Category: Do Good Deeds

TreeKeeper #1713

On January 8, 2022

I stopped writing on my blog and had been posting recipes for my past few entries. This was in an effort to connect with my family and close friends who live far from Chicago. The pandemic had successfully pushed me into social behaviors I never expected I would be engaging in. When I became a web developer, I found it challenging to switch from the mindset of completing finished products in graphic design work to an infinite programming process divvied by 2 week sprints. Being a web developer is an endless learning process and it can sometimes lack satisfaction, often dampening one’s confidence in their profession skillset. This is if you have the wrong attitude. This was always on my mind pre-pandemic, but changes to human behavior was not always a real challenge for me until now. I’m sure that it was challenging many times in the past, but this is a very new shift to the way we live. I remember when I binge watched Black Mirror or Mr. Robot and would laugh at the fantasy that I might fall into one or more of these dark stories someday.

Patching my new Openlands volunteer TreeKeeper vest

I am in one of these episodes now, and I’ve changed. I started to take care of my mental health in the start of 2020 and three months later, my company ran a test run for a “work-from-home” scenario just in case we would need it. That was actually my first day at my current job where I worked from home and I’m still working from home almost two years later. We know more about the pandemic, we have vaccines and treatments. We know there is a possibility this will taper off or introduce new variants. We know that there is always a chance for a bigger unknown, too. I’ve cried once almost every month, but it is ok to feel sad or homesick. The news, politics, climate change, war, inequities, big tech and all the things running my digital feed do affect me. This includes the relentless bombarding of ads, bots, identity theft anxiety and algorithms that all work together to make me feel small again. It’s important to remember to take a media diet. It’s also important to pat yourself on the back because it’s only human to feel stressed. It’s just as important to remember that there is still good in this world.

In the Spring of 2021, I became an Openlands TreeKeeper with hopes to sustain and support my personal growth.

The sun never sets in kitty heaven. (Milo 10-15-2006 to 10-09-2021)

Work That Matters

By Risa Tino

On June 5, 2017

In Do Good Deeds, TIL

There are good people in the world.

This project involves creating multimedia educational content featuring “Sesame Street” characters for children in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. (Credit Rahmat Gul/Associated Press on the MacArthur Foundation)

I have supported several non-profits in the past, present, and future. It never occurred to me, that one can be employed by a company that supports non-profits, charity, and humanity. I used to be incredibly pessimistic about being able to raise a family while doing work that matters. As an artist, I used to think that a choice had to be made between having children and making really good work. This year, my perspective has changed several times. One minute I could easily be at an all time low, or somewhat balanced, and then incredibly happy as if nothing could bring me down—similar to the weather in Chicago. I only used to dream about a workplace that values a healthy work-life balance, and so I’m not always sure that I’ve found the place where I can find stability. I have to pinch myself in the morning, or have my cat wake me up.

While it is not realistic to say that everyone should find a workplace where they are valued, it is fair to say that you should keep dreaming and continue to aspire for one because there are opportunities out there. It’s important to realize that not every good opportunity is a fit for you. You will probably have to fail several times until you find a good match. For myself, this means a place that loves your character, your talent, and communicates well with you. My dad always told me never to give up, and no matter how hard or how much loss or lack of hope there may be, time is too short to spend any of it with negative feelings.

Making Peace Signage

By Risa Tino

On September 16, 2016

In Do Good Deeds

Politics is a heated subject matter, always has, is and will be as long as we are not taken over by robots. We are human and humans don’t behave like programmable machines—yet. I read blogs because that’s the most accessible newspaper in our fast-paced urban lifestyle. I prefer them over reading tweets, but I am not opposed to technological advancements, for the most part. This article, is one that stood out to me: Make way for our future overlords: Robots to take 6 percent of jobs by 2021. This concept is both exciting and unsettling for me.

Having grown up in Japan, gun violence was very foreign to me and when I moved to Chicago or went anywhere in the United States for that matter, it became an everyday reality. The reality is that there is a gun license that is sometimes abused legally or illegally and at any point, a stranger may or may not have the ability to point a gun at me. Laws are not perfect, but I do believe they need regular updating because we are a civilization that requires the flexibility to work with constant change. People find ways to test our rules, to hack a website, appropriate material, create a security breach through identity theft, break someone’s window with a brick, hurt and even murder each other–on the other hand, there are people who also break rules with the intention of creating a new solution. This image doesn’t solve anything. In fact, it’s pretty useless except for sharing in a visual way. It is the prohibition to carry firearms at a specific public space in Illinois, the Pursuant to 430 ILCS 66/65. You see it at every store in the loop and in the city of Chicago. Now whether it makes someone more inclined to carry a firearm into a store is another issue, but I made an amendment to it and turned the same law into a peace sign.

brinkdwellers

By Risa Tino

On December 27, 2015

In Do Good Deeds, Roots

‘Inspired by brinkdwellers’
Logo & Illustration
Risa Tino | December 2011

Where’s brinkdwellers? (Winter 2012)

There are a lot of vintage revival stores online, but today I’m writing about brinkdwellers. As a freelance graphic designer, I occasionally work with friends and family. There is a trade off in creating a logo for someone familiar versus a stranger. Working with someone you know and admire is way more fun! My friend Maggie opened a new vintage retro boutique on the edge of Logan Square around 2012, but had to close her doors due the gentrification that swept up the neighborhood. It was the right move to sell on Etsy and stop paying rising rent to keep a small corner storefront in business. Today, she continues to grow her sales and likes online—something she thought she would never do a couple of years ago.

Shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/brinkdwellers

Dolly Parton

By Risa Tino

On December 25, 2015

In Do Good Deeds, Roots

‘Inspired by Dolly Parton LPs’
Pencil, Ink and Gouache
Risa Tino | December 2004

I had just come back to Chicago in late November 2007, from a life-changing adventure, touring with Goat Island Performance Group in The Lastmaker. I had to do something with my art as it continues to collect dust in a storage space. There’s something about hoarding your own artwork disturbs me. I took a long look at my drawing of Dolly Parton, framed it with a spare mat board and decided to give it to my friend Mark because I knew he would love it even with all its imperfections. So in early May 2008, I gave away my art piece to a person that inspires me and it felt good. Dolly Parton is not going to be the last piece I make. It is just another way of approaching my life-long passion of building something new.

Microphones

By Risa Tino

On December 9, 2015

In Do Good Deeds, Roots

‘Inspired by 12-layers of Microphone Circuit Boards’
Computer Illustration Experiment No.1
Risa Tino | December 2015

One day my friend, Scott, shared with me a pixelated image of a 12-layer microphone circuit board and at first glance I saw a familiar subway map. This connection I made is inevitable as most of my design inspiration stems from my childhood in Tokyo, Japan. Growing up in a city where technology is usually ahead, I discovered my passion for patent illustrations, line drawings, sketching new tech ideas and drawing blueprints. Sometimes I secretly wish I pursued an engineering or architecture degree. This experiment is just one of my interpretations inspired by scientific data. I plan to use the microphone as inspiration for future projects because it is beautiful.