* 1000 Crowns: A Mail Art Show
I ran into Melody Owen at the Rose Festival and she handed me a blank postcard and asked me to create a piece of art about crowns for an upcoming show. Mine would be one among 999 others, she said. The blank card has been staring at me from my desk, where I repeatedly ponder the fact that I have no emotional or intellectual connections to crowns. So I never sent anything in. See what 999 artists who are more socially adept and community oriented than myself thought of to mail Melody. Reading Frenzy, 921 SW Oak, 274-1449, Opening Thursday 6-9 pm. Through July

* 21 Years of Studios: Friends of Carton Services
Their press packet takes about 21 pages to say it, but what's going on here is that Carton Services, who have rented studios to artists since 1983, are throwing a big show with over 150 current and former tenants participating. It's a pretty sweet list of artists, including Matt McCormick, Kristan Kennedy, Cris Moss, and Melody Owen. Haze Gallery/Cathedral Park Place, 6635 N. Baltimore Ste. 211, 503-283-6863, Opening July 2, 7-11 pm. Open Saturdays and Sundays through July 25

5D
The fifth dimension? Madeleine L'Engle didn't cover that one in A Wrinkle in Time. Check out some "polydimensional" works by local artists like Bruce Conkle, Cynthia Star, and Marne Lucas. Hall Gallery (630 SE 3rd), 630 SE Third, Through July. Reception Friday 7-10:30pm

Boys of Summer
In a group show that will probably not be as cool as the Don Henley video for the song of the same name, three artists show work about America's favorite nostalgic cliché: baseball. Noted photographer David Levinthal is showing some new work about his favorite players, which only reminds us of how irrelevant and uninteresting his career has become. Augen Gallery, 817 SW 2nd Ave, 224-8182, Through July 29

* Erinn Kennedy
A Pearl District staple, Kennedy makes super flat girlie paintings of necklaces and beaded curtains with a pretty amazing sensitivity to color. Pulliam Deffenbaugh, 522 NW 12th Ave, 228-6665, Through July 31

George Perrou
I used to consider Goerge Perrou one of my least favorite Portland artists because he ripped off Joan Miro so bad, but now I don't mind him as much because his canvases are getting lounge-ier and look more like some cute coasters you can buy for six bucks each on Hawthorne. Basil Hallward Gallery at Powell's City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St, 228-4651, Through July

* Ordinary Human Endeavors
Heading to Hillsboro any time soon? Of course you are! And while you're there you might just want to stop by this art exhibit by Craig Pozzi, a veteran photographer who excels at capturing real-life people in moments that look decidedly unreal. In one piece, a cowboy stares off into the distance while what appears to be the ghost of Elvis glowers at him from a nearby tent flap. In another, a man clad in glasses and a white jumpsuit twirls an elaborate shooting star contraption, filling the sky with surreal star cutouts. Weird and wonderful. Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center, 527 E. Main St., Hillsboro, 615-3485, Opens Tues July 6, runs through July 27

* Paperwork
There's something that happens when the temperatures start hitting 80 degrees and over on a regular basis--big group shows start coming out of the woodwork. This looks like a pretty awesome drawing show with the Royal Art Lodge, David Eckard, Harrell Fletcher, Michelle Ross, and about two dozen others. Savage Gallery, 1430 SE Third Ave, 230-0265, Through August 27

Contemporary Dichotomies: Four Visions
Four totally different artists converge with their individual riffs on the theme of "modern extremes." Observe a film installation by Daniel Kaven, a series of "Polaroid abstractions" from photographer Johann Leiter, paintings by Kimber Shiroma, and Michael Wilson's ink/paint renditions of nightmarish hallucinations. Gallery 500, 420 SW Washington, Suite 500, 223-3951, Through July 30

For the Seventh Generation
The full title of this exhibition is The One-Mile Panorama of the Washington, Oregon and California Coasts. A long and tedious name, but a cool idea. Started in 1995, the project will eventually involve 1320 paintings, each by a different artist, that when put together will create a mile-long, unbroken seascape of the Western coastline. Supposedly it will take 100 years before that happens, but in the meantime you can view and purchase some of the panels that have already been completed. Ocean's Gallery, 921 SW Morrison, 228-2186, Through July

Pat Graham & Melanie Standage
Graham and Standage present Hot Girls Cool Guys, a collection of color and black and white photos that depict, well, pretty much what the title promises. Lots of flesh at this one. Oh yeah. The Newspace Gallery & Studio, 1632 SE 10th, 963-1935, Through July