Hartford Faculty
Zina Saunders
Zina Saunders is a writer-illustrator whose work can be seen in national magazines and newspapers like Mother Jones, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, The Progressive, The Utne Reader, and The New Republic. In June 2005, her focus shifted from general illustration to reportage illustration, when she wrote a story for Time Out New York magazine about the Puerto Rico Schwinn Club, an outgrowth of the Overlooked New York website, her series of interviews and portraits of impassioned New Yorkers which regularly attracts more than 35,000 hits a month.
In addition to her passion for people, her passion for political commentary has lately led to her stand-alone editorial animations, featured weekly on the Mother Jones website. Zina is the daughter of pulp magazine artist Norman Saunders, who painted some of the most popular bubblegum cards from the 60's and 70's, including Mars Attacks, Batman, and Wacky Packages. As a child, she got her first taste of being a professional illustrator when she would "correct" her father's paintings when he was away from his drawing board. Many an eyelash on Norm Saunders' damsels in distress was painted by a nine-year-old Zina.
She lives and works in New York City, where she grew up and attended Music and Art High School and The Cooper Union. She left Manhattan in her teens to be a levitating lady with a traveling circus in upstate New York, but eventually returned to her senses and her beloved city.
