Laurel Sardiñas

Taos, New Mexico

Bio

Hi, I'm Laurel! I'm a former historian, now LA-based artist using art and zines to keep track of my fears, interests, and fantasies. I enjoy taking on projects of all sorts, from newsletters to customizing firefighter axes, and connecting with creative and unique endeavors. The themes of my work usually revolve around asserting Asian womanhood, nostalgia, deference to nature, and monsters. When I create my zines, it's usually to help process things that have happened, or to preserve thoughts that existed for only for a second in my mind. During quarantine I have begun growing cacti, and contemplated cutting my bangs.

Zines

For purchases, DM @laurel.c.s on Instagram

Hello Kitty Has No Mouth: and Other Asian Women in Pop Culture Who Play Silent Characters, $4.00 - Representation of minorities in media has been a hot topic amongst Asian Americans in the last few years, but doesn’t really take into consideration how the subjects are being shown/seen. I initially put this together because I noticed the trend of beautiful Asian actresses that seemed to exist almost solely as decoration in the background of movies. These characters would have names, and sometimes a character description, but would rarely, if ever, have speaking lines. They were seemingly included, so that studios could claim “diversity” without putting any interest or effort into including these characters. View here.

Hello Kitty Has No Mouth, Parte Deux: Electric Boogaloo, $4.00 - Second installment! Can't fit all of these actresses in one zine. View here.

Hello Kitty Has No Mouth: Tokyo Drift, $4.00 - Third installment of this series! Can't stop, won't stop. View here.

Godzilla, Feminist Icon!, $4.00 - I don’t really know how to elaborate on this zine: it’s about Godzilla and her advocacy for intersectional feminism. That’s it! This is the first zine that I put together, and I’m proud of it’s simplicity, but also it’s marriage of two of my interests: feminism and monsters. I don’t know if I’m always a “good” feminist, but I know I’m a big fan of Godzilla’s work. View here.

Foolproof Guide to Water-Testing, $8.00 - This zine is a celebration of childhood and Pennsylvanian woods and creeks, but also serves as a guide for anybody curious about the basics of water-testing. Water-testing is a fun, interactive way to measure the health of the environment, and exercise your own observational abilities. Catch crayfish! Find out what turbidity means! Enjoying nature is the first step to begin advocating for it. View here.

Things We Tell You, Only If You Promise To Listen, $4.00 - If you don’t tell anybody, did it really happen? This brief zine is about the things preteen girls know, but that don’t exist because people who matter, don’t ask. Would they believe you? Does it matter? Probably not: you are just a preteen girl, and so are all of the other people that know. View here.

Your Trusty Guide To Chinatown, $6.00 - A companion map to Los Angeles Chinatown, highlighting restaurants, shops, and other sites of interest. Want to know where the best tofu is? where you can buy as many plants that will fit in your apartment? or where you can see a moose wearing a skullcap? One side is a map-view of Chinatown complete with a legend, and site descriptions. On the other, are a variety of topics, such as an illustrated guide to understanding the five tones in Mandarin, how to identify the best hot dog bao, and of course, another opinion piece on Pretty in Pink. Initially released to commemorate what LA Chinatown was like in 2019, I now hope to bring attention to the an already endangered community. COVID-19 threatens the survival of small businesses already fighting the encroachment of gentrification. View here.

Felix's Past Lives, $4.00 - My pet cat’s name is Felix (daringly creative, I know), and although he has not said anything on the subject, I have compiled a very Legitimate and Accurate account of his former incarnations. What was he doing in Renaissance Italy? (weirding people out) Was he good at being a woolly mammoth? (no) What was his relationship to Galileo like? (bad) View here.

To All of the Boys That Who've Accosted Me on the LA Metro (2018) - If given the choice, I would never ride the subway. I also wouldn‘t drive anywhere. I would simply materialize in whatever location I thought of because commuting is my least favorite part of the day. This is the first part in a two-piece series about street-level harassment I experienced on, and around, the LA Metro. At best, these encounters are annoying, at worst, they are scary. Read to find out how some random guy who hit on me at 9:00am became my husband, and how you can use the same technique to successfully woo women!* *Disclaimer: I did not marry that man, and also leave women on public transit alone. View here.

The LA Metro Costs $1.75 & All Of Your Patience :( (2019) - Another year on the metro! View here.

Other Work

坏学生 lucky cat sticker, $4.00 - The writing on the coin means "bad student," and is a good luck charm for all of the bad students out there! View here.

Good Ol' Country Frog sticker, $3.00 - Just a simple frog enjoying a simple life. View here.

Links, Social, & Support

Website: laurel-cs.com

Social media: @laurel.c.s on Instagram

Venmo: @laurel-sardinas