Codey Quintana’s OUNCE, a zine he passes out for free at Ogden’s First Friday Art Stroll, is so popular he brings bodyguards.

During your First Friday Art Stroll each month in Ogden, you may find yourself lucky enough to run into a man named Codey Quintana, wearing a satchel full of zines and stickers ready to be handed out. Quintana is a digital artist and the creator of the OUNCE zine, a compilation of contributor-submitted works printed in black and white and folded booklet style. He describes: ”A zine is really just small independent artists making a magazine about whatever they want.”   

What started off as a passion project is becoming an Ogden staple, with vendor booths and water bottles sporting OUNCE stickers and each month’s copy of the zine nestled into the bookshelves of Ogden’s locals. The @ogdenounce Instagram page reads, “OUNCE is for everyone and it is safe here,” which rings true in the way the zine is created, the way it is distributed and the way it presents itself throughout the community. 

Quintana feels strongly about accessibility and wants to build up the “zine culture” in Ogden. By working digitally, utilizing the library’s free printing service, using Patreon subscriptions to pay contributors, and tapping into his passion for the arts to keep it going, OUNCE is able to be given away for free and, according to Quintana, that will never change. OUNCE features photography, writing, art, coloring pages, calendars and anything else you can print. Existing exclusively in black and white gives readers the option to interpret and imagine, while simultaneously creating an urge to go check out the original art to see the colors that may exist. Because OUNCE is open to submissions, you aren’t sure what you will see in the new issue, but there is a consistency in the layouts, the logo and the overall feel of the zine, which creates a sense of familiarity. Each issue also includes something for the reader to participate in, like a coloring page drawn by Quintana himself, an OUNCE themed word search or a usable calendar of the month. 

Quintana is an avid supporter of the arts and the locals in Ogden. He encourages and inspires in many ways, but an admirable note is the way he shares knowledge with others. He wants to see more zines show up in Ogden and encourages others to make them with his group zine-making sessions called OOZE. The classes are held in public locations, free of charge and open to people of all ages. OOZE events have materials and a location provided by Quintana, who gives a brief rundown of tips and tricks and then lets everyone create as they please. He invites them to hand out their zines with him during the Art Stroll and excitedly shares the zines others have made with their permission. Quintana reminisces on his own intro to zine-making, citing a sudden urge to create and an ability to use resources that were already on hand or easy to obtain. “It is so accessible. Everyone should be making a zine.” 

An array of Codey Quintana’s work under the brush name Syncrenicitous

Along with OUNCE, Quintana operates under the pseudonym “Syncrenicitous” for his personal art, which he describes as having a “’70s, high-texture, warm-color aesthetic.” His work carries subtleties of modern graffiti and pop art and nods to psychedelia and early television cartoon caricature. Despite commonality in color scheme and overlap in subjects, each Syncrenicitous piece looks immensely different. A trip to a Syncrenicitous art show, with pieces displayed side-by-side is cohesive as a whole, yet still surprising individually. 

Before his transition to digital art, Quintana was a physical artist who would paint and draw. “I can do the same thing digitally that I was doing before, but I can do it anywhere I want,” he says. He appreciates the portable, mess-free and diverse method of creation that working with an IPad provides. Digital art requires an additional technical skill set that isn’t learned by painting with a brush, which makes his use of pattern and perceived texture all the more impressive.

Work by Syncrenicitous, courtesy the artist

Work by Syncrenicitous, courtesy the artist

Keep your eyes out for a bold OUNCE logo next time you are roaming around Ogden, because Quintana is sure to expose you to exciting creations, no matter when or where you see him.

Ogden City holds the First Friday Art Stroll, you guessed it, the first Friday of every month. You can see more of OUNCE on Instagram.  You can see more of Codey Quintana’s work as “Syncrenicitous” here.

Angelika Brewer

Angelika Brewer is an award-winning poet, public speaker, journalist and a creativity enthusiast from Ogden, Utah. She finds artistry where it is hiding and advocates for its continuation, which contributes to her love of writing about local, upcoming artists. She loves her family and her animals, traveling and starting a new craft every two weeks, but only sometimes completing one.