Linda Lopez

Professor

“Under the guise of teaching art, I feel that I’m really teaching people how to be human.”

Give Linda Lopez a space, a classroom or a warehouse, and it will shortly be transformed to reflect her creativity. “I live in a warehouse in downtown L.A.,” says Linda who is teaching her first semester at SMC. “I built my own loft. I erected the walls, did the drywall. I had to completely build it from the ground up. It was just a space in an old paint factory,” she says. “But now I’ve made it mine.”

Teaching for Linda is “actually very transformational. At SMC I’m reminded every day why I’m a teacher. The students here are very sophisticated,” she continues. “I participate in learning with them and we work together in a cyclical fashion: I get renewed and they get renewed. I feel like I’m actually a teacher-student.”

Linda is teaching classes in design, drawing, painting and Mexican artistry. “And everything I do in the classroom I try to make relevant to the lives of students. We have so many diverse groups here that it’s very important to show a lot of imagery that relates to Black or Chicano or Asian cultures. I work with a lot of cultural awareness and try to let students know that they shouldn’t limit themselves by denying their own cultural experiences.”

Lopez often rounds up her classes for an impromptu trip to the beach where, “we sculpt huge animals and human bodies emerging from the sand. I think that playfulness is an important part of these very special years when people are allowed the privilege of study.”

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