K Vatish - K.ink

Call me K. I'm an interdisciplinary artist, bringing together my academics and careers in physiology, zoology, communications, education, astrophysics, mechanical engineering, photography, and medical design, ultimately being a tattoo artist in Toronto. I specialize in biophilic design and work with marginalized people, promoting comfort, consent, and acceptance at the forefront of my work. For years I have kept my focus on providing high-end, otherwise-expensive services to marginalized people in the form of pay-what-you-can (PWYC) and sliding scale bookings. Scar-coverups, memorial pieces, and a general sense of body ownership have brought me some amazing connections, within communities and individuals including people-of-colour (PoC), LQBTQ2S+ people, at-risk individuals, scarred individuals, the underprivileged and homeless, and those for a general want for their body as a canvas but not the price tag that usually comes with capitalizing on skin. These are all aspects of being that I personally identify with, and that's where my drive for connection comes from. I still work within creative fields outside of tattooing, such as photography (fine art, fashion, street, tech/science, wildlife and pets, astro, macro, product, and more, plus years of being a university instructor), videography (documentary, highlight reels, tech/science, some special effects), design (2D, 3D, analog and digital, concept, web, graphic, technical, and more), artisan crafts (wood, metal, leather, sculpture, and various mixed media for prototyping and conceptual builds), and general creation (especially helped by my background in physiology and mechanical/electric engineering). I've been at the helm of projects as a production and art director (full set designs, props, proofs of concept, galleries, etc.), as a full-stack developer and designer (projects including code, design, photos, videos, and all media from the ground up for essentially every university in Canada at some point). I've also taught all this the university and workshop settings; I believe the best way of learning is through sharing and practicing with others, and that has definitely helped me work on all this. I've not only transitioned this to and from "non-art" fields such as medical science, but I've integrated my creative and scientific backgrounds for the very necessary augmentation of the two. Anyway, I can probably do something for you!