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By Dan Leone

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'THINKING OUTSIDE THE box" is quite a literal matter for the nearly 100 East Bay artists who donated their time and creativity to this silent auction. Presented with a plain, nine-by-nine-by-seven-inch wooden box, each artist laboriously transformed it into a unique work of art, utilizing everything from concrete to feathers, hacksaws, and paint. The finished boxes overflow with personality; it's impossible to name one favorite among the many standouts, although Emily Duffy's Prom Girl, a pink toilet-paper holder with a doorknob bosom, is definitely a contender. So is Kimberly Bry's Martinis and Martians, a cross between a TV set and an alien, sporting three perky antennae and encrusted with colorful decorations. Lucy Lytle elevates cardboard to the realm of fine art with her Corrugated Recycles box, the outside of which is covered with vintage postage stamps and Exacto knife-carved corrugations arranged in intricate patterns. Several artists took a less decorative and more interactive approach, including Byron Spicer, whose 155 Paintings Detained for Further Observation is reminiscent of a police holding tank, except for the sign above the box asking viewers to "please touch the paintings" inside. Each little minicanvas represents, perhaps, a germ of an artistic idea or a bit of human sentiment, held hostage behind the window bars and subjected to the poking, prodding fingers of a thousand strangers ... until some lucky winner takes it home to explore its secrets at his or her leisure. To place a bid, stop by Pro Arts Gallery and fill out a simple application form. Most of the minimum opening bids range from $50 to $250. The closing party and final bidding takes place Nov. 21, 6-8:30 p.m. All proceeds benefit the gallery. Wed.-Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. 461 Ninth St., Oakl. (510) 763-4361. (Lindsey Westbrook)