Stories that connect art and discovery

Kendra Sollars is a Tempe-based interdisciplinary artist whose work spans video, light, performance, and public installation. A former synchronized swimmer and Cirque du Soleil performer, she translates movement and form into immersive artworks exploring humanity’s interconnectedness with the natural world, blending organic and digital elements to evoke reflection, reverence, and responsibility.

Born in Livermore, California in 1988, Kevin Layshock now lives and works in Phoenix. He attended Arizona State University where he earned a BA in Design Studies, and proceeded to spend the following decade working in areas of visual design, including advertising, museum education, interface and user-experience, and food & beverage hospitality. In tandem with this work, he studied academic fine art in both an ARC-certified atelier, via self-instruction, and from like-minded professional artists who would teach workshops—in Scottsdale, elsewhere in the Southwest, or online.

Through music, visuals, and immersive experiences that leverage technology, the work on KevinOnEarth embodies elements from his track record as a creative entrepreneur. Berklee College of Music Alumni, Patented Inventor, and featured in a CBS documentary as a pioneer of building community and business in the metaverse.

Kim Buchheit is a designer and fiber artist. She primarily works with wool fiber and utilizes the wet felting process to create two- and three-dimensional work. Kim received her art degree from the University of Iowa, was awarded a design arts fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, taught college-level design courses, and continues to operate her own creative services business. Her felted work has been included in national group shows and galleries and is currently available through the Fountain Hills Artist Gallery.

Kris Manzanares is an artist who uses personal iconography and the human form to examine modern family dynamics. Through narrative oil paintings, she explores hidden tensions, motherhood, and cultural limitations, transforming subconscious questions into imagery that fosters personal insight, growth, and dialogue about identity and change.

Kyllan Maney is a public artist and muralist whose work centers on the interactive relationship between the viewer and visual form. Her practice draws from patterns found in nature, with radial structures frequently appearing as meditative and centering elements. She has exhibited widely across the Phoenix area and has completed murals for organizations including Scottsdale Public Art, Culdesac, Intel, PayPal, Meta, Feed the Hungry, and Downtown Tempe. She also serves as an educator and is the Head of the Visual Arts Department at New School for the Arts and Academics.