Viewfinder Magazine January 2024

December 2023 | Issue #4

VIEWFINDER

TABLE OF CONTENTS 3

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

4-5

YOU SUCK AT YOUR HOBBIES AND THAT’S OKAY AN INTERVIEW WITH KENZIE MARKS

6-13

14-15 20/20 HINDSIGHT A REVIEW ON LASIK EYE SURGERY 16-17 MAKE THIRD PLACES GREAT AGAIN 18

CREATIVE CLASSIFIEDS

19-20 SOCIAL CALENDAR CONTRIBUTIONS 21

2

Disposable from my trip to Oahu.

FROM THE EDITOR Dear Reader, It is our pleasure to welcome you to 2024! Once you gain consciousness, time really does fly by and it really does not stop or slow down! As we all write out our new year's resolutions, I have some for ViewFinder I would like to share. I know I could say the basic answer like “I hope we blow up this year.’ Which I mean, isn’t not on my resolution list…? But really, I just hope that this magazine continues to find our audience and our footing…and maybe an advertisement! I also do have some for myself of course, like deleting TikTok, but we will see how long that lasts.

I am excited for this edition because it is the first of the new year! Also because I got to play Nate’s usual role with the magazine, ‘interviewer’. I was lucky enough to conduct the interview with our featured artist this month and boy, I get the hype! It is one thing to read the interviews that Nate does, but being able to talk to an artist in person and see them in their element is completely surreal. Last month I was fortunate enough to interview Kenzie Marks, a very, very, very cool tattoo artist based in the Bay Area, who gave me an ACTUAL tattoo DURING our interview. It does not get cooler than that I think. I have literally peaked. And if anyone was to ever question my dedication to ViewFinder, I just got two tattoos for this thing. Anyway, I can’t wait for you all to read the interview and get to hear how awesome Kenzie is.

I know the saying goes, “New year, new me” but ViewFinder will be repeating a few of our constants, including our social calendar and creative classifieds. There will also be a few pieces from Nate, including a review of his recent medical procedure and a piece from me about third places. Please enjoy!

Skylar Vinson Editor-in-Chief

A snap from my drive to Forest Hill Bridge.

3

YOU SUCK AT YOUR HOBBIES AND THAT’S OKAY

by Nate Velasco

It doesn’t happen often but it happened today.

Today I couldn’t make it to the lineup. The paddle out to the lineup was 150 yards or so of the leftovers of this big winter swell we had in San Diego. Insert record scratch– The lineup?

What didn’t happen again? The lineup is the spot where surfers form a little queue (pardon my British) to catch the next wave. I’ve been surfing for nearly 10 years and I can’t make it to the damn lineup. The following is my defense.

Some people live for big, powerful, monstrouslooking waves and don’t bother even going out if a wall of water isn’t towering overhead. Others prefer smaller surf, where man and nature have agreed to coexist in a peaceful harmony and where those in the water don’t have to fear for their lives every 30 seconds.

Which camp do I belong to? Well, you could take a wild guess based off that last paragraph, but just in case you needed extra clarification my go-to board is a 9’7” noserider that looks like a giant banana, meant for small, mellow, friendly, won’t-kill-you-if-you-don’t-make-it waves.

You know– for non-psychopaths.

Unfortunately, I had just recently established a standing Tuesday morning surf session with my buddy, a 40-something year-old dude, who grew up surfing up and down San Diego.

He’s as local as one can be. I’m talking about knowing all the right conditions for every surf spot: What kind of tide does Sunset Cliffs like, putting up with the sketchy quality in IB because the way it barrels is worth it, hating the paddle out in Del Mar but only because he grew up there and surfed it so many times, or knowing how to deal with crusty locals at South Mission. When it comes to San Diego surf, my buddy knows it all and is unfortunately (for me) one of those psychopaths who live for big surf that I mentioned before.

Fast-forward to today and we try out *******’* [REDACTED] and it’s an 8-10ft mix of softer crumbly waves mixed with thicker slabs of water.

Against my better judgment, I follow my buddy down a cliff, onto a rocky beach where every step is an entire solefull of pain.

Nate catching a wave.

4

Nate after braving the waters.

Thoughts start racing through my mind,“This is a lot of moving water. You don’t typically surf remote reef breaks. You surf lifeguarded sandy beach breaks 99% of the time. You know you have a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

And, you have eye surgery in a couple of days so you should already be playing it safe. You shouldn’t do this–” Then, my buddy’s voice, “Hey– you ready?”

“Oh, born ready!” I exclaim.

I was not ready.

You can’t bullshit nature. And I was swallowed up from the get-go and pounded by wave after wave as I tried to break through to get to the lineup. My buddy who started his paddle next to me was now just a little black speck joining the other floating specks in the distance. I was in the no man’s land zone where I needed to punch through a couple waves to make it outside of the impact zone.

Hoping I could get through, I turtle roll under a wave that trashes my board and I under the surface. Just as I reemerge, I see another oncoming wave, this one bigger than the next. I completely abandon my bulky longboard and just try to get under the wave, making sure to keep calm and maintain my breath under the icy water.

First, an explosion. Then, WHOOSH! I am pulled in all different directions with the force of what feels like a linebacker tackling you at full speed. I don’t know which way is up and I’m running out of air in my lungs. I am not calm anymore.

I somehow found a way to make it back to the surface, gasping for air. I claw for my board and point it towards the shoreline in an effort to boogie board it back to safety. Another wave crashes nearby and I mount my board, ready to ride the whitewater in.

But this whitewater had a surprising amount of buck to it and hurls me off my board and back into the ocean where I am tossed around the washing machine once again. But, I do make it back to the shore and welcome the awful pain of stepping on every rock imaginable with open arms.

What’s tough is that most surfing days are not like this, but it’s experiences like this one where you start to reevaluate the pipe dreams you had about picking up a surfboard, getting noticed, becoming sponsored, and then winning the surfing Triple Crown.

Sometimes I forget that our hobbies can just remain as that: a hobby. Something that you can do for fun. It can be hard to remember the point of the hobby when you’ve done it for so long and invested so much time and effort into it and you’re still not where you want to be. Maybe there is something to be said about the fact that I feel the need to perform at a high level because if I don't, I feel like I wasted my time. But take it from me, you don’t have to be good at your hobbies. Welcome the fact that you might suck at them from time to time and be O.K. with that.

Because even though you’re on the rocky shoreline watching your psychotic buddy send it on waves you have nightmares about, at least you’re alive to surf another day.

5

Hitting the ‘Marks’

By Skylar Vinson

KENZIE’S FAVES SINGER: SZA OR KEHLANI & TATTOO ARTIST: STEPHWIZZLE ALVARO GROZNYY

MOVIE: THIS IS THE END &

HUSH TV SHOW: 90210 (REBOOT)

6

Kenzie Marks in the studio giving me one of her flash tattoo designs.

In December, I visited tattoo artist Kenzie Marks, more commonly known as Tattoo Slut, in her studio in Walnut Creek. During our interview I received two tattoos of Kenzie’s flash designs and was joined by her apprentice who took some disposables for the shoot.

Kenzie Marks: My name is Kenzie. I am about to be 25 next year in January.

I'm from Walnut Creek. I've lived all over the Bay Area. I basically move every two years to a new city. And I'm also an esthetician as well. So not only do I tattoo, but I also body wax and do brows, all that stuff.

Viewfinder: What made you decide to become a tattoo artist and how did you get into the business? What inspired you?

KM: KM: Well, my mom is also an artist, not a tattoo artist, but she does painting, mixed media, that kind of stuff. So I've always been around it growing up. And as a little kid, I just remember loving tattoos. Anyone who had a tattoo, I'm like, “I want to be that.

They're so cool.” And so when I was 18 or so, I applied at a local shop and I had told them, “Hey, I'm looking for an apprenticeship, lemme know.” And they're like, “Yeah, totally, we're going to have you start out as the front desk.”

So I was like, okay, cool. Come almost a year later, still no apprenticeship to be found.

I think they just wanted someone to work the front desk, which was fine. I just wish they would've told me that because I would've still done it. My grandpa was just worried that I wouldn't make any money doing drunk tattoos at 3:00 AM and I'm like, okay, no tattoo shops aren't going to open that late, first of all, times have changed. He's all, I don't know, I worry about you. Then my mom, she had actually suggested that I go to esthetician school because I've always been into the beauty industry and everything like that. So I graduated from there. It was either 2018, 2019, when I finished.

VF: And did you go here in Walnut Creek?

KM: I went in Danville, it was called the JD Academy. I went there, and then when I finished, I was working at a waxing chain, and then I ended up opening up my own business almost three years ago. I just rent a room in a salon, which is cool. My friend Brittany, I met her at the local tattoo/piercing shop, opened up her own piercing studio, literally right up the street. She was telling me that she had a tattoo artist who was going to be working at her shop who wanted an apprentice. I was like, “put in a good word for me.”

At her grand opening, I met the tattoo artist and her name is Stephwizzle, or Stephanie. She actually told me that she didn't want an apprentice, and I was like, okay. But she ended up really fucking with me, so I got it anyways. I was apprenticing under her from November 2021 up until last summer.

And then I came here and I've been here ever since. So that's just kind of the longest story ever on how I got started into this.

VF: Could you talk about the apprenticeship a little more? What does that consist of?

KM: It really honestly was not your traditional apprenticeship where you're basically just the shop’s bitch for seven days a week, 24 hours a day, which I'm very thankful for because I don't react well to men telling me what to do. It kind of worked out that I didn't get the other one, and she was really flexible with me and my schedule. I was still working my other job, I was waxing. I had taken a day off from waxing. I was working Monday through Friday, so I took off Wednesdays, and then I started tattooing with her. It was the first few months of my apprenticeship, I was watching her tattoo and I would practice on fake skin all the time, trying out different needles and colors and styles, just kind of figuring out what I like.

7

Action shot.

And then I was three months in and that's when I did my first flash. And honestly, I was so scared. I was literally shitting my pants and that was the point where I was so mute during tattoos.

Literally I would respond five minutes later and I just couldn't talk to them. I was just so focused. It's so funny to me now that I can talk while I'm tattooing people, I just remember sitting there just listening to them. They'd ask me something and I'd just be tattooing and then I respond so late. Anyways, it was definitely really stressful at the beginning and I feel like if I didn't have the support from my friends coming to get tattoos and my very first day one clients who saw some of the work that I had put out, whether that was on myself or on fake skin or on Steph, they still were down to get a tattoo from me. I'm like, this is not going to be really good quality guys. I was just so scared of really fucking up on someone. Thank God I have not. I'm just really thankful for them. Art came naturally to me, and tattooing did not come naturally to me at all. So when I was practicing it on fake skin, I was like, there's no way that I can put this on someone's body. And then I did my first tattoo on Steph and I was like, “Oh, this is so much easier.

Oh, I got this. What am I talking about?” But I just remember I hated doing fine line at the beginning. So much harder than regular thicker tattoos.

But yeah, without Steph’s support specifically, just being like, “Dude, everyone starts somewhere. You're not bad. Just keep going. You got this.”

8

I think I don't know if I would still be doing it, even though I love it. I'm very hard on myself and it's very hard for me to break out of my own head and be like, “Hey, look at all these people who like this stuff. What is wrong with you?”

VF: Do you still draw or paint or anything in your free time?

KM: Free time? No. Well, if it's for tattoos, yes. If I'm drawing up a new flash, I'm about to get started on a pretty big one, gonna be 150 different ones.

It's so funny. Usually if I am kind of going through it mentally, I'll find myself wanting to draw more and it's kind of just my outlet for just getting my emotions out, super healthy. I know. Or I'll find myself painting a lot. I don't really paint a lot of realism. It's usually just a lot of sunset, nature, trees, forests, beaches, that kind of stuff.

VF: Kind of going off this, but as an artist, a lot of your art is for profit. So do you draw a line between profit and art?

KM:It kind of is sometimes. I didn't get into this job for the money at all. It's just a way that I can do what I love and make money at the same time. I would not be successful at a nine to five corporate desk job at all. I've tried it, not for me. I get bored and again, I'm not going to work for a man. It's not going to happen. And I love being able to draw what I want. That's why I do so many flashes. I feel like I do a new one every month and usually they have eight pages of designs. So usually I'll find myself just drawing what I want to draw. I've considered becoming a flash only artist so I can really tattoo what I want to. Usually my bigger pieces are the ones that I have the most fun drawing, but of course I include the little guys as well. I still have fun drawing them. Not everyone wants to commit to a big, big piece. I definitely did not at the beginning, and I am a tattoo artist.

So usually my smaller pieces and stuff, not that those are really, I don't even know if I would even say that they're just for profit. So I feel like honestly, I don't run into this as much as I do with waxing. I feel like people, they take tattoo artists' time and job more seriously. They see it as an actual career versus I feel like with waxing, people see it as more of a hobby and not as a way that I pay all my bills, which is unfortunate.

I pay my bills, but with tattoos, I don't do any tattoos that I don't want to do.

And if I was doing it, I'd be going against my own morals and just doing it for the profit, which is never something that I want to do. Tattoos are a very heavily energetic based transfer. I worded that so weird. Giving a tattoo to somebody is just a major transfer of energy. And I'm literally cutting open your body and shoving ink into it. What if I have bad vibes? Then you have a weird bad vibe tattoo. That's just also why I got trained in Reiki because while again, giving a tattoo is just very healing. So even though I do make money from it, that's just a bonus for me.

VF: Okay, this is kind of a fun question.

Do you do your own tattoos?

KM: I do. I've done a bunch on my leg.

I've done about eight on myself. I would say. Everyone is always like, “Oh my God, doesn't it hurt?” Not at all. I literally cannot feel it. Which is really convenient. I'm a huge baby when it comes to getting tattoos because they hurt.

VF: Do you have a favorite piece that you've done on someone or made?

KM: Yes. So I did a little shark on my mom and it was so funny because growing up, she never got any tattoos.

Nobody in my family has any tattoos at all. When I started getting them, oh my god, family reunions are fun, I'm the only person with tattoos. And so when I first started she actually was like, “Do you want to give me one?” And I was like, yes, I absolutely do. So it was really cool to be able to tattoo her after saying she'll never get one because she is so indecisive.

The artist’s toolkit.

Some of Kenzie’s tattoos.

VF: Did you decide on the tattoo or did she pick that?

KM: She actually picked it. Our dog's name is Mako after a mako shark, and so she just wanted to get a little shark for him.

VF: Do a lot of your customers come in with their own designs or do you draw something for them? What is the process like?

KM: I'll usually have them send me inspo pictures or stuff online just so I can get a basic idea of what they are looking for.

Since I'm by appointment only, I don't do walk-ins ever. It would be cool if I did, but I'm already pretty busy as it Is. And it just gives me a little bit more freedom.

Then I'll have time to draw up an idea and then some time to draw it up with them. I don't free draw anything unless it's a gigantic piece and they book for the whole day. But they'll usually just send me something that, either they saw and I'll be like, okay, how can I make this cooler?

VF: What would you say you love the most about what you do?

KM: Meeting new people and I mean, I don't stand by that people need to have meaning for their tattoos, but a lot of the time when they do, I'm just able to really connect well with my clients. And so when I get those meaningful tattoos, it just makes me feel really good knowing that I was able to give them something that made them cry in a good way, not crying of pain, but they're so happy. They chose me to be their artist.

VF: Inversely, what do you like the least about being a tattoo artist?

KM: How much I work.

VF: What are your hours like?

KM: Usually nine hour days.

But again, I work six days a week, but I only tattoo two days out of the week. So I guess it's not really what I dislike about being a tattoo artist. I dunno what I don't like about it.

VF: It's okay if there's nothing you don't like. It sounds like you really love what you do.

KM: I Do. Let's come back to that.

KM: Going back. I was thinking about my free time question.

VF:Yes, oh my gosh, speak on it.

KM: Not only do I draw, I'm trying to think. I was like, I don't want to sound like a lame person. I just got trained in Reiki. So I do that for friends and family.

And then I'm also currently learning the electric guitar, which is really fun. I'm not very good. So getting there, I'm on like week two.

VF: Tattoo artistry can sometimes be an underrated aspect of art. I feel like sometimes people look over it when talking about art and things like that. So where do you see tattoos fitting in the world of art and creativity and selfexpression and everything?

KM: I feel like it's exactly that. It is self expression. Whether it's something that is super meaningful to someone and they just want to put it on their body or it just looks cool. The majority of my tattoos just look cool. There's maybe like five that have meaning. I don't think that tattoos need to have meaning. So now, especially just the generation that we're in, I feel like tattoos have been so much more widely accepted and there isn't such a big stigma around it. My grandpa, for instance, him being like, “You're going to only do drunk people's tattoos at 3:00 AM.” feel like because the older generation is just so used to corporate jobs and saying you're never going to get hired anywhere with tattoos.

To them the only people who got tattoos were like I don't know, like fricking army people or sailors. It's so different and it's just really cool that now for people, there's just so much at our disposal.

There's literally just no limit when it comes to tattoos. There's definitely limits to my artistic ability for sure, which is why I don't tattoo everything that people ask for. The amount of inspiration pictures that I get from Pinterest is crazy.

It is cool because it means something to someone or someone else liked it enough to put it on their body too. It is just like one gigantic community.

VF: This is kind of off topic, but is it hard to tell people no if they come in with a design?

KM: No, it's so easy. I feel like when I tell people, it's not that I'm telling them, “Hey, I don't like your design at all.” I will be honest with them and be like, “Hey, I don't think that I can execute this in a way that it should be. Here's an artist that I recommend.” And then usually they'll always be like, “Oh, thank you so much for not just doing it.” I've only had one person being like, “If you hate the design, just tell me.” And I was like, “Okay, I don't, but I actually just can't do it.” I don't get a lot of designs of people who come in with stuff that I don't like. If I do and I know that I can make it better, I'll just make it better.

VF: Yeah, that's super cool. Is it different since when people are selling like paintings or physical art–I'm trying to think of how to word this too–and they're not happy with the result they can throw it away or i don't know– but is it different since you're putting this on people's skin permanently or is it, I mean, I love your work, so I feel like a lot of people are probably very happy with it, but is that ever stressful or hard?

KM: No, it definitely is. I feel like that's why I also take my time on a lot of tattoos. I don't really ever find myself rushing, and if I know that I can't do something or if I know that there's a probability of me not liking the outcome of the tattoo, I just won't do it, period. I don't want to look at a tattoo and be like, “Oh my God, I hate that.” Thank God, I've never had that happen before. There's definitely been a couple designs that people have come up with themselves and I'm like, “I personally wouldn't put it on me or on this spot,” but I'm not going to tell you no.

“I THINK I DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD STILL BE DOING IT, EVEN THOUGH I LOVE IT. I'M VERY HARD ON MYSELF AND IT'S VERY HARD FOR ME TO BREAK OUT OF MY OWN HEAD” 9

“I DIDN'T GET INTO THIS JOB FOR THE MONEY AT ALL. IT'S JUST A WAY THAT I CAN DO WHAT I LOVE AND MAKE MONEY AT THE SAME TIME.”

Behind the scenes process.

I'll tell them my concern being like, “Hey, this probably isn't going to heal the best.” But that's also just a thing with fine line as well. It just doesn’t always heal the best. Plus I do have a really light hand, and so I do offer free touch-ups within three months if lines fade. A lot of old school tattoo artists, they just won’t do fine line because it doesn't heal that great. It usually fades and then it gets super light and they don't want to touch up people's tattoos. But I just find it so much easier to touch up someone's tattoo instead of blowing it out and making it this super thick giant thing that nobody wants.

VF: I saw on your Instagram how you posted raffles for different charities and things like that. Could you talk about that a bit and in correlation to art? I just think that's really cool to use your art for something like that. I mean a lot of people would say that that's really brave to do because I know that some people who are selling things or running a business don't want to lose profit, things like that by posting social justice issues?

KM: Fuck em. If My clients don't support basic rights, I don't want them.

But at the end, I know you said, where's the correlation to art? There's none.

There's literally none. It was just a way for me to help. I’m giving them incentive, incentive to donate, or maybe someone who didn't know where to donate can find somewhere to donate. If they donate, yay, they get a free tattoo for people who might not just donate.

I Anyways, everyone loves free things, and so if I'm able to donate through my work, I will.

VF: Could you also talk about what it's like now having an apprentice since you were an apprentice? If you could both talk about it?

KM: I love having an apprentice. She does all my setup for me. No, it is really cool seeing her progress and everything because it's so funny because she'll have the same questions that I once had, and to see that now that I know what I'm talking about and doing, it's just weird because I'm like, oh, I know how to answer this.

VF: Is there anything you want to say about being an apprentice?

Kenzie’s Apprentice: It's really fun learning and just being able to grow.

VF: What is some good advice you've been given?

KM: Literally don't give up. Keep drawing. As discouraged as you might get, just keep working at it. I was discouraged at the beginning, like I suck at this. And then everyone was like, dude, no, you don't. Everything takes practice.

Nobody's good. Sometimes people are, but the majority of the time you don't just pick up a machine and are amazing and if you are, good for you. The whole saying that's like, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. It's just very true. As tired as I do get from working so much, it's usually just getting out of bed. hat is the hardest part of my day because when I'm actually working and I'm with clients, I have so much fun.

I love all my clients and thankfully a lot of my clients find me and they're like, oh, she seems cool. Like this isn't your typical tattoo shop. And as much as I would love to have been in a traditional tattoo shop at the same time, I love it because this is kind of a space where clients feel comfortable. I get a lot of new first timers and people who think tattoo shops are scary. And so being able to provide a safe space for everybody, the gays, the theys, fucking everybody, just because traditional tattoo shops don't usually provide that. And I don't ever want someone to leave my shop feeling like they weren't welcome or anything like that.

VF: Would you ever want to open your own tattoo shop?

KM: Yes. So actually we are. Me and my girls over at my waxing studio, we all are collectively opening up a storefront together over in Brentwood, and we have been working on this for the past year.

We've found the perfect spot for it, and we are opening up February 1st. So although it won't be your traditional tattoo shop, it's just going to be a really fun, calm, clean spot for everybody. We're going to have a one-stop shop for everything, tattoos, waxing, brows, lashes, nails, facials, hair. What else?

Everybody.

VF: Has that been something you've always wanted to do? Have you always wanted to open your own tattoo shop ?

KM: I've always wanted to have a storefront. That has always been my goal.

Even from day one before I even started tattooing. When I was waxing, that was always my end goal. I just got really blessed with my clientele who have supported me that they literally made it all possible. So having them and just the support from my friends and my family and the girls at work, we are just so over the moon excited that it's finally happening. It will be more so of a rental type salon where people just rent the space and we help them grow their business.

10

Kenzie in her element.

I've always considered doing coaching and stuff. I do trainings for waxing and stuff, but coaching for business owners just because I know what I'm doing when it comes down to it. I've just been very blessed with the people who I've been surrounded with and with my family. So running stuff just kind of comes natural to me, I guess, and doing it in a way that's ethical or I can donate to what I want to donate to and to just that sort of thing. Before I was an esthetician, I was in school, I was studying psychology and I wanted to work with kids in the system. Before I even started either job, I was applying to the big brother, big sister program, but then my career took off and I didn't want to commit to something that I could potentially not fully commit to, especially when it comes to kids. So once I'm able to have the storefront open and have more free time and not work six days a week anymore, I'm going to try to get back into that. That's honestly what I'm most excited for is just having my free time back to do what I want to do, which is my end goal.

VF: What are your goals for your shop?

KM: I want to keep expanding. I would love to have multiple shops everywhere and be able to mentor people, whether I'm working or not, just being able to mentor young people, whether that's tattoo artists or estheticians or anyone. Just being there for them so that they don't have to struggle in the ways that most people struggle when you start a business because it is hard. A lot of people have told me, they're like, “I don't know how you just do it.” I'm like, “I just do it. Just do it.” So I feel like I've been able to really just take the struggle out of a lot of things and be able to simplify it for others.

VF: So would say you incorporate your spirituality into your work, could you talk about that?

KM: If I'm having a shit day and I could just feel like my vibes are off, I'll always, before I leave, I'll cleanse myself so that I'm not spreading my sadness all over the place because nobody wants that. I've had clients who come in, well, an off energy, and after I am done tattooing them I can just kind of feel their energy change.

It's just lighter. I've just always been very sensitive to energy and stuff like that. That's what's cool is when I can feel people's energy change from when they leave an appointment.

VF: Okay. And I am going to be this person, but do you want to talk about any of your tattoos or if any of them have meaning or any fun stories behind them or if you want to talk about them at all?

KM: Yeah, I'll show you this one because it’s really cool. I have an A on my finger here. I was drunk. I did it at a party actually, and it looks like a fish. It's for my best friend. Her name's Alexa. She has a little K on her ankle. That one's probably one of my favorites just because it is a really fun memory with her. But this one right here , my little heart locket, it's for my two dogs.

It's my dog, Winston, who passed away a couple years ago. And then my current dog, Mako, my two little babies, but when I got it my mom, she was like, “Mako isn't dead.” I'm like, he doesn't need to be dead, my two boys right next to each other. That one's probably one of my favorites in terms of actually having meaning. I also have my mom back here on my arm.

VF: What's your process when you're making your flash drawings or any tattoo drawings? Do you sit there and then start drawing or do you think of it and then you're like, oh shit, I need to draw this right now?

KM: Both. I will do a lot of questions on my Instagram, asking people what they want to see in a flash, and then I just have a giant list in my notes of things that people want to see. And if I like the idea, I'll put it in there. But I do travel quite a bit, honestly. I do a lot of my drawings while I'm flying.

There's nothing else to do. So the last big flash I drew, I was on a plane drawing all of those. Usually I'll just have a list of my notes or I'll just start drawing. I'll start drawing random shapes and seeing what I can get out of it. Sometimes it just looks really bad and then I'm like, well, can't do anything with that.

The process begins.

11

Inner look at the inside of the studio.

VF:Are you pencil and paper, iPad, Being able to have the ability to travel, I'm like, “That would be a cute I've just been very fortunate with my tattoo.” Like postcards. I'll see what's your preferred method?

KM: iPad it is just so convenient in careers. I get to make my own postcards and I'm like, “Oh, those are terms of being right there and I have schedule for both of them, while I do so cute.” Or want to do themed flashes every single brush type at my disposal. have a set schedule, it's not that I can't or something like that.

But yeah, that's about it. Honestly. It's take time off, I just have to take it off VF: Do you ever share your poetry or just really easy to use if I'm drawing in advance, which is fine, but I was is that your own? by hand and if not with my iPad, trying to make it a point this year to KM: Yes and no. There are only a travel more and I did exactly that. I very select few people who have ever usually I'm painting.

VF: Can you talk about burnout and went to LA quite a few times. I went read it in my entire life. I was thinking finding breaks between work and to San Diego, went to Austin a couple of making it a book. I got a lot in my times, went to Florida, and went to archives, but then again I read some of making art? them back and I'm like, “Jesus Christ, KM: So I do like to travel. I try to Mexico. make it a thing this year, so I don't VF:What would you say most inspires get a room.” I don't know, I feel like I experience burnout because as much as your designs? I know you said that just feel my emotions very deeply. Im I love what I do, my body just gets you have your lists and stuff, but is a Pisces moon, so I'm just fucking burnt out. It's the most humbling, there anything specifically that inspires emotional sometimes. Art for me is definitely a way for me to just get my terrible feeling because I know that I you? don't hate my job, whatever in the KM: Whether it be things I see or just feelings out and feel them in a way slightest, but I just sometimes, like I experiences. For some reason I love that's healthy. said, this job especially, and waxing drawing vases. I'll see a pretty vase at VF: Can I ask, what is it like being a can tie into this as well, it’s just a very the store or at the thrift store or just at woman in this industry? big energy transfer and being able to someone's house. I'll take a picture of KM: People don't take you seriously, let go of anyone else's who I might be it and I'll want to base something off which is why I like promoting myself holding onto is very helpful for me. To of that. I also write poetry. Oh gosh. to the girls. I know that I can give not carry the weight of anything that Very gay. I know. It's so gay of me. them a safe space and that I'm not a someone said, or if they've come in Usually experiences will inspire my fucking weirdo who's going to tell with a really sad story, just something poetry, but I dunno. I feel like them to take their pants off for a tattoo that happened to them that I'll find experiences just also inspire my that's on their arm. drawings or some things will just pop myself thinking about it a lot. up in my brain.

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KM: I feel like it's just something that people would remember because it's like, “Oh, who did your tattoo? Tattoo Slut.” Yeah, so I feel like the way that I've presented myself and my business and just my name in general, it attracts the right people to me. And also just tattoo slut is so funny. It is definitely humbling sometimes, when I'm trying to do my taxes or I'm at the bank, my email for my waxing is “Stripped by Kenz” and I get a lot of cash. So I'll be paying for my oil change and they'll be like, can I get an email? And I'm like, “Stripped by Kenz” and I'm getting ready to pay $86 for my oil change and I'm paying with ones and then they kind of look at me weird. Or one of my mom's friends or something, they'll be like, “Oh your Mid-tattoo shot. tattoos, what's your Instagram?” I've Honestly, I just heard a lot of stories had a lot of older clients come in and like that because it's just such a male they all love my name, which it's dominated industry. And so it's like really fun having just the older one of my other clients, she came in generation's support and everything. and she was telling me that she's a mechanic and I was like, “Fuck, I love to hear that!” So a lot of men I've noticed, it's not that they'll necessarily say in a way that's degrading, but I get a lot of the time when I show someone a male, specifically my art, they're like, “Oh wow, you're actually really good.” And I'm like, okay, see, it's the ‘actually’ that is getting me. Now you could just say I'm really good, but ‘actually’ you're surprised, why?

Because I'm a woman? So I've definitely found that it's kind of hard, but I found my female clientele base.

VF:Can I ask also, what's the meaning behind the name? What's the story behind Tattoo Slut? I love that name.

KM: I'm slut for tattoos. No, just kidding but that was actually how we came up with it. Because we were like, hmm, ‘Kenz’ tattoos’? ‘Kenzie tattoos’ is boring. I wanted something that was fun and catchy and just kind of something that, what's the word I'm looking for?

VF: Iconic.

A girl and her set up.

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And it's also, I think that's why not being in a traditional tattoo shop is why I've also been pretty successful because it's a very welcoming space.

There's no men in this building ever.

People come and get their first tattoos and they're so scared because it's like, oh my god, a scary dark tattoo shop with red and black interior. Like, I have crystals in here and I have flowers, like my tattoo stuff is pink.

My name is Tattoo Slut. It's not scary.

I don't ever want someone to walk in and be scared. I just want people to feel comfortable and leave feeling comfortable. Which I also feel like is the reason with Stripped by Kenz too, I want people to feel confident. When I wax them, when I do their brows, they leave feeling better about themselves.

So having people leave telling me that they were comfortable, I think that's my favorite compliment that I ever get.

You can find Kenzie Marks and more of her work on Instagram @tattoosslut and @strippedbykenz.

“AND SO WHEN I GET THOSE MEANINGFUL TATTOOS, IT JUST MAKES ME FEEL REALLY GOOD KNOWING THAT I WAS ABLE TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING THAT MADE THEM CRY IN A GOOD WAY, NOT CRYING OF PAIN, BUT THEY'RE SO HAPPY.”

20/20 HINDSIGHT: A REVIEW ON LASIK EYE SURGERY

by Nate Velasco

A little post-LASIK rest.

TD;DS (Too lazy didn’t see) my LASIK surgery went well but…

But nothing. Everything went well and according to plan.

I came in for a consultation in August. They tested my eyes to see if I was a good candidate, meaning they were checking my overall eye health and if my cornea was thick enough to cut into to perform the procedure. It was and from there we scheduled my surgery for mid-December. They gave me a bottle of fish oil pills and gave me a checklist of eye drops I would need to take before and after my procedure. A couple trips to the pharmacy and just like that I’m ready to go.

With any surgery or medical procedure, it can feel a little like riding a rollercoaster. You know that it’s safe, you’ve seen people ride the rollercoaster, get off smiling and saying how it went great. But still, you can’t help yourself and think, “Well, that’s great for them. But what if I’m the exception?”

You quickly start to spiral and think about what your life would like if LASIK didn’t go well. How you literally wouldn’t be able to see the person you’ve been seeing in an on again, off again relationship. How they would leave you because now you’re the idiot who signed up and paid $5,150 to be blinded by a group of strangers via a light show.

In your head, you’re now pissed at yourself for having to learn braille and how hard it’s going to be to find where the toilet paper is and how stupid you’ll look because you’ll be committing a egregious amount of fashion faux pas because you wore the wrong shirt with the wrong pants. You’ll start hating yourself because you’ve now robbed your retired parents of their golden years. Because instead of traveling the world and using those retirement funds they’ve worked so hard for, they now must take care of your newly blind ass until you get a better sense of how to be blind.

In your head, you’re already mourning the loss of your vision. In fact, it seems like your thoughts are coming to fruition and your vision’s already giving out. Oh my goodness, how is it already late November and you’ve somehow contracted a lingering dry cough that won’t quit no matter how much Roubotussin you’ve thrown at it. They don’t put you under general anesthesia, during your consultation, the nurse said they’ll apply local anesthesia to your eyes and you’ll be awake during the whole procedure.

Final checks post-op

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You feel the worms start crawling out of the metaphorical can in your head. What if you cough during the procedure? Does the laser automatically stop tesla-style if you make a sudden movement?

What happens if I have to cough and blink? Is the laser going to singe my eyelid?! Why is this happening to me? Why now?

What if there’s a blackout? What if my surgeon goes out for a drink before or is going through a nasty divorce? What if something happens outside of my control and now I’m freaking blind because of it. What did I do to deserve this fate?!? Why did I even sign up for this in the first place? My prescription isn’t even that strong. I’m just -1.00 in both eyes with some astigmatism. I don’t even need LASIK that bad. I just didn’t want to wear contacts anymore, but now contacts and glasses don’t sound so bad… I just don’t want to be blind and for my life to change forever.

On Thursday December 14th, 2023 I had my procedure. They checked my eyes, sat me down in comfy recliner chairs in this nook playing Home Alone. They offered me snacks and even gave me a lil piece of Xanax to nibble on. I placed a hair net on my head and coverings on my shoes.

I stopped watching Home Alone at the part where Kevin’s mom gets offered to ride with John Candy’s polka band in their U-Haul and walked into the operating room. I didn’t cough, the power didn’t go out, my surgeon was friendly and seemed to have his marital affairs in order. I was asked to look up, look down, and look in the general direction of a light. It was more like a dentist appointment. I was having a full on conversation about how my job is going and my plans for the holidays while my surgeon and his team were cutting open my cornea and shooting lasers into my eyes.

Fifteen minutes pass by from the time I walk into the operating room, Home Alone is still playing on the TV nearby. I can see it now… this time tacksharp and clearly with my new eyes. I laugh in my head which translates to a smile.

The worst part about LASIK is thinking about how it’ll change your life forever. The best part about LASIK is how it makes you realize how wrong you were.

5 out of 5 Xanaxs.

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Getting ready to get on Letterboxd after the surgery.

MAKING THIRD PLACES GREAT AGAIN

by Skylar Vinson & Nate Velasco

I am sure many of you are familiar with the concept of the third place. For those of you who are not, I will set the scene with a quote, “Oldenburg identifies "third places" as the public places on neutral ground where people can gather and interact. In contrast to first places (home) and second places (work), third places allow people to put aside their concerns and simply enjoy the company and conversation around them.” (Project for Public Spaces, 2008).

And the quote for context is not a slight at all, because I have only recently discovered the concept of a third place… and it was from TikTok…which I have now deleted because of that realization, which is a completely different story. I digress. Now, I could say that the pandemic is solely responsible for wiping out third places, but I believe the Internet is also responsible for some of that blame. Some people don’t even have second places anymore like those who work at home! Leaving the house isn’t even a necessity anymore with sites like Amazon and Uber Eats.

At risk of sounding like a boomer, let me say that I am not completely shitting all over technology and social media, but the two have helped each other rid society of the need and/or want to even venture outside. Any basic task can be done from your fingertips. It is hard for me to diss on technology when I am an avid consumer of almost every social media application available. I also can't go on without saying that there is a certain appreciation I hold for these applications and the ease they have created to contact and stay in touch with friends who moved away or family from different countries.

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Now that I have shown my gratitude, I can continue my rampage. What happened to hanging out at a coffee shop for hours on end? Or reading at the park?? Or just meeting people at a local bar?? Social interaction is dying! And yes, this is beginning to stray from an argument for the need for third places to a rant on why the Internet has ruined society, but the two go hand in hand. Real life social interaction = better mental health.

The need for third places is honestly at an all time high.

Especially when mental health as a society--I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say it- is at an all-time low. As someone who commutes about an hour to work and an hour home for a job that takes up nine hours of my day, I can testify to the desperate need for a third place. It is absolutely soul sucking to only go between work and home 5 days a week consecutively. For those of you who are in college reading this, please for the love of God appreciate the environment you are in right now because you will never be surrounded by so many third places in your life.

There is really no feeling like going to an on-campus coffee shop or the school library after work or between classes.

Not having a third place is like a complete loss of identity– who am I when I am not in the office or at home?

Some third places I am currently trying to make regular appearances at are Barnes & Noble and some local coffee shops. All excellent choices in my opinion, who doesn't love B&N? But here is where the other problem lies–who can afford third places? Definitely not a fresh grad with an entry level job.

Who can afford a book these days without the buy one, get one half off deal?? Or a medium iced latte that's less than $5? Nonexistent. And God forbid I want oat milk. It costs $8 for a beer not including a $2 tip for the unwritten rule of tipping your bartender for opening a bottle for you.

The cocktails/mixed drinks that start at $18 just make you cry on the inside. Finding parking at cool public places like parks can be a total nightmare and at times you may have to settle for paid parking. All this on top of the taxi cab meter ticking in the back of my head every mile I drive further from my house because gas is so damn expensive.

Why go through all the work and eat all those expenses when I can just go straight home after a long day? I can go on my phone and be entertained. I can “hang out” with my friends and people I know online or I don’t have to at all.

All of my needs are met online. Ready Player One eat your heart out.

My point is that it feels like it’s getting more expensive just to exist. Life is hard enough grinding through a work day + commute + other life obligations like doctor’s appointments and oil changes and waiting in line at the post office. It can be so easy to just surrender to the comfort of going home and settling for a digital substitute. *cue Do You Hear the People Sing from Les Mis* But we must persevere in the face of adversity. You can’t fight the tide but go with it. You can put the blame on the pandemic but at some point we’ll need to take third places into our own hands for our mental health’s sake.

There are a couple ways to look at this. There is the put up or shut up perspective. If you want to be in these third places so bad? Great– make enough money to be able to afford them. No one is forcing you to hang out at these places. Easy--“just stop being poor!” (insert Paris Hilton’s photoshopped tank top here). Or better yet do you think the government would be open to giving every American a Third Place Relief Check? Does anyone else hear crickets?

A more realistic perspective is coming to terms that life is hard and fun places with fun stuff can be expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. What if we redefined what environments can be third places? Can we reclaim settings that are easily accessible and squeeze all the juice out of them. Can we make libraries cool and a place where a ground of friends can hang out while being respectful? Can we somehow find ways to make it easier to carpool to parks and other scenic spots in our cities? Or maybe the solution just starts with us getting more serious about having fun. About embracing more in-home game nights with our friends. More in-home happy hours. More in-home movie nights. Maybe the answer is staying at home together.

Our third places are like an endangered species on the brink of extinction from being reasonably accessible. It’s up to us to get serious about finding ways to make fun, fun again. Because everybody deserves to kick their feet up after a long day at work. Why relegate ourselves to the limitations of the internet when there’s a whole world out there ready for us to live in.

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SOME OF MY FAVORITE THIRD PLACES & THIRD PLACE ACTIVITIES:

Local happy hour!!!

Pool at a local dive bar.

Overpriced toast at a local cafe.

Movie theaters!! Duh!!

Walks at a nearby park.

Coffee shops, of course.

Book stores, especially independent ones!!

JOB TITLE: STAGE HAND COMPANY/ORG: LIVENATION LOCATION: SAN DIEGO, CA IN A NUTSHELL: PREP AND ASSIST WITH EVERYTHING THAT GOES INTO A CONCERT AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES. RATE/COMPENSATION: $16.30-$17.00/HR CONTACT: WWW.LIVENATIONENTERTA INMENT.COM

JOB TITLE: PHOTOGRAPHER/EDITOR COMPANY/ORG: KSWB LOCATION: SAN DIEGO, CA IN A NUTSHELL: WORK WITH REPORTERS TO SHOOT AND EDIT NEWS COVERAGE AROUND SAN DIEGO. RATE/COMPENSATION: $18.00-$33.65/HR CONTACT: HTTPS://WWW.NEXSTAR.TV

JOB TITLE: FULL-TIME: CREATIVE EDITOR AND VIDEO PRODUCER COMPANY/ORG: KQED LOCATION: SAN FRANCISCO IN A NUTSHELL: PRODUCING VIDEOS FOR KQED’S VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES RATE/COMPENSATION: $20-28 FULL TIME CONTACT: GEEBO.COM

JOB TITLE: ASSISTANT VIDEO EDITOR COMPANY/ORG: CREATIVE DEPT. LLC LOCATION: CHULA VISTA, CA IN A NUTSHELL: EDIT VIDEOS FOR A SMALL PRODUCTION COMPANY. MUST LOVE ADOBE CREATIVE CLOUD AND FINAL CUT PRO. RATE/COMPENSATION: $1819/HR CONTACT: INDEED.COM

JOB TITLE: ART, ARCHITECTURE + ART HISTORY FACILITIES ASSISTANT COMPANY/ORG: UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO LOCATION: SAN DIEGO, CA IN A NUTSHELL: ASSIST, MANAGE, AND ADVISE DEPARTMENT OF ART + ARCHITECTURE + ART HISTORY STUDIOS, SHOPS, LABS, ETC. AT USD. RATE/COMPENSATION: $2025/HR CONTACT: JOBS.SANDIEGO.EDU

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u a r n y a J n e ts v E 1 GUYS AND DOLLS, SF PLAYHOUSE, $55

EL TEN ELEVEN, CASBAH, $20~, 21+ PAW PATROL LIVE!, SD CIVIC THEATRE, $25, ALL AGES SDSU MENS BASKETBALL VS UNLV, VIEJAS ARENA, $45~, ALL AGES

LEO SKEPI $45-49, GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL THE WIZ, SD CIVIC THEATRE, $44, ALL AGES SD GULLS VS FIREBIRDS, PECHANGA ARENA, $13, ALL AGES

SD RODEO, PETCO PARK, $45, ALL AGES CHRIS DISTEFANO, THE MAGNOLIA, $61, ALL AGES DJ PAULY D, NOVA, $35, 21+

WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW, PECHANGA ARENA, $77, ALL AGES

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6 8 10

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SDSU MENS BASKETBALL VS FRESNO, VIEJAS ARENA, $20, ALL AGES SMOKING POPES, BAD/BAD COP, SODA BAR, $20~, 21+ STARCRAWLER, PLEASURE PILL, CASBAH, $25, 21+ KID CONGO & THE PINK MONKEY BIRDS, CASBAH, $15, 21+ SDSU WOMENS BASKETBALL VS FRESNO, VIEJAS ARENA, $6, ALL AGES

#HELLAFUNNY COMEDY NIGHT, $20-$28, 18+, COBB’S COMEDY CLUB

ARI SHAFFIR, BALBOA THEATRE, $32, ALL AGES PITY PARTY GIRLS CLUB, SOMA, $15, ALL AGES MONSTER JAM, SNAPDRAGON STADIUM, $25, ALL AGES

DEATH GUILD, $5 ENTRY, 18+ DNA LOUNGE

u a r n y a J n e ts v E 16

BUCK AND DYLAN MEEK, CASBAH, $20, 21+ SDSU WOMENS BASKETBALL VS UNLV, VIEJAS ARENA, $6, ALL AGES

MAYER HAWTHORNE, THE OBSERVATORY, $35, 21+ LITTLE JESUS, HOUSE OF BLUES, $20, ALL AGES

AMBER LIU, MUSIC BOX, $30, ALL AGES SDSU MENS BASKETBALL VS WYOMING, VIEJAS ARENA, $20, ALL AGES SD GULLS VS CANUCKS, PECHANGA ARENA, $20, ALL AGES

ERICDOA, MUSIC BOX, $25~, ALL AGES POOLSIDE, THE SOUND, $35-60, ALL AGES

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY, SOMA, $35-$40, ALL AGES TWIN TRIBES, QUARTYARD, $25, ALL AGES

PLVTINUM, VOODOO ROOM, $19, ALL AGES

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DESSA, CASBAH, $18, 21+ NEVER ENDING FALL, VOODOO ROOM, $19, ALL AGES

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ARDEN JONES, VOODOO ROOM, $24, ALL AGES

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DISNEY ON ICE: FROZEN & ENCANTO, PECHANGA ARENA, $47, ALL AGES GINGFEST, SOMA, $10, ALL AGES

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Y LA BAMBA, CASBAH, $24, 21+

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ESCUELA GRIND, BRICK

BY BRICK, $15, 21+ ISAIAH RASHAD, SOMA, $45, ALL AGES JUDGE REINHOLD & SCREENING OF FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, THE MAGNOLIA, $36, ALL AGES CODY JOHNSON, PECHANGA, $80, ALL AGES THE BRONX, CASBAH, $30, 21+ TANLINES, SODA BAR, $22, 21+

VIEWFINDER

Editor-in-Chief Skylar Vinson

Co-Editor Nate Velasco

Content Author

Contributors Skylar Vinson Skylar Vinson is a 21-year old teenage girl trying to figure out anything she remotely wants to do with her life. This includes an Arts magazine now, She is from Livermore, California and graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication.

Nate Velasco

Art Direction Nate Velasco

Nate Velasco Nate Velasco is an independent filmmaker from San Diego, California. He is constantly making. Nate specializes in writing/directing coming-of-age stories but writes everything from features, hour-long, halfhour, shorts, YouTube videos, copy, and now, apparently magazines. Nate is allergic to cats and is lactose intolerant.

Photographer Nate Velasco, Skylar Vinson

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