Tinkerer

Hey,

I’m Kris, and I like to tinker. With everything.

I’ve spent my entire life in a perpetual state of curiosity; how does it work, what makes it go, why can’t it do this, when did that change?

It me, current boss and parents are used to 'but why' so we're good

I try to treat every experience as an opportunity to learn something new, to varying degrees of success. (Sorry, basement office at the cancer center, the main takeaway from that position aside from a strong dislike of JavaScript is that I need at least as much natural sunlight as the potted Ficus Benjamina in the lobby.)

No matter where I have been or what I’ve been doing, the two main themes were art and science. Growing up, everyone tells you artists don’t make money, but still pursue your passions. You can do anything! Just make sure you don't starve on the street whilst doing it. Monetize those passions but in a way that won't fail if you try too big, too hard. I decided to maintain skills that had nothing to do with my day (and evening and night shift) jobs. And then I pursued work in very regimented industries. It was an adjustment.

Relaying cuss words verbatim in the paper call log = bad idea Posting a comic about it online = artistic expression

Volunteering to convert all the logos on our document headers at the grocery store because the inconsistencies were making my eyes water, or growing Christmas tree shapes out of specific pathogens in a Petri dish around the holidays at the lab - if the duties didn’t include an artistic element, I was sure to find a way to shoehorn it in.

"The crystals in this urine sample are iridescent" - nerd, 2007

Outside of the work, I was running a 1-person graphic design/creative “what have you” business where I offered my skills like a handyman. One weekend a stylist setting up a cake display, the next month a quick turnaround on a logo request for a non-profit who had just learned the hard way what “Creative Commons License” means.

A variety of gigs and haircuts while operating "Bloom and Blaze" - 2016-2020

I challenged myself to learn the ins and outs of running a small business on the side and took every job that came my way because of course I can do that for you.

I made many cool things and worked with so many amazing people I still am proud to call friends today. I did some neat stuff. Michelle Obama laughed in surprise at a dress I made, and I have proof. Look at her incredulous smirk. I love the photo so much.

 I have never met Michelle Smith, Amy Sherald or Michelle Obama but I do have an incredible friend Iza (who challenges me with ridiculous questions like “can you sew a tribute to a portrait dress for an event I have next week?  I’m meeting someone.”)

Six years ago, after pivoting into workflow and process mapping in Health IT, a major project was announced, and I made the cut after taking tests about jumping tigers and assigning values to exclamation marks while wrapping my final project. The new job was touted as "not quite programming", but still challenging and more complex than anything I had done previously.

"I work on screens but writing it out helps things make sense" - slightly older nerd, 2016

I was at the cusp of yet another career change into a position that would give me much more creative latitude, and the art outside of work had just… stopped.

I had a young family, sure, but while I wasn’t too busy to pick up a pencil for a five-minute doodle, I just stopped drawing altogether. I also stopped painting, and gluing things to other things. I stopped creating. I was tired. Clearly the problem was that old job was too demanding, and so this new position with 90 days to learn and get certified before being actually asked to do anything would give me the breathing room and rest I really needed to start making things again. 

Welcome to the big leagues, you're a grownup now on a whole new adventure

I certified within 3 weeks and began pecking away at the things I was asked to build.  It was exciting, I wasn’t as drained as before, but I didn't feel like showing my artistic side at work. I was a serious analyst who was there to configure a complex system. I still got my name attached to visual-oriented projects but shut my side business down because I didn't want to make logos anymore.

I was too busy learning everything new about a medical specialty I'd never touched.

Finding out about visual reading distance on screens and perfusion in the OR. Please note how big the smile is on my face when I am learning

After 6 months of taking out supplies and putting them away without producing, I started digging into why I wasn’t able to make something, anything. A sketch? Nada. I didn’t want to.  I could make just about anything someone asked me for, and as grateful as I was for the artsy side hustle that brought in some extra cash, now that “make something directly requested of you” itch was being scratched at work.  If I was going to spend the time and energy to create off-hours, I wanted it to be for me. 

...Cont'd