Amanda Olbrys

Bits of Summer

2011-08-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

state tattoo

2011-07-25T15:07:00.001-07:00

Jeff

2011-07-25T15:05:00.000-07:00

Patchwork Farms

2011-07-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

2011-02-11T22:41:00.001-08:00

Portrait of people doing things alone

2011-02-11T22:38:00.001-08:00

Gary IN

2011-02-11T22:34:00.000-08:00

mount water

2011-01-02T17:04:00.000-08:00

Golden Ghost

2010-12-26T23:54:00.000-08:00

Brittany Moffitt

2010-12-26T23:50:00.001-08:00

2010-12-26T23:43:00.000-08:00

These self portraits where taken the spring of 2010 right after i got back from my east coast trip. they were taken as i was coming back to myself again after having a ruff and life changing first two years in chicago. This city took me real hard i lost so much just by trying to find something different. i couldn't balance out how to be strong and open at the same time.

Nelken

2010-12-26T23:33:00.000-08:00

Nelken is a band based out of chicago, i started talking to cindy and wes through the interent. in which we had mutual friends then ended up moving before i got to chicago but soon returned and when they did. they got a hold of me so i could take some photographs. this was the first time i ever really met them. it was a pleasure and i could swear i was so confutable it felt like i have knew them for ages.

Seattle(what makes your home yours and not mine.)

2010-12-26T23:21:00.000-08:00

these series of photographs i also took for the homes project. they are a group of photos i took of the house above. i was staying with some strangers while visiting seattle pretty much this part of my trip was saved just to relax. so i didnt see much of seattle just stayed in this house reading and taking photographs. i wanted to photograph a different side to this project. actually get the feel of being in a strangers home for a couple of days living there your self. taking it all it.

Chicago homes

2010-12-26T23:08:00.001-08:00

homes series in chicago

the series in pretty much just for me.

Portland Homes

2010-12-26T22:56:00.001-08:00

this is a project i started while in chicago but never got finished i have this thing about houses.

but for some reason i can never could come to some kind of understanding why. i want to think its because i never stayed in one place (house) for to long while growing up. so i have the picture in my head that a big home is a happy home.

portland coast oregan

2010-12-23T13:53:00.000-08:00

Dominigue D'Amico

2010-12-22T16:01:00.000-08:00

Dominique is a good friend of mine i have known for a couple of years now. she is great with music and works at a studio here in chicago but just recently started her own craft business which you can purchase some of her stuff here on her etsy site. wrens and roses

Dominique asked me to take some photographs for her site which i was happy to do. i havent been doing portraits like i use to in for such a long time. Im hoping to be taking a lot more of people i know around the city.

Portland Coast Oregon

2010-12-22T00:07:00.000-08:00

this past spring i finely took my trip to portland and seattle. I was going to expect this life changing experience but in the end i had a little bit of fun but there was something off. i felt because i was looking for something i spent most of my time thinking about depressing things. and in the end i felt more lonely then ever on this trip. something in my life at the moment hurt me the way i was hoping it would but in the end it took me a lot longer to understand then what i have expected it to. so if feel this photograph from all the rest really shows how sad i had become.

so much

2010-12-21T17:05:00.000-08:00

so much to catch up....

Jen

2009-09-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Run, Blago Run!

2009-09-22T00:01:00.001-07:00

Photo taken under abandon tracks between Western and Levitt on Milwaukee ave chicago IL right next aldi. The design is from a pilsen Artist : Ray Noland which he sells prints and other products with the same design as the photo above. i have encountered this image in many locations i ride by everyday as well as on a T-shirt of a person i know. just think what it would be like if i saw this one day as a tattoo that someone got to remember chicago instead of getting the all to famous chicago flag tattoo.

a small series of self-portraits

2009-09-20T12:04:00.001-07:00

My Weakness

My mistakes

In these two Self-portraits they show hidden messages to me of what they mean for instance my weakness and mistakes even if in the photograph themselves don't show off all of them just by looking at them Im reminded of them all.

what i love about indiana

2009-09-20T02:37:00.000-07:00

There is only one thing i seem to have complete connect to with in Indiana is the mixture of environment there. I don't know what its is but everything outside of beginning around a ton of people is the land around me that is completely empty . I feel like it doesn't matter if i have someone to share my bed with and the end of the night as long as I'm happy experiencing things around me differently. Its nice to experince people in diffent ways though.

Im really bad and explaning and understanding things. i guess that is one thing that is wrong with me.

North Ave Beach

2009-09-19T10:58:00.001-07:00

Gillan

Jen Clar

Photos taken at North Ave Beach Chicago IL 2009

Love of friends

2009-09-18T22:52:00.001-07:00

I love i hold dear to my heart are that of my friends.
these set of photos where taken in 2009 logan square Chicago,IL at a friends apartment.

I Love my Veggies!

2009-09-18T22:48:00.001-07:00

Produce Photographs taken in Chicago IL 2009 with a Yashica mat -124G

Polaroid sepia/chocolate Prints

2009-09-08T08:43:00.001-07:00

Old Digital Photographs

2009-09-07T17:41:00.001-07:00

(this photo was figured in jpgmag beauty issue)
Old digital photos taken from 2006-2008 using a Nikon D50 that I eventally sold for rent money in the middle of 2008. These sent of photos i do not feel are my best work which i feel is because i didn't struggle with them much . As well I did edit them on photoshop so i could get some feel of what is coming out technology wise and decided editing the old fashion way suits my creative flow better.I also noticed while shotting digital i stoped alittle caring about what i was shooting and more on the kind of colors i can go back and edit on. this is what i didnt want to happen to my work so i gave up digital for good.

earth obsessions

2009-09-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have been getting really into painting things that deal with my obsessions to the earth. With that starting out with painting a portrait of the moon my top obsession for the past couple of years.I apologize for the crappy photos of these hopefully in time i can get a cheap digital to document things better.

hurray the sky is falling i said hurray

2009-08-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

(notice this entry contains quite a bit of info of how my life as flip flopped probably for the good its to soon to tell. i address many topics this is going to be a long entry because i might not have one like this for awhile. new photographs coming soon)

This month I have a load of things falling out of the sky trying to bring upon my demise. Lucky I'm not one to worry even if its big problems that arise in my life. I feel i have seen so much shit that i forgot what worrying really feels like. I'm looking at things with a whole different out look, with out having a job to go to during the day and a home to rest my legs. I have found a nice soft landing made grass,nice steady breeze of air, and beautiful lake front of Chicago. For this all the things that are falling from the skies are only hitting that nice spot of softness and seeping within it never to stay on the top of my mind. If you chose not to see it then it doesn't excess . So all these problems that i have to face i have hidden in a place tell i can control them just enough that i do not break. I have this middle ground that i thought i lost this spring but it has returned at the perfect time. There is so much i over looked in the past, I know now in my life i just need to enjoy what i can do alone. I have taught myself to do task in life with out having company of others to come along. My day to day process is a glorious one with entitles so.

1. wake up on a close friend or someone i sometimes talk to at social gathering's couches(sometimes early morning or early afternoon depending on the time they awake or the time i fall asleep at night)

2. ride around Chicago doing some pointless task and some need to do stuff

3. arrive by the lake shore with my bag that contains my life and a nice book(at this time being mostly any book by Kurt Vonnegut * slapstick as of now*)

4. head back to the west side around 8 when the sun goes down hopefully to get together with the person ill be crashing with. If its Thursday or Sunday i end up at a local dive bar for 4 dollar pitchers and company of others. other days i just play it by ear.

sometimes ill throw a free bike,movie,music event in there once a week. this week it was the bike film fest,midnight ride, movie in a vacant lot, and music at the park.

today while eating my fortune cookie as i always do as most people I'm sure do i glanced a little bit at my fortune and not to my surprise really it had told me something i already knew or which is probably true for most.

"the current year is going to be a happy one"

which despite all that is going on this year it is still defiantly a happy one. i have happiness for people i love and loved or still love as much as it makes me feel like a 12 year old girl because i guess in a way I am.. from what i have come to find 12 is a good age to meet your first love mine came a little later so that brings me to feeling 12 in love which i never did when i was 12 and could be in love. I have no shame for life, no fears, I m not sad for myself and do not expect anyone to worry about what road I'm heading down... i have always solved any problems alone and this one the big stuff will once again be handled alone. I take a lot of joy from disaster its a little bit of energy that i would truly miss if it ever left.

another topic....

while sitting out today by the lake i took my pen and nice grid sketchbook out to create a few random drawings so more humorist then others and so....

Fam treeez..

a little child like humor behind this the walnut(seasonal) is the mother,trunk is the father so it only makes since to place the tree within a walnut this the two creates the rest (children). making it a very thoughtful family tree even a a little for me this is why i chose fingers as the branches because i can count all my siblings on one hand 2 sisters and 2 brothers, then me.

Moon mt.

this is located on the far ride side of my mind i like to think of that side as my hiding place.

current music:

John Vanderslice-To Much Time

Palo- The Morning linda dies

Camera Obscura- Lloyd, I'm ready to be heartbroken

Mirah-bones and skin

Julie Doiron- When brakes get wet

Now Now Every Children- cars,everyone you know

Chad Vangaalen- echo train

pieces

2009-07-23T01:09:00.000-07:00

I find myself clinging on to this windy city,but what is it Im holding on to. i can never make out what my mind is thinking when it choses for me to stay here. I have put myself in a situation where I call for friends and random strangers to take me in. lost that awful thing that gave me a sources of income.I find i have no responsibilities to others but only to myself. I have never been in such a state of life that Im in now. Im living off of cheap beer and boxed rice. In the beginning of next month im taking a small bike trip out to the place im avoiding the most. Ill be experiencing the corn fields in a whole new way. Ill be taking a different means of travel transportation that most would never think of doing. for what to find what i have left inside of me. to forget about a past love I dont know why im forcing myself to spend what money i have left to seek something out within myself. when to be honest its probly just a waste of my time and the worlds.

A LIttle Piece of Chicago

2009-06-23T00:54:00.000-07:00

The past year I have been riding my bike around chicago through any weather possible.I mostly only focused on a couple of routes i could take to get from work and home. Im hoping that something will come out of this group of photos. I started taking photographs of places that have became familar to me on my bike rides. I hope to continue this tell i leave this city,there is something about places and objects you see pass you by in your everyday life. A bottle could be in the same place for 2 years and i don't think anyone would notice.

Understanding Myself Through Friends A Self Portrait Series

2009-05-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have never been good at writing artist statements about my works in progress so this might not even be close to one.

The following photos in the next couple of weeks are Self Portraits you can say i guess,they focus on more of my personalities and body language that come off of me. So I figure to see it completely i needed to use others to help me understand myself. In these photographs I have asked my close friend some like family, to act and portray themselves as me, even to ware some of my clothes.I have them sit back and study a pose that i position myself first i have them focus themselves on my facial expression,body language to help my feelings show through them making the photos more of a self portrait then a portrait of them.This concept is still something im trying to understand a little bit myself so my artist statement might even change as i move along with this project.

here are the first two of project i have completed.

Pacific Northwest College of Art Portland Oregon

2009-04-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

I have been looking into the Pacific Northwest Collage of Art in Portland for sometime,It seems like a great place to take that college leap.I need to plan my year here in chicago wisely doing what i can to to make my move to portland as easy as possible.So im looking into a second job to keep myself busy,and get some money around to getting a couple of things that would make getting my college app together. Im going to plan a trip out to portland around fall to look at the school and get my porfolio reviewed.Also a new bike and computer needs to get down,Im also looking into getting myself a nice scanner to scan some of these 120 negitives i have recently took.Im really getting motivated to start school which was something i was lacking from the begining. Im not to sure about what sort of film processing they have at the school from what it looks only b& w but i need to stop making that an excusses not to go to school.Things can only go up from here,im quite excited to see how this all turns out.I probly do not need to post all this information but its nice to have it a easy place to get.

Admissions Requirements

All applicants, including transfer and international students, are required to submit the following items:

1. Free Online Application

2. Essays

An important part of the application process is the admissions essays. View the essays like an interview, it will be a time for you to distinguish yourself from other applicants and combined with your portfolio and transcripts will help us to determine your ability to be a successful student at PNCA.

Please provide a one-page response to each essay. You will be required to provide a response to the first option, and then you will need to select one essay from the remaining three. Essays can be mailed to the admissions office or emailed to admissions [at] pnca [dot] edu.

Required Essay: Describe the ways your curiosity and willingness to experiment has led to discovery within your own artwork or design. Give Examples.

Please choose one of the following:

Describe a time that you had dealt with adversity in your own life. What have you learned from this experience and how have you used that knowledge to your advantage?
Is art or design a calling for you? What will you need in order to grow as an artist or designer? What is your role in society as an artist or designer? Be as specific as you can be, and give examples from your own life.
Describe a difficult project you saw to completion or a puzzling problem you researched and tried to solve. What did you learn from your experience?

3. High School transcript

Submit official copies of current high school transcripts. PNCA requires a minimum GPA of 2.0 (C) Please note that faxed transcripts and transcripts stamped “Issued to Student” are not considered official transcripts by PNCA. If you did not complete high school, please submit a copy of your high school transcript and an official copy of your General Equivalency Diploma (GED). Applicants who are currently enrolled in their senior year of high school must submit a final transcript documenting graduation with a 2.0 minimum GPA. Applicants who have previously earned a bachelor’s degree are not required to submit high school transcripts.

4. College Transcripts

Students who have previously attended college must request official copies of all college transcripts sent directly to PNCA Admissions Office. Transcripts that are faxed, delivered in an unsealed envelope, or marked “Issued to Student” are considered unofficial and will not be accepted. PNCA requires transcripts from ALL colleges attended. College credit earned while enrolled in high school may also be transferred.

5. The Portfolio

General portfolio requirements: Your portfolio is an important part of your application. It will be evaluated on artistic and conceptual content, design and composition, technical skill, and creative potential. Submit 12-20 examples of your best and most recent work. Please note that we recommend several of these works to be observational drawings as part of your portfolio — even if you plan on majoring in Photography or Communication Design. If you have questions regarding the observational drawing component, please contact the Admissions Office. Your portfolio in general may include classroom work, studio assignments, personal projects and/or sketchbook work.

How to submit: Portfolios may be submitted in person during a campus visit or to a PNCA representative at a National Portfolio Day or by sending a digital CD of your portfolio to the Admissions Office. In order to be considered for acceptance, we must have received a digital copy of your portfolio. All 12-20 digital images must be saved as JPEGs and file size must be kept under 1 MB. Do not send PowerPoint presentations, please keep it simple. Your digital portfolio can be e-mailed as attachments to admissions [at] pnca [dot] edu. In the body of the e-mail, please include your full name and address. You may have to send a couple e-mails, depending on file size. Please call or e-mail to confirm that we have received your e-mail. Digital portfolios submitted via mail must be on a CD-ROM sent to:

The Admissions Office
PNCA, 1241 NW Johnson St.
Portland OR 97209

Please include your full name and address clearly labeled on the front of the CD and/or case. Do not submit still images on a DVD. Moving images should be submitted in VHS or DVD format. IMPORTANT: PLEASE DO NOT MAIL ACTUAL, ORIGINAL ARTWORKS TO THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE.

All admissions materials, including portfolios, become the property of PNCA and will not be returned to you or released to another party.

Foundation Year
course title	Fall	Spring
FD101-102 Visual Elements	3	3
FD101-102 Basic Drawing	3	3
FD111 3-D Design	3	*
FD112 Time Arts	3	*
LA 121-122 English Composition	3	3
LA125-126 Art & Design in Contemporary Society	3	3
Total credits	15	15
* Can be taken Fall or Spring

Sophomore Year
course title	Fall	Spring
PH271 Beginning B&W Photo	3
PH272 Beginning Color Photo (Digital)		3
IM201 Theory and Practice	3	*
Studio Elective	*	3
AH217 History of Photography		3
MTH101 Mathematics	3	*
AH 211 Art Hist:Paleolithic-Gothic	3
AH212 Art Hist: Renaissance- WWII		3
SCI223-224 Natural Science	3	3
Total credits	15	15
* Can be taken Fall or Spring

Junior Year
course title	Fall	Spring
PH371Intermediate Photo (B&W)	3
PH372 Intermediate Photo		3
PH373 Alternative Photo & Contemporary Practices	3
PH374 Studio Lighting		3
Studio Electives	3*	3*
Art History Elective (300-level)	*	3
MTH101-102 Mathematics	3	*
Liberal Arts Elective	*	3
Total credits	15	15
IM301 Theory & Practice	3	*
* Can be taken Fall or Spring

Senior Year
course title	Fall	Spring
PH471 Advanced Photography	3
ND401 Professional Practices	3
PH472 Photography Thesis		3
ND402 Thesis Research & Writing		3
Studio Electives	6	6
LA325 Literature Seminar	*	3
LA321 Social Science Seminar	3	*
Total credits	15	15
* Can be taken Fall or Spring

New Student Costs

Tuition	$20,290 per year, full-time enrollment
Tuition 12 - 18 credits	$10,145 per semester
Tuition: 1 - 11 credits	$846 per credit
Credit Overload Fee	$797 assessed for each credit over 18 credits
Department Resource fee	$490 per semester 18.1 - 21
	$413 per semester 12 - 18 credits
	$36 per credit if registered for 1 - 11.9 credits per semester
Studio Rental	$280 per semester (Intermediate Painting & Senior Studio students only)
Studio Key Deposit	$25 per semester where applicable (refundable)
Late Registration fee	$25
Student Activity fee	$45 per semester for full-time students
	$22.50 per semester for part-time students
PNCA Student Housing	Two bedroom furnished Unit (price per student)
	One person per room $3,775 per semester
	Two people per room (shared bedroom) $1,980 per semester
	$150 Student Housing Clean fee — non-refundable
Health Insurance* (estimated)	$400 per semester (included summer coverage) Health Insurance Waiver
	* Required of all students taking 6 or more credits who do not already have health insurance. This fee is waived upon proof of current health coverage. The health insurance fee waiver must be renewed each semester. Students taking less than 6 credits may purchase the College’s student health insurance if desired.

getting something started

2009-03-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

I have spent a lot of my life planning,when i was 5 i was planning my whole life in my head while staring at the TV set spacing out. Then most of my plans were pretty unrealistic,they still are at times. More then half of what i plan never sees the time of day,i don't blame it on motivation more so the fact that if they were to be completed or started they might be finished. At 16 i was planning on dropping out of high school and move to California to stay with a friend i meet off a Internet blogging site, Now for the past 5 years i haven't spoken to her. At 18 i was planning on going to college for photo,but i found out that plan was to early for me.19 i thought i would move to Hollywood make a life of my own,i spent a month there and went back to Indiana. my only plan for the past 7 years to finish was at the age of 20 i decided to isolate myself from all things,rethink what Am inside take this world in and find a place with in it that makes me conftable and happy. Then when that was to be completed to build my own life from that,it took me a year to do all those things at the age of 21 i packed only of what i really needed into my parents little jeep and moved to Chicago. I have been living here over a year now. I have experienced a ton,felt so many feeling that i have been waiting to feel for awhile now.I felt lust,love,heartbreak,fear,depression,insecurity,lose of friendships,new friendships,strength,and I have developed new qualities in myself that i thought i would never gain. In the past year i have went from tight,lonely,and boxed up Amanda to feeling like i can show some parts of myself to people that i couldn't before.From all of this i truly feel like i have made a home for myself.

Even these past couple of months have produced so many plans that will never get started,I even lost some part of me that i have gained from the isolation,but the struggle of finding that again is what I'm looking forward to the most. I still know who I'm and AM not ashamed of my easy going attitude and my strange to try to see though the negative in people. I slip sometime and do see them more then i should but i still try to push myself way from that.I'm always going to be the sensitive one in situations, sometimes i feel weak for that but caring and over thinking to much isn't all that bad at times.I just need to control when its a good or bad time to be over sensitive.

22 and my next plan is to see if I'm ready for college yet or another move possibly i will take a step to planing a move to Portland to push myself a little father as to go where i know no one so I'm pushing myself out of my shell.

there are lots of plans I'm going to make that is going to never get started but I'm happy to see myself dreaming up a life,and at least thinking about what I'm going to do.

I have no ideas to where this blog will end up maybe in the lost Internet files like that rest or maybe i will take advance of this one and express myself a little further. help explain myself to me,maybe if i see stuff written down i could understand a little more of what is going on in my head.

I'm going to grow for what ever experiences come my way i have learned that young and I'm so looking forward to all the bad that might come,it sort of draws me in for some odd reason.