CCS was honored to showcase 50 individuals and activities during our 50th Anniversary in 2017-2018 to share our rich history. Take a look at the amazing people responsible for making our unconventional College possible!   

As an alumna and a faculty member, Linda Ekstrom (CCS Art ’82) has a unique perspective on the College. Ekstrom completed her MFA in Studio Art in 1996 from UC Santa Barbara and has been an indispensable member of the CCS Book Arts faculty since 2000. Her art works have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including the “The Future Can Only be Told in Reverse” exhibition being held in the CCS Gallery from February 14 through March 9.

CCS: How has CCS impacted your life? 
Linda Ekstrom: Being a student in CCS was the experience that convinced me I could be an artist.

CCS: As a student, why did you choose to come to CCS? How did you find out about the College?
LE: I lived in Santa Barbara area and applied to CCS when I transferred to the University. I had heard about what an amazing program it was and I wanted to be part of a more unique approach to study art and develop my practice.

CCS: What was your favorite aspect of CCS as a student? How has that changed now you are a faculty member?
LE: Probably my favorite aspect of CCS was being taken seriously by my instructors and visiting artists.  We were treated like artists at an early stage of our development. We were introduced to many visiting artists who came to CCS to teach or give talks.  They had thriving practices in Los Angeles and New York and we were able to work with them in classroom settings, hear them speak in the CCS gallery artist talks, and to visit their studios or go to exhibitions of their work.  These artists came to CCS to interact with the students, rather than to just deliver talks.  I think this allowed us to take ourselves more seriously and to better envision how we too could go on to have art careers.  As a faculty member, I remember this about my time at CCS and I take my students seriously. I believe that each art major has the potential to go on to graduate school and to have a professional career in the arts.

Probably my favorite aspect of CCS was being taken seriously by my instructors and visiting artists.  We were treated like artists at an early stage of our development.

CCS: How has CCS changed over your career?

LE: We are larger in numbers and we have more majors now. I think we have had to evolve away from the “experimental college vibe” to one that is more defined and research focused.  We have retained our uniqueness but in ways that integrate our students more within the larger university.  When I was a student CCS seemed much more separate from the larger university. Today our students are offered the best of both worlds. They have greater latitude and more options while still retaining the personal feel that CCS affords.

CCS: Does a memorable moment stand out from your time as a student at CCS? If so, please describe the moment.  
LE: At the time we had the President’s Undergraduate Fellowship Award, something similar to the current URCA.  I was awarded funding to create a large three sided, 7 foot high, red cloth sculpture that would be installed on the concrete pad in front of the CCS building. (Not many people know that concrete pad was poured in the 80’s to provide a space for students to create large, temporary sculptures.)  I installed my work, had a grand reception and then during the night the sculpture was stolen. It was devastating for me. The theft made the Daily Nexus and I was interviewed pleading for the sculpture’s return. Within days it turned up folded on the steps of the CCS building. A dorm prank. I reinstalled it and it stayed in place for a few weeks. People couldn’t leave it alone. I found a mattress inside where students had been spending the night. Students crawled underneath it just to sit inside, or to study or practice music.  It was a wonderful experience and the first time I had to truly hand-over my work to fate. But, I also had the chance to see people actively engaged with my work by finding creative ways to utilize the interior space for their daily practices.  It expanded well beyond what I had envisioned when I created it.

CCS: Why did you choose to stay and teach at CCS?
LE: Teaching is very integrated into my practice as an artist. I make art, I show art and I share what I know.  CCS is wonderful place to teach art in that we have the group classroom experience and we are also able to work on a more individual basis with the students. Mentoring is different than teaching and I find my role is more often that of mentoring because CCS affords unique ways for students and teachers to interact.  It’s also great to work with such serious students who have a breadth of creative diversity and talent. And, the opportunity to act as an advisor allows me to direct students toward courses on campus, or other instructors, or research opportunities that might be well suited for the student’s particular areas of interest.

CCS: Can you describe he books arts program at UCSB/CCS and your dedication to this program?

LE: The Book Arts emphasis in CCS is a way for students to explore a range of ways to make contemporary art rooted in the book and its breadth of traditions.  They learn to create limited edition artists’ books and book works, text-based art, how to sharpen their understanding of typography, and graphic arts through research and print technologies, and more. Our students are conceptually-driven by narrative and they find the form that is most conducive to tell their stories. It’s exciting to work with students who are creating art in such a variety of forms: unique books, print works, protest posters, graphic novels, hand-made paper with all of its forms, performance works, full scale installations, and more. It’s been wonderful being a part of this unique program in CCS, being involved directly in its development and growth, and helping to guide the important work that’s being created by our students.

CCS: How do you structure your CCS classes?
LE: In the Book Arts Program I have classes where I teach foundational information and technical skills. In these types of courses I include a weekly lab in addition to the course meeting time for students to also set aside time to work on their projects outside of class. In seminar style courses I will present lectures and reading material, and we spend time discussing topics and critiquing the work that they create in their individual studio practices. For art majors, maintaining a studio practice is part of being in CCS. They are to be developing and making art outside of course driven assignments.  And I strive to bring their practices into the structure of my classes. Thus students will often be asked to present or share what they are doing on their own. This is a way for them to get input from their peers and to see their academic years as part of the long trajectory of being a professional artist.

CCS: What advice would you give to current CCS students?

LE: Well, for art majors I would advise them to carve out time to develop a studio practice in order to focus on their own creative research and practice outside of the direction of a class.  Then I would encourage them to open up their practice by inviting in peers and faculty to engage with the work they make. CCS fosters this type of experience but I think the students can often get overwhelmed with their academic work load, job and social commitments and it’s easy to put off the studio practice. I am talking about studio time outside of what is required by a particular course.  CCS fosters this and it’s rare for undergraduate art majors to be given studio space and encouraged to work on their own, or to take independent study classes.  And, for non-art majors, I would encourage them to take an art course.  My experience with non-art majors in book arts is that they are awesome.  Book arts is a more technically driven way of creating art and many students who are not art majors do very well in this art form.

CCS: Anything else you would like to say about CCS? 
LE: CCS is a rare place and I feel fortunate to have been a part of it as both a student and a teacher.  For artists we really never stop being students and CCS is a great way to continue learning along with our students.