Eric Slade

Megan Sanchez draws from her family heritage to create a unique dining experience at her eclectic Portland restaurant Güero.

The Oregon Zoo uses radiographs to monitor the health of their over 2,000 animals. But these X-ray images are more than just diagnostic tools — they’re a beautiful view of these elaborate animal skeletons. “For me,” says Director of Animal Health Carlos Sanchez, “it’s just like looking at a piece of art.”

LaRhonda Steele has been called “The First Lady of Portland Blues,” lighting up stages at the Waterfront Blues Festival and at clubs around town. Her daughter Lauren has followed in her footsteps, blazing her own successful trail in the world of music and theater.

Mehran Heard’s work is so rich with detail, it invites you in for a deep exploration. He creates elaborate paintings, illustrations, comics and colorful murals all around Portland. “You're going to have to look at that work and move around it and discover things on your own. And once you come to that personal discovery, you kind of own it personally.” Mehran’s recent piece “Mothers” is featured in the Portland Art Museum exhibition Black Artists of Oregon.

Portland artist Craig Winslow uses projected light to temporarily resurrect dozens of “ghost signs,” the faded ads painted on the sides of historic buildings. With high-end graphic skills and intricate projection mapping, Craig’s beautiful illuminations pay homage to a bygone craft. Now he’s working to restore a ghost sign with a permanent light installation, visible every night in Astoria’s historic district.

Dylan Martinez likes to challenge our perceptions, creating provocative and often deceptive clear glass sculptures. His iconic water bags, utterly convincing sculptural renditions of a water filled plastic bag, have delighted and perplexed viewers around the world.

Symbiosis immerses audiences in an extended reality experience that includes not just sight and sound — as in traditional virtual reality — but also touch, taste and smell. Guests explore a landscape 200 years in the future, where they must adapt to a collapsing ecosystem. Symbiosis had its U.S. premiere in November at the Portland Art Museum’s Center for an Untold Tomorrow.

James Lee Hansen is one of the Northwest’s most prominent and influential sculptors. His imposing bronze installations are on view at the Portland Art Museum, Maryhill Museum, Clark College and institutions throughout the region. Hansen established his own foundry in Battle Ground, Washington in the 1970s. Today, at age 97, Hansen is proud of the more than 600 sculptures he’s created. “It's a legacy,” he says, “and I think everybody wants to have a legacy.”

Allison Wonder’s Beaverton, Oregon apartment is a magical fairyland – floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with dolls and their accessories. “The thing I love most about dolls,” he says, “is that I can do pretty much anything I want, it’s just in miniature.” He creates custom costumes, props and sets for his dolls then takes them on location for elaborate photo shoots. Growing up in small-town Michigan, Allison wasn’t allowed to play with dolls. Today he never leaves home without one.

Portland artist Sa'rah Melinda Sabino explores what it means to be mixed race in America. Her work is at the intersection of basketball, Moroccan culture and worlds that don’t yet exist.