By Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Nov 02, 2007 at 11:53 AM

Paper Boat Gallery has some really interesting things going on this month. Following the closing of it "The New Witch" October exhibit, co-owner / curator Faythe Levine starts off November with two new artists, Michelle Blade from San Francisco and Diem Chau from Seattle.

Blade is known for her colorful multi-media works that she says are about, "questioning and understanding humanity, and what drives us to form relationships with one another, build societies and then break ties to try and create something better and stronger."

Chau, on the other hand, has been working on meticulously carved Crayon sculptures and porcelain work. She says her work is based around storytelling.

"I consider myself an artist whose medium is stories, especially those that are primarily passed on orally. Coming from a nomadic childhood, what few possessions my family had were necessities. The things of greatest value to us were stories contributed by friends and family. Embedded in these stories are connections to the past, our culture and an occasional escape from reality."

Their shared show runs at Paper Boat's gallery from Nov. 5 through Dec. 1. The closing reception coincides with Bay View's KK Art Crawl, from 6 to 10 p.m. on Dec. 1.

Julie Lawrence Special to OnMilwaukee.com

OnMilwaukee.com staff writer Julie Lawrence grew up in Wauwatosa and has lived her whole life in the Milwaukee area.

As any “word nerd” can attest, you never know when inspiration will strike, so from a very early age Julie has rarely been seen sans pen and little notebook. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee it seemed only natural that she major in journalism. When OnMilwaukee.com offered her an avenue to combine her writing and the city she knows and loves in late 2004, she knew it was meant to be. Around the office, she answers to a plethora of nicknames, including “Lar,” (short for “Larry,” which is short for “Lawrence”) as well as the mysteriously-sourced “Bill Murray.”