For Over a Decade, Willy Vlautin Has Watched St. Johns From His Office. Now, He’s Written a Book Inspired by What He’s Seen.

For about 11 years, the author and musician has kept an office in St. Johns, a small, bedroom-sized space situated above a vegan cafe on North Lombard Street. When he’s not on the road, Vlautin, 53, spends a few days a week here, driving down from his house in Scappoose to polish new tunes or plug away at a writing project. It’s an ideal creative environment for an artist whose fascinations tend toward the midcentury—he says working there makes him feel like a private eye, like Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon.

Five Portland Artists Let Us Peek Into Their Quarantine Creative Spaces. Here’s What We Found.

For this year’s Spring Arts Guide, five Portland artists let us into their personal workspaces and told us the stories behind the tools and trinkets that have allowed them to turn isolation into art.

At Home, Filmmaker Alberta Poon Is as Much of a “Mood-Slash-Light Psycho” as She Is on Set

When you watch an Alberta Poon film, the first thing you notice is the color. The hypercolorful, vivid palette of amethyst, shimmery coral and lime green of her short film It’s Lit has the aesthetic of a stoner Lisa Frank sticker book, while a satirical PSA that she directed for protest support group Snack Bloc has a bold palette of royal purple, goldenrod and ruby.

Puppet Maker Katy Strutz’s Basement Studio Is Full of Miniature Monsters and Multiple Bins of Hair

Strutz is known for her work at Laika, ShadowMachine and Hornet. Yet the core of her creativity is a studio in the basement of her Portland home, a quirky wonderland overflowing with hair, collages, recyclables and character designs.

Jazz Musician Ezra Weiss Has Gone From Leading Big Bands to Playing Alone in His Home

The Ezra Weiss Big Band’s debut album, “We Limit Not the Truth of God,” was released in the summer of 2019 and addressed to Weiss’ kids, with messages about togetherness and the then-current state of the world. Shortly thereafter, of course, the band became an unexpected health hazard.

Like Their Art, Artist Vo Vo’s Workspace Is Informed by Their Life Experiences and Anarchist Philosophy

After working four months with a tapestry company to create a textile for an upcoming show, Vo Vo ran into a problem: The company refused to print the design.

Cinemark Is Reopening Its Two Portland-Area Theaters This Week for Screenings

Cinemark Holdings announced this afternoon that two of its theaters will reopen on Friday, Feb. 26. The Century 16 Eastport Plaza on Southeast 82nd Avenue and Century 16 Cedar Hills on Southwest Hocken Avenue have been closed for nearly a year, following the initial statewide shutdown to help quell the spread of COVID-19 last spring.

Your Weekly Roundup of New Movies: “Minari” Is the Rare Immigrant Story to Seek Meaning Almost Entirely Beyond Immigration Itself