphic details.

Statement
For her upcoming December 2008 show at Paper Boat Gallery in Milwaukee—entitled Life in WonderMountain—Lisa will continue to explore the chimeric world of the WonderMountain dwellers, whose world is made up of opposites. In Lisa's first three-dimensional installation, she will portray the bizarre world of WonderMountain and its inhabitants. Using worn vintage crochet and sepia-toned photographs juxtaposed with fantastical brightly colored neon geometric details, Lisa creates an enchanted world of old and new, graphic and earthy, frightening and familiar.

Accomplishments
Lisa's work has been shown in over eight cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Portland. Her story and work have been featured in numerous print magazines and art and design blogs, including ReadyMade, Country Living, CRAFT, design*sponge, Daily Candy, Juxtapoz, Stitch, Venus and Bitch. Her illustration clients include the National Poetry Foundation, Galison Stationary, Chronicle Books and Pottery Barn. She has a new line of stationary which will be released in the Spring of 2009 by Chronicle Books. Lisa is co-owner and gallery director at Rare Device, a popluar design shop and art gallery in located in San Francisco.

Additional information
Please contact Faythe Levine for print ready images and additional information. Read interviews with Lisa Congdon on Juxtapoz and Venus Magazine.

Paper Boat Gallery
Featuring over 250 independent artists, crafters and designs is open 7 days a week located in the Bay View neighborhood.
2375 Howell Ave, Milwaukee, WI (M-F 12-7 & S/S 12-5)
www.paperboatboutique.com

This Saturday! Art & Design Book Fair

2008-11-04T18:07:00.001-08:00

Please come down to the first ever Art & Design Book Fair at Design Within Reach! We will have your fill of independently published art books!

PUMPKINS!

2008-10-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 17th GALLERY NIGHT!

2008-10-13T11:53:00.000-07:00

Join us......

Paper Boat Gallery presents:
Work by Kimberly Weiss & Joseph Rizzo
October 3- November 23rd
Opening reception Gallery Night, Friday October 17th 7-10pm

Paper Boat is pleased to bring the dynamic prints of Milwaukee based artist Kimberly Weiss and Minneapolis based artist Joseph Rizzo. Weiss will be showing her series titled "Tough Knots, Bad Landings" which combines relief printmaking and collage to depict natural disasters in a decorative arts style. She received a BFA in Printmaking from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2004. Joseph's paintings showcase his unique eye that combines iconic imagery to create a commentary on politics, culture and environments. In Rizzo's words, "I invent icons to reference social and political issues such as modern imperialism, environmental pollution, government surveillance, and violence in our culture."

Additional images from the show are HERE.

Please contact Faythe Levine with additional media requests at 414. 483. 8462

Paper Boat in the NY Times

2008-09-04T13:15:00.001-07:00

Paper Boat in the NY Times
Originally uploaded by Paper Boat Milwaukee

Today in the NY Times is a feature on co-owner of Paper Boat Faythe Levine. Not only is Paper Boat mentioned there is a few images of the shop inside and out!

Check it out here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/04/garden/04craft.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Summer days.....

2008-08-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

Good stuff has been happening around these parts this summer. Our screening of "Who is Bozo Texion" was a blast:

And the opening night of "Lost Closet" with work by visiting artists Leif Goldberg and Erin Rosenthal was fantastic (don't miss this show, it runs through September):

Shingles by Leif Goldberg

Print by Erin Rosenthal

PLUS, There was music by Crude Hill and Wooden Robot:

crude hill

wooden robot

Visit our flickr page for more pictures.

Friday, August 1st: Gallery Opening + Live Music!

2008-07-31T09:01:00.002-07:00

We are so very excited to welcome Providence based artists Leif Goldberg and Erin Rosenthal who are driving across country to install their show and also share their music with us at the opening party Friday night. Please swing by to check out the event, all are http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifwelcome. Music will be outside weather (and neighbors) permitting.

The event will start at 7pm and the music will begin around 8:30 with Leif & Erin's band CRUDE HILL, then Milwaukee based WOODEN ROBOT will play a short set. We will be passing the hat to assist with gas money for the artists.

Hope to see you.......

P.S. This may be Wooden Robot's last show with Eilis the accordion player for quite some time. Come send her off with love....

x, the Paper Boat Ladies

Gallery Night Press!

2008-07-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel art critic Mary Louise Schumacher just posted a sneak peek of tomorrows cue section featuring a front cover story about MIGA! You can read (and comment) her article online HERE. Also check out the interactive Gallery Night & Day page where Milwaukee residents were asked to call in with their favorite pick for Gallery Night shows. MIGA founder Jessica Steeber gives a shout out to Paper Boat and local filmmaker Andrew Swant hollers at the Armoury and Green Gallery! Check it out it's techonology at its finest!

Also, check out Onmilwaukee.com where writer Mollie Butler wrote a great article "Off the Beaten Path" about the small galleries in Milwaukee and the struggle to stay open. MIGA and many of it's galleries were mentioned in the article HERE.

Paper Boat mentioned in the LA Times & the launch of MIGA!

2008-07-16T06:56:00.000-07:00

Kim & I are making our second Paper Boat trip together this summer! First it was out to Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn to promote my documentary Handmade Nation and to scout for new awesome merch to bring back to the boat in Milwaukee for you!

Tomorrow, we fly West for a silent art auction fundraiser to help raise finishing costs for Handmade Nation. What is super exciting is the documentary as well as the event were written about in the LA Times this week and Paper Boat was given a shout out! Read the article HERE.

The gallery will be open 7 days a week as usual in our absence thanks to our super staff!

In other news Paper Boat is pleased to be a part of MIGA, the Milwaukee Independent Gallery Association organized by Cassie and Jessie of the Armoury Gallery. Now, you have no excuse to not knowing where all the best innovative, underground and independent artwork is happening around the city! The website has a great map and there is a blog that will be updated frequently with events and happenings around the Milwaukee area!

"Sunset Scavenger" work by Bill Daniel

2008-06-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

For immediate release July 1, 2008 Paper Boat presents: "Sunset Scavenger" Work by Bill Daniel July 4th- 31st Curated by Faythe Levine Summer Gallery Night, July 25th 7-10pm 9PM Enjoy a special FREE screening of "Who Is Bozo Texino?" a documentary film by Bill Daniel (outside weather permitting)
"Sailvan in Arizona" 2004 Paper Boat is pleased to be showing the varied work of artist, filmmaker and photographer Bill Daniel. "Sunset Scavenger" will feature a variety of wall based work, based around Daniel's most recent romance with houseboat culture. There will be mural-sized Xerox blow-ups which are a way to turn the imagery into wheat-pasteable graffiti, and some new digital murals, as well as some traditional b/w photography. A special screening of Daniel's documentary film "Who Is Bozo Texino" will be shown on Gallery Night (in the backyard, weather permitting). Sunset Scavenger is a project supported by Creative Capital Foundation. Also available throughout the duration of the exhibit will be Daniel's new book "Mostly True" published by Microcosm, a companion to his documentary "Who is Bozo Texino? Artist Statement: "Sunset Scavenger is the catch-all title for an on-going series of related projects--- photo, video, installation--- that started around 2002 when I coupled my interest in outlaw houseboaters with my long-time fascination with the specter of environmental collapse. Since then the project has morphed and evolved to include more subjects, like Katrina, Peak Oil, traditional and punk-style boat building, people living in vehicles… The documentary aspects are woven together with more mythological and folksy elements. I'm drawn to all kinds of American vernacular forms, from railroad graffiti to hippie buses. When people weld an old VW van to the top of a schoolbus to make a mobile house--- that is one of my favorite expressions of ingenuity and self-reliance. Now I want to find someone who is figuring out how to turn abandoned SUVs into greenhouses. Filmography:
"Who Is Bozo Texino?"
The secret history of hobo graffiti
Directed, photographed, edited by Bill Daniel
2005, 56 min, B/W, 16mm and Super 8, mastered on Digibeta NTSC

Shot on freight hopping trips across the wild West and 16 years in the making, this is the mostly-factual cinematic account of the epic search and unlikely discovery of hobohemia's most legendary boxcar artist.

Who is Bozo Texino? chronicles the search for the source of a ubiquitous and mythic rail graffiti-- a simple sketch of a character with an infinity-shaped hat and the scrawled moniker, "Bozo Texino"-- a drawing seen on railcars for over 80 years. Daniel's gritty black and white film uncovers a secret society and it's underground universe of hobo and railworker graffiti, and includes interviews with legendary boxcar artists, Coaltrain, Herby, Colossus of Roads, and The Rambler. Shooting over a 16-year period, Daniel rode freights across the West carrying a Super-8 sound camera and a 16mm Bolex. During his quest he discovered the roots of a folkloric tradition that has gone mostly unnoticed for a century. Taking inspiration from Beat artists Robert Frank and Jack Kerouac, the film functions as both a sub-cultural documentary and a stylized fable on wanderlust and outsider identity. "I was drawn to the subject by the universal graffiti impulse and the classic, corny notion of freight train blues escape." � BD

Biography
born Dallas, Texas 1959
Texas-born, San Francisco exile, and confirmed tramp, Bill Daniel continues to experiment with survivalism and bricolage in his attempts to record and report on the various social margins he often finds himself in. Working without an art or film school education, he endeavors to make work that connects with an outsider audience. His work began in 1980 as he participated in and photo documented the blossoming punk rock scene in Austin, Texas. Since then his subcultural documentary subjects have included bicycle messengers, radical environmentalists, hobo graffiti artists, swap meet guitar players, rural drag racers, and "water squatters"--outlaw anchored live-aboards. His study and love for documentary photography and filmmaking has given Daniel the charge to create work that communicates across socioeconomic boundaries. Drawing from his backgrounds in studio photography, experimental media and the construction trades, Daniel builds site-specific viewing environments as a method for deploying non-linear documentary material within an allegorical, interactive setting.

Daniel's work has received awards from Creative Capital, Film Arts Foundation, The Pioneer Fund, Texas Filmmaker Production Fund, the R & B Feder Charitable Foundation, and The Western States Media Alliance. He was a Wattis Foundation artist-in-residence at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, where his installation "Souls Harbor" was exhibited in Dec. In 1999 he was in-residence at The Headlands Center for the Arts where he produced several multi-projection 16mm film installations, including "Trespassing Sign" in collaboration with the late Margaret Kilgallen. In 2001 his hobo campfire installation "The Girl on the Train in the Moon" was included in "Widely Unknown" at Deitch Projects in New York. A veteran of the touring scene, Daniel has programmed, booked and exhibited several mobile art shows, including the Lucky Bum Film Tour with partner Vanessa Renwick. In 1997-98 he curated a weekly screening series, Funhouse Cinema, in Austin, that also regularly screened in Houston and San Antonio. Daniel is also recognized for his work as cinematographer and editor for filmmaker Craig Baldwin. Other endeavors include publishing two zines--The Western Roundup, a punk fanzine in 1981-82, and Detour, a situationist journal in 1986. He is also the creator of an experimental sports league, The Texas Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Hockey Association.

Read a great interview with Bill Daniel HERE Media Contact: Faythe Levine (414) 483-8462 paperboatboutique@gmail.com Paper Boat Gallery 2375 S. Howell Ave Milwaukee, WI 53207 www.paperboatboutique.com

Featured Designer #5 Cara Taylor of Cara Taylor Handbags

2008-06-30T11:20:00.000-07:00

Name: Cara Taylor Business Name: Cara Taylor Handbags Location: Northampton, MA
(all photos courtesy of the artist)

1. Tell us briefly what you make/do:
Everything I make is made from crocheted plastic (grocery) bags. My line originally started with handbags and now has expanded to include change purses of various sizes, cuff bracelets with vintage buttons and key chains.2. How long have you been doing it?
I began the process of making plastic yarn about 8 years ago as an Art student at the University of Delaware. I first made large, organic, crocheted sculptures and after a few years of that began experimenting with bag forms.

3. Where did you learn your skills?
My mom! She taught me how to crochet when I was a kid and I have always loved doing it.

4. What's your current inspiration?
The new colors of bags that people are sending me are fabulous! I feel like I have a complete new spring line and that is really exciting. I love trying new color combinations.

5. What have you been listening to while you work?
I have been watching the first season of 30 Rock and listening to the new Cat Power CD, the Flatlanders and M. Ward. Not all at the same time.

6. What else do you do to keep busy?
I am a full time art teacher at a public school and that keeps me busy. I am constantly working on something.

7. Any summer plans you are looking forward to?
The summer is when I get to relax, work on my house, garden, craft, drink coffee and sleep in.

If you can't make it to Paper Boat to check out Cara Taylor's work, visit her Etsy shop.

New windows and Gallery Opening pictures!

2008-06-21T14:48:00.000-07:00

Oh, and of course the pictures from the opening last night can be found HERE.

Can't help but put up a picture of Nathan, Micaela and new baby Oota!

Gallery Opening Tonight!

2008-06-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

We are three!!! Happy Birthday to us....

Swing by tonight to celebrate our 3 year anniversery and check out the fantastic art by local artist Eduardo Villanueva & San Francisco based artist Catherine Ryan!

Mural in Progress

2008-06-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Eddie working on our new mural behind the counter:

Catherine Ryan on my love for you....

2008-06-02T12:53:00.000-07:00

Great shout out for Catherine Ryan's show HERE on my love for you......

Featured Designer #4 Lauren Scanlon of Lavender Zebra Press

2008-05-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

June is already here and for those of you in Milwaukee you most likely have your fingers crossed along with me that you can bust out some of you cute summer clothes before Fall arrives!! Lauren Scanlon of Lavender Zebra Press has been making the most beautiful one-of-a kind hand-dyed slips for the past few years and Paper Boat has carried them since we first caught a glimpse!

Since Lauren filled out her featured designer questionnaire for us she has emailed us saying "I am phasing out of slips and into just prints and illustration" so people, get her inventory while it lasts!!!!

Paper Boat will continue to carry prints from Lavender Zebra Press, but for now, ladies, get em while the getting is there! Without further adieu....

Name: Lauren Scanlon
Business Name: Lavender Zebra Press
(all photos courtsey of the artist)

1. Tell us briefly what you make/do:
I make one-of-a-kind hand-dyed and screen-printed slip dresses out of vintage slips. I also work with camisoles and half-slip skirts. Recently, I've started doing some altering which usually means just adding a little bit of extra color or pattern to a part of the piece, like the waist for instance, to emphasize a particularly nice element in the design.

2. How long have you been doing it?
I've been playing around with these for about 4 years, but this past year has definitely been the most serious.

3. Where did you learn your skills?
I am self-taught when it comes to the slips, so it has mainly been trial and error. As far as the visual design and prints go, I am a printmaker/drawer and painter by trade - that's what I went to school for.

4. What's your current inspiration?
My inspiration for the slips comes out of whatever I am working on in my print/drawing studio. I'm strongly influenced by narrative including fairytales and folklore. Right now I am really interested in the combination of pattern, text and figurative image. The latest slip prints have been layers of pattern with heraldic animal imagery. I recently learned that someone very close to me has Asperger's (a mild form of Autism) and I have been reading about how Asperger's people have strong animal instincts and connections to animals, so I have been interested in creating these animal/human figurative beasts. I think those inspirations will be bleeding into my slip work over the next few months.

5. What have you been listening to while you work?
I like listening to public radio; local call-in shows, This American Life. I also listen to Uke of Spaces Corners, Shep and Me, Pink Fever, Woody Pines, Lucinda Williams, Bessie Smith, Geechie Wiley...there's a pretty big range. I like to listen to WEVL from Memphis, TN.

6. What else do you do to keep busy?
I teach workshops in wood engraving and drawing, I read, play piano and clarinet. I walk my dog a lot. And I am working on building a new garden.

7. Any summer plans you are looking forward to?
I'm looking forward to gardening, riding my bike and opening the windows of the house to let the sun and breeze in when the weather warms up! I am also taking and teaching a few workshops (you can see some of them at www.ashevillebookworks.com). Of course, I am hoping to do some craft fairs with Lavender Zebra Press.

If you can't make it into Paper Boat to check out the work go to these numerous links....

Personal Website/Blog:
www.laurenscanlon.com

Lavender Zebra Press Links:
www.lavenderzebrapress.blogspot.com
www.lavenderzebrapress.com
www.myspace.com/lavenderzebrapress
www.lavenderzebrapress.etsy.com

Catherine Ryan & Eduardo Villanueva Press Release

2008-05-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

For immediate release
May 28, 2008

Paper Boat presents:
New work by Catherine Ryan (San Francisco, CA) & Eduardo Villanueva (Milwaukee, WI)
June 6- 30th, 2008
Curated by Faythe Levine

Gallery Reception Friday June 20th 7-10pm
Additional images HERE

Catherine Ryan, Purple Mountain, 2008

Show highlights: This June is the three year anniversary of Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery. We will be welcoming two talented artists Catherine Ryan who hail's from San Francisco showing her haunting watercolor and charcoal works on paper. Ryan will also be selling limited edition archival prints along with her artwork.Showing along with Ryan will be local emerging artist Eduardo Villanueva. Eduardo will be painting a permanent site specific mural to commemorate our three years of bringing innovative and creative new work to the Milwaukee public. Villanueva will also have a new body of work in the gallery.

Catherine Ryan Artist Statement:
This series of drawings is an examination of "canned" hunting preserves; plots of private, fenced-in land that are stocked with a wide array of domestically-raised "wild game". A commodified and sanitized version of something that was once an instinctual means of survival, canned hunts are stripped of the inconvenience, danger and uncertainty of an actual hunt. Like fast food, canned hunts are a perverse version of something real; devoid of substance, but packaged for easy consumption.

Eduardo Villanueva Artist Statement
Eduardo Villanueva's work is introspective in nature, combining personally iconic images to emit stories and emotions that are intrinsically personal and altogether universal. Physically his work ranges from the very small to the monumental. As of late he has been exploring mural painting in an attempt to ensnare the viewer with the power of his wild imagery. Movement is a key element to the development of Eduardo's painting style. Shapes knead into one another in an almost churning motion creating undulating compositions that mimic the kneading of the artists thoughts.

Media Contact: Faythe Levine (414) 483-8462
paperboatboutique@gmail.com

Paper Boat Gallery 2375 S. Howell Ave Milwaukee, WI 53207 www.paperboatboutique.com

Owly Shadow Puppets!

2008-05-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Andrea Everman creator of Owly Shadow Puppets passed this along to us today.
We stock her work at Paper Boat if you are interested!

Milwaukee International art fair

2008-05-18T22:21:00.000-07:00

It was a super long weekend for us since we participated in the Milwaukee International art fair. The event was great and we met a lot of fantastic people from all over the world, saw great art, I bought some books and now it's time to pack all of Kate Bingaman-Burt's work back up and ship it home.

Take a gander at our photos from the weekend HERE.

Steve MacDonald brings Little Zero to Milwaukee!

2008-05-11T16:20:00.001-07:00

As a part of the May 2008 gallery exhibit, Little Zero shirts are available now at Paper Boat.
Thanks to Steve for sending over these images, here is a detail of my favorite one:

The Skulls, Create & Burrow and 3-D bike design are also available at this time. Shirt are limited so give a call if you are interested and would like to put one on hold.

Little Zero is a collaboration between Steve MacDonald (ramblinworker.com), Matthew Davis (treatzone.com) & Tim Clinton (Dawson-Clinton.com). The first project together as Little Zero was a new T-shirt for the San Francisco track bike production "MASH" (mashsf.com).

Steve MacDonald and Matthew Davis have made t-shirts for Puma, DC Shoes, Bicycle Film Festival and Modest Mouse. After 3 years they have come out with a line for summer!!!

www.littlezero.net

Milwaukee International Art Fair

2008-05-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Paper Boat will be representing artist, designer and illustrator Kate Bingaman-Burt of Obsessiveconsumption.com at the 2008 Milwaukee International Art Fair
Kate Bingaman-Burt, Plastic Forks , 2008

Kate Bingaman-Burt, Chase Bill , 2007

Milwaukee International art fair
Polish Falcons Beer Hall
801 E. Clarke St.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USAFriday, May 16, 5-9 pm
Saturday, May 17, Noon-9 pm
FREE!

*****
The second Milwaukee International art fair arrives to the Polish
Falcons beer hall, May 16-17, 2008. This location puts amazing contemporary art from around the world against a backdrop of real
old-world charm, in the midst of the quaint working-class Riverwest neighborhood. Stroll through the aisles to get a glimpse of new
drawing, painting, video and sculpture while the sweet sounds of the Falcon Bowl rumble up from the basement. The Falcon Bowl sports the
4th-oldest bowling alley in America, and for two days, possibly the coziest art fair you'll ever visit.

This year, the Milwaukee International team (Elysia Borowy-Reeder,
Nicholas Frank, Scott Reeder, Tyson Reeder and John Riepenhoff) is
pleased to announce that Joey Chang Art will join the art fair line-up
all the way from Beijing, along with Cuban gallery project Espacio
Provisional (Havana/Miami). From Puerto Rico, Milwaukee International
veteran Luis Agosto-Leduc brings his new gallery, Mano Izquierda, and
the artists' project Repuesto from San Juan will visit for the first
time. Additional first-timer (and former Milwaukeean) Hiromi Yoshii is
coming from Tokyo. This year we also feature a special fair t-shirt
designed by David Shrigley of Glasgow.

Other M.I. veterans from our first successful fair making their return
are: Gavin Brown's Enterprise (New York), Canada (NY), The Suburban
(Chicago), Swiss Institute (NY), Locust Projects (Miami), Western
Exhibitions (Chicago), Other (Winnipeg), Zieher Smith (NY) and
Angstrom (Dallas/LA).

We are pleased to welcome the esteemed non-profit Midway Contemporary
Art (Minneapolis), along with galleries Daniel Hug (LA), Marianne
Boesky (NY), Small A Projects (Portland), Leo Koenig (NY), Rowley
Kennerk (Chicago), Golden Age (Chicago) and Shane Campbell (Chicago),
and a special project by new Chicago gallery Old Gold. Milwaukee
galleries and non-profits joining the line-up are: Paper Boat, Borg
Ward, Green Gallery, General Store, and Inova.

Please join these 28 art spaces in celebrating Milwaukee culture.
Delicious local beer will be flowing, there will be polka dancing in
the aisles (with the welcome return of Vern and the Originals!), and
unexpected art around every corner (including work by current Whitney
Biennial artist Amanda Ross-Ho, and Milwaukee Art Museum collection
veteran Michelle Grabner, among many choice offerings), and a big Mad
Planet dance party to wrap things up Saturday night, featuring DJs
from New York and Milwaukee. For the extra-adventurous, local legend
Paul Finger will lead bus tours of area treasures during the fair.

For more info:
http://www.milwaukeeinternational.tk

Please feel free to pass this message along to any interested friends.
See you there!

New Gallery Opening Tonight!!

2008-05-09T09:14:00.000-07:00

From Onmilwaukee.com

Introducing the latest addition to Milwaukee's burgeoning art gallery scene: The Armoury.

Established in January 2008, and inspired by the Armoury at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, the gallery lengthens the list of new art venues seeking to promote contemporary fine art in Milwaukee.

Join us tonight for a Gallery Opening celebration. Owners Jessica Steeber and Cassandra Smith will be showing new work for the opening, along with Karin Haas, Eduardo J. Villanueva, and Emily Siegel Belknap. Refreshments and hors d'oeuvres will be served.

Please call 414.265.2806, email info@thearmourygallery.com, or visit our website through the link above for more information

Featured Designer #3 Mollie Green of La Familia Green

2008-05-05T12:28:00.000-07:00

Our current featured designer is the fabulous Mollie Green creator behind the stationary line La Familia Green- a must have for the usual and unusual occasions. La Familia Green features tons of amazing designs including great cards for Mother's & Father's day, both quickly approaching!!*all photos courtesy of the artist

Name: Mollie Green
Business Name: La Familia Green
Location: Chicago, IL

1. Tell us briefly what you make/do:
handprinted/collaged cards---for holidays and special occasions, or just for fun; and hand-bound journals---created from VHS boxes, album sleeves, and vintage postally-used postcards.

2. How long have you been doing it?
since 20053. Where did you learn your skills?
Formally, I have a BFA in painting and print media from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and I honed my stationery chops while working at Paperboy here in Chicago. Informally, I taught myself to print on a Gocco, and I'm always coming up with my own lo-tech techniques.

4. What's your current inspiration?
We just went to Mexico City, and I loved the intense color---embroidered textiles, violet flowering trees, abundant candy, painted doors and gates---usually royal blue, and the ring girls at lucha libre matches---their fabulous day-glo bikinis and go go boots.

5. What have you been listening to while you work?
I always come back to npr---what can I say, I heart Terry Gross. And a rotating playlist of new and classic Indie Rock---The Clientele, Pinback, Stars, Stereolab, Spoon, Belle and Sebastian... But right now I'm listening to David Bowie on my Sirius radio.

6. What else do you do to keep busy?
I'm lucky enough to live in the same neighborhood as most of my friends---so I love going for walks with any of them. Or thift store scavenging with my cute husband Andrew, or going to movies with my brother Bill. And I love riding my bike around town. This summer I finally want to teach my cat Lemur (one of three) to walk on a leash!

7. Any summer plans you are looking forward to?
I plan to finally get my etsy shop up and running---it's going to house my collage pieces and paintings. And I'm excited to work on my tennis game.

* If you can make it into Paper Boat to pick up cards visit his shop HERE

This Friday! Steve MacDonald & Rachel Budde

2008-04-30T11:34:00.003-07:00

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

2008-04-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-13T16:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-09T09:15:00.001-07:00

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

2008-04-06T00:31:00.001-07:00

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.

Xander Marro show review

2008-03-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we just don't find stuff very fast. Read this great review of "Tucker Neath' the Covers" work by Providence based artist Xander Marro on Susceptible to Images.

Juxtapoz & Milwaukee heads up!

2008-03-25T14:12:00.000-07:00

Juxtapoz did a nice little blurb about our Amy Rice and Abby Glassenberg show that will open April 3rd.

Also if you are in the Milwaukee area make sure to swing by the "Seeing Green: Art, Ecology and Activism in Milwaukee" show opening on Friday April 12th curated by Nicolas Lampert at Woodland Pattern.

Amy Rice & Abby Glassenberg APRIL!

2008-03-19T11:34:00.000-07:00

You won't want to miss......

Feather Your Nest
New work by Amy Rice (Minneapolis, MN) & Abby Glassenberg (Wellesley, MA)
April 4th- April 30th 2008
Opening reception Gallery Night Friday April 18th 2008 7-10pm
Amy Rice will be in attendance

Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery
2375 S. Howell Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53207
414. 483. 8462
www.paperboatboutique.com

Contact curator Faythe Levine for additional print ready images

Curators Statement
Although Amy Rice and Abby Glassenberg have never met they have similar creative aesthetic and motivation. Both artists’ share an affinity for using found, scavenged and recycled items in their work- Amy focuses on paper, Abby on fabric & notions. Feather Your Nest will showcase wall-based work from Amy Rice and three-dimensional soft sculpture by Abby Glassenberg. This will be Rice’s second show at Paper Boat Gallery that will highlight mixed-media works (spray paint, stencil, gocco, gouache, ink, more) on found, vintage paper as well as other found/nontraditional painting surfaces. Glassenberg’s three-dimensional bird sculptures will be installed along with Rice’s work. The gallery will be filled with works that conjure the feeling of spring, re-birth, growth and beauty. I urge you to come be inspired by the work of two talented women that embrace non-traditional methods of creativity, creating captivating work, each piece telling its own story.

Amy Rice Artist Statement
www.amyrice.com

Serendipity played a large part in the direction Minneapolis based (but Wisconsin born and raised) mixed-media artist Amy Rice’s work has taken since her 2007 exhibition at Paper Boat Gallery and Boutique.

First there was her acquisition of a gocco printer forgotten in a small town craft store. Gocco printers are small, self-contained, screen-printing machines sold as toys in Japan. At one time one in every three Japanese households owned a gocco printer, but with the advent of computers/printers they fell out of use. American crafters have just begun to discover this remarkable tool, but the printers are hard to come by. Rice has been using her gocco printer in much of the same ways she has utilized hand-cut stencils…as the starting point for mixed media paintings. She has been making small one-of-a kind works based on some of her most popular stencil paintings with her gocco.

Rice also discovered of a box of handwritten journals written in the 1930’s by a young girl named Emma at a flea market. She bought them to use with her gocco printer but quickly realized she could use her stencil/spray paint method successfully on antique paper as well. Rice has always been attracted to found objects as “canvas”; exploring the sense of history and connectivity between the object and the imagery, she expands on the objects sentimental nature. Rice has become obsessed with antique handwritten documents and has collected and painted on old love letters (both sweet and illicit), library checkout cards with the names and dates checked out going back 70 years, recipe cards yellowed and evidently well used, as well as the pages of handwritten song lyrics of tunes popular in the 1930’s written out by Emma.

Thematically Rice’s work continues to be inspired by the urban community in which she lives, childhood memories (both real and imagined and sometimes exaggerated with time), vintage botanical prints, her dog Ella, bicycles, street art, random found objects, collective endeavors that challenge hierarchy, acts of compassion, downright silliness and things with wings.

Abby Glassenberg Artist Statement
www.whileshenaps.typepad.com

Several years ago I began making one-of-a-kind soft toys. I became fascinated by the process of designing and creating each animal, then stuffing and shaping them to bring them to life. Over time, my pieces became increasingly complex, less like toys and more like sculptures.

With my Nest of Thread series I broke completely with the idea of
making toys and freed myself to create pieces that were truly sculptural. Each piece in this series contains a soft sculpture bird, a vintage spool of thread and some kind of nest-in-the-making. Many of the spools of thread belonged to my grandmother, while others came from complete sewing boxes that I found at thrift stores. These birds with their thread are building nests for their young, just like the women who used this thread two generations ago sewed toys and clothes and household goods to care for their children. Toward the end of this eleven piece series I began to incorporate found objects including receipts, bingo markers, rusted scraps of sheet metal and bits of wood.

After the series was completed I continued making soft sculptures and placing them in scenes, either in boxes or on two-dimensional collages. Many of my soft sculptures are sewn from recycled and found fabric – paper maps, clothing labels, feed-bags and flour sacks. I am inspired by the idea of turning utilitarian fabrics and discarded objects into something new, inviting the viewer to see these overlooked things transformed into graceful birds alighting, preening or guarding a clutch of eggs in a nest. I am excited by the combination of natural and enduring forms, like birds and seashells, with the artificial, the cast aside, the obsolete and the mass-produced.

Important dialog regarding INDIE CRAFT

2008-03-17T22:14:00.001-07:00

I just posted this exact post on Super Naturale myspace, my other blog and hope you will repost your own version!

I was passed a link to this discussion thread via Sabrina Gschwandtner who received it from Andrew Wagner. I highly recommend anyone who has interest, investment or pride about what we call "indie craft" to take a gander and give your two cents. And I second the suggestion of Annie who wrote the initial blog post who states "you might want to brew a cup of coffee before you sit down for this one . . ."

Opening March 1st!

2008-02-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

For Immediate Release:
Sky High Celebrates 20 Years
March 1- March 31, 2008

Opening Reception Saturday, March 1st 7-10pm
After party at Franks Power Plant 10pm- Close

Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery
2375 S. Howell Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53207
www.paperboatboutique.com
www.skyhighskateboardshop.com

Note from the curator:
This show is about more than skate boarding, it is about the fact that a small independent business has made it through 20 years of business in a time where the mass majority of people shop either online or at mega malls. This show is a celebration of the accomplishments that a small independently owned business specializing in a niche community. It is not only admirable but exciting to see a small business make this is a reality, we realize the struggles and sacrifices one has to make to see their dream come true are not easy . Paper Boat is proud to show solidarity to their neighbor Sky High who has made it to the 20 year mark- join us opening night and give a toast to the future of supporting local business.
- Faythe Levine

Sky High is an independently owned skate shop currently located in the Bay View neighborhood in Milwaukee, WI. That will be celebrating its 20-year mark of being open this year. Sky High Neighbors, Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery is pleased to be hosting a
Retrospective show of Sky High in Wisconsin that will include photographs, skateboard decks, flyers and memorabilia of the past 20 years.

20 Year Timeline of Sky High
1988: George and Dimitri Dimitropoulos opened the Douglas Ave location in Racine, while they were still in high school.

1991: The shop moves to a larger space on Main St. operated solely by George Dimitropoulos.

1992: Aaron Polansky starts working for Sky High
George is planning to open a new location on Hwy 100 and Layton Ave in Greenfield.

1993: New Shop opens at 4649 S. 108th st. and sales in Racine were dwindling so the old location was shut down.

1994: Aaron Polansky moves back to Milwaukee and begins working at Hwy 100 location.

1998: Polansky, while San Francisco for two months is given the offer to buy Sky High from George. Aaron wasn't interested at first, but then could see the trend of skateboarding rising in popularity once again. In October Aaron Polansky decides to buy the store.

1999: With the help of a loan from his father Aaron Polansky is the new owner of Sky High. As he predicted, skate boarding's popularity hit the roof. During this year Aaron worked 7 days a week without much pay, but with the increase in popularity sales kept going up.

2001: Polansky has all loans paid off and the store was doing well.

2004: In February, with the repeated help of his father, Aaron bought a building in the up and coming neighborhood of Bay View for the newest location. 2501 S. Howell Ave.

2005: In June the new space was open for business. By August of the Hwy 100 location was closed.

2006: In an effort to promote local businesses Sky High works with small independently owned Bay View shops creating the "Common Ground" project releasing a limited edition of 100 skateboard decks designed by each company. Businesses included were Fashion Ninja, Solid State Tattoo, Cactus Club, Fasten Collective, Rushmore, Luv Unlimited, Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery, Hi Fi Café and the Brew City Brewsers Roller Girl League.

2007: In December DC Shoes released a Sky High specific skate shoe that was inspired by a two-car garage with a small mini ramp where Polansky and friends spent every Friday night for two winters skating. The DC shoes were limited to 88 pairs and the Danger
Room shoe was a great success, kids were asking people where to get Danger Room shoes, not knowing what Sky High even was.

2008: Sky High celebrates 20 years of skateboarding in Wisconsin being an essential part of the local and national skate community.

Sky High will continue to offer a wide selection of decks, shoes, books, and apparel.

The future of sky high from owner Aaron Polansky:
"Sky High has always been involved in the Milwaukee skate scene. In the future I hope to continue in that tradition by hosting more skate jams, block parties, and other community events. I am looking forward to organizing an event this summer at the Humboldt Park band shell that would include live music, skating, and bring your own BBQ. I plan on continue to work with the other local businesses promoting ourselves and the Bay View community, which a good majority of us live and work in. I have hopes of developing our already expanding line of Sky High clothing to include not only just tees and sweatshirts, but also expanding into denim and other outerwear such as spring jackets and winter coats."

Valentines Day Card by Axelhoney $4

2008-02-02T11:37:00.001-08:00

Valentines Day Card by Axelhoney $4
Originally uploaded by paperboatboutique

We have super sweet valentine's day cards and thoughtful handmade gifts for your lady or dude.

Hotcakes is closing!

2008-02-02T10:35:00.000-08:00

I am sad to pass on the news that Gallery director Mike Brenner officially announced the closing of his space Hotcakes yesterday via email [which I have reposted below]. Galleries like Hotcakes are what this city needs to grow and it's sad to know there will be one less awesome art space (out of the very few this city has to spare) in Milwaukee.

Thank you Mike Brenner for all the hard work you have done for this city........ read on to hear what Mike has to say:

via email February 1, 2008
Hotcakes Gallery Will Close July 3, 2008 at 5PM
It's official. In less than 3 months, Visit Milwaukee (Miwaukee's convention and visitors bureau) has raised the $85,000 it needs to erect the Bronze Fonz, a monument to the small-town Milwaukee of old. It's with great sadness, I announce that on July 3rd, Hotcakes Gallery will close it's doors for good. I cannot see running a contemporary art gallery in a city who's "leadership" is so eager to invest it's limited resources in garbage instead of fostering it's burgeoning arts community.

February 6th marks Hotcakes Gallery's 4th Birthday. It has been a wonderful four years. I truly appreciate everyone who showed up and supported me in my attempt to engage, excite and educate the general public with affordable, contemporary art and music. I made many new friends and had many incredible experiences I will never forget. I extend special thanks to those of you who put your money where your mouth was and invested in art.

My plan for the near future is to focus on my role as Executive Director of MARN (Milwaukee Artist Resource Network). MARN has been working closely with the Eastside Business Improvement District to build an arts incubator on the Eastside of Milwaukee, and I would like to see the project through to completion. I plan to spend the next couple years trying to raise the necessary funds to create a truly cutting-edge arts center that will nurture the next generation of artists and arts supporters.

My goal is to put Milwaukee on the map and make it an international destination for creative thinkers and doers. I want the world to see what I see... a city full of warmhearted, hardworking, creative individuals who deserve to be defined by so much more than beer, brats, cheese and Arthur Fonzerelli.

Sincerely,
mike brenner

Chris Crites & Anthony Weber

2008-02-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

February 1- 27th 2008
Paper Boat is pleased to announce the opening of their next show featuring Seattle artist Chris Crites and Baltimore based artist Anthony Weber, opening Friday February 1st with the opening reception running from 7-10pm. Anthony Weber will be in attendance.

Curator Faythe Levine first stumbled across Chris Crites “bag paintings” in Seattle, WA at the Blue Bottle Gallery & Boutique. Struck by the choice of subject matter, color palette and of course, the brown paper bag it was painted on, Crites paintings made an immediate impact on Levine. These criminals from the past, forgotten and hid away in the system, brought to life by Crites hand. Levine found herself wanting to know more information about each man and women of the underworld in Crites collection. Paper Boat will have 15 original paintings on display as well as limited edition prints and card sets.

Showing along with Crites is Anthony Weber, a mixed medium artist from Racine, WI currently working and residing in Baltimore, MD. Levine met Weber at the first Art vs. Craft in Milwaukee where he was selling limited edition prints and original paintings. She is pleased to welcome him home to Wisconsin for his first show in Milwaukee since 2005. Weber received his B.A. in 2004 with a concentration in printmaking from the University of Wisconsin, Parkside. His listing of solo and group shows include KM art Gallery in Milwaukee, WI, Working Dog Art Gallery in Racine, WI, Reversible Eye Art Gallery in Chicago, IL and Supreme Trading in Brooklyn, NY.

Check out Chris Crites work HERE
www.bagpainter.com
Artist Statement
Years ago I saw a book of black and white crime photographs from the past. I found it amazing. The characters and crime scenes looked like surreal glimpses into the history of human interaction. Much more intriguing for me were the mug shots. Portraits of people who had just been caught. Despair, frustration, anger – so many expressions could be read on the faces. Each one of these images has a story. Often times I have no idea what the real story is, but it’s hard not to make one up. One of the reasons I paint them is to bring out another possible story, for people to look at and think about. The majority of the images I base my paintings on are from the 1890’s through 1950’s.

Originally I began using charcoal and white conte´ crayon on paper bag. The way the wrinkles, folds and texture added to the piece really appealed to me. In 1999 I painted my first 4 mug shots in acrylic on paper bag with a limited palette of 5 colors each. Paper bag has been my main substrate ever since. Brightly colored acrylics have a different effect on the brown bag than on a typical white backing.

I try to bring new life to these practically discarded portraits of criminal and human history. Using an everyday, disposable item as the surface gives new life to the bag as well. It is my hope to get people thinking about the past, their present, and how we all affect both.

Check out Anthony Weber's work HERE
www.thepubliccereal.com
Artist’s Statement:
For the most part, I consider my artwork to be a personal exploration. It is a method for self discovery and grasping a better understanding of life in general. I consider my style to be the result of a complete bastardization of influences. Over the years I’ve developed an iconography filled with multiple and evolving meanings. Recurring themes in the form of severed body limbs, knives, teeth, etc. populate my work. There is no one-to-one relationship between these forms and their meanings. Subject matter comes from personal experience, emotions, desires and thoughts about my surroundings. My work is deliberately crude and raw. If my hands are shaky I allow for the shaky line to come through. I have no desire to use devious imitative or flashy drawing techniques to reproduce reality. I am more interested in experimenting with abstract mark making in order to explore a convulsive beauty. I am attracted to the unconventional and not the tried and true. I am a nontraditional printmaker. I consider the process of printmaking to be a form of drawing. I often go back and forth between printing and drawing until I’m satisfied with the image. I tend to dwell on a darker side of life and often my work is confused to have a violent nature. Any violence I do include within my work I consider to be to the extreme of a cartoon. My artwork is in a constant state of evolution. The future of my artwork is only limited by my imagination and my dedication to constantly make image after image.

2008 Gallery Shows at Paper Boat!

2008-01-11T22:05:00.002-08:00

2008 is going to be good to us here in Milwaukee!

Paper Boat Gallery 2008 line-up!

January: Xander Marro
February: Chris Crites
February: Anthony Webber
March: Skyhigh 20th Anniversary
April: Amy Rice
April: Abby Glassenberg
May: Steve MacDonald
May: Rachel Budde
June: Catherine Ryan
June: Eddie Villanueva
July: TBA
August: Leif Goldberg
August: Erin Rosenthal
September: Manuel Donada
September: Joey Rizzo
October: Kate Bingaman-Burt
November: Sarah Neuburger
November: Matthew Feyld
December: Lisa Congdon

Opening party wrap-up!

2008-01-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came out for the opening of "Tucker Neath' the Covers" work by Providence based artist Xander Marro. The show is fantastic and I highly suggest swinging by to see if this month if you can. Her work ranges from $5-70 and it was super awesome to see so many first time art buyers in action! Pictures from the opening are HERE

PEEPS!

Bed of Knives: Detail

Quilts! Posters!

Museum of Tiny Things!

2008 begins with Xander Marro!

2007-12-31T12:27:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! I would like to encourage you to start 2008 with a fantastic show opening at Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery Friday, January 4th from 7-10pm. Providence based artist, filmmaker, and performer Xander Marrow will be joining us in Milwaukee, her show Tucker Neath’ the Covers will run through January 30th, 2008 and should not be missed. It’s a treat to have her work on display and I hope you get a chance to check it out!

Tucker Neath’ the Covers

Work by Xander Marro (Providence, RI)
January 4th- January 30th 2008

Opening Reception Friday, January 4th 7-10 PM
{artist will be in attendance}
Open late Gallery Night Friday, January 18th until 10PM
Paper Boat Boutique & Gallery:: 2375 S. Howell Ave, Milwaukee, WI.
www.paperboatboutique.com

I first met Xander Marrow in the summer of 2003 when, by chance, I booked a show for her touring puppet theater in Milwaukee. She performed her piece the Birdsongs of the Baharoque and bizarre and dreamy performance that utilized puppets, song, dance, film, lectures, sets, lights & costumes.

I was sent a package of posters to help promote the show. This was not like any other press kit I have ever received. Enclosed were the most shockingly beautiful silk-screened posters I had ever seen. Layers of pinks, reds and gold made up a striking advert for the soon to come performance. To this day the poster is a work of art I treasure, hung at my home. This was my first taste of the silkscreen work of Xander Marro.

Skip to 2006 I was in Providence, RI shooting footage for my upcoming documentary Handmade Nation and I had arranged a visit the Dirt Palace, a collectively run feminist art space that Xander is the founding member of. The entire building (an old library) houses up to seven artists who work in a variety of mediums, sharing studio space, performance rooms and housing a store front gallery installation space.

While getting a tour at the Dirt Palace and seeing the amazing worked it housed, a library, darkroom, printing studio, performance space to name a few, I was shown the guest room. In the guest room was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen, laid out on the bed, a quilt. But this was no ordinary quilt; it was a red, and velvety, a patchwork quilt that had the art of Xander Marro interwoven within itself. When I asked about the piece Xander replied with an explanation along the lines of “Every time I print poster or a design on paper I also print it on fabric, then I piece the fabric squares together and make quilts”. Xander's artwork had taken on a new form in my eyes and the beauty of her illustrated work was now also a functional piece of art, laying there for guests to curl up within its designs.

Xander will be joining us from Providence to install her show which will include two finished quilts, a site specific installation of the Museum of Very Small Things, and affordable pieces of silk screened fabric for you to work into your own quilts or hang on your wall!

- Faythe Levine, Paper Boat Gallery Curator

Artist Bio
Xander Marro (American b. 1975) is a fake scientist/olde style tinker residing at the dirt palace; a feminist cupcake encrusted netherworld located along the dioxin filled banks of the Woonasquatucket river (which is to say in Providence, RI USA). From this post she makes movies, puppet shows, prints and phone calls. Her adventures underground have included curating the “Movies with Live Soundtracks” film series and performing in various theatrick/musical formats as one of the variety of her alter ego’s (Madame Von Temper Tantrum, Lady Long Arms, Lil Blood-n-Guts, Madame Von Malt Liquor etc.) Of recent days she has gotten herself deep into the wild world of community organizing around neighborhood social justice and human rights issues.