Tamiko Rast

It might take a bit of prodding to get it out of her, but artist and designer Tamiko Rast is about as South Bay as it comes. A fourth generation San Josean, Rast attended both San Jose City College and SJSU for degrees in art while working at her grandfather’s coffeeshop, Roy’s, a coffee staple of Japantown. Although much of her professional artwork falls under commissioned designs at Rasteroids Design, a firm she co-runs with her brother, Rast’s personal work is heavily influenced by woodcuts and combinations of typography and illustration—themes that manifest in her own bold, political woodcut art and delicate tattoo work. A huge proponent of the arts, Rast also serves on the boards of multiple art and service organizations, including as president of the Japantown Business Associations and as District 3 Arts Commissioner for the city of San Jose. As for what the future holds for her life and art, Tamiko Rast has no idea and wouldn’t have it any other way.

“My creative process doesn’t follow a systematic approach. But as a commercial artist, I do favor guidelines and limitations, and I usually get a pretty instantaneous visual of a project upon starting. With my personal art, I only hope people get a kick out of it. I guess you could say I was representing irony with my Veritable San Jose art show. I was inspired to create travel posters of San Jose but thought it’d be humorous if they exhibited the darker side of our city instead of some glossy tourist propaganda. With the Japantown Mural Project, my intention was to feature others’ artwork and tell a story about Japantown and San Jose—one of great diversity, in every sense of the word.”

Written by Tad Malone