December 4, 2006

Color Your World

Diem Chau Storytelling Crayons

When it comes to the good things, you learned early not to sit around and wait.

Take the kindergarten Crayola conundrum: The longer you savored a fresh box (oh, periwinkle or wisteria?), the greater the chance someone would get her grubby little hands on your perfect points. Got it: Slowpokes finish last. (And get stuck with broken crayons.)

So hurry up and get yourself a Storytelling crayon, a tiny sculpture carved from a single Crayola by local artist Diem Chau. (We know: totally charming.) The Cornish alum (who has exhibited at Howard House, ConWorks, and SAM) mines playground memories for inspiration, creating childlike portraits that echo the universal.

If pieces like “Act of Defiance in Green” (an overall-clad Ramona Quimby look-alike) don’t grab you, Chau takes commissions — like the dreadlocked likeness Whoopi Goldberg ordered.

Some call it “Comedienne in Sunset Orange.”

Too bad it’s not the color purple.

Available at Howard House, 604 Second Avenue, between James and Cherry Streets (206-256-6399); online at diemchau.com.