Oregon College of Art & Craft

Ridicules admissions process. They helped me waste the summer while waiting on original transcripts they ended up not wanting (while having the copies the whole time). Kept asking for more and more things as the time passed by.
While waiting in the office in one of many visits, I overheard some programs may not actually run next year due to low registration.
(Which is ironic, right?)
Good thing I applied to PNCA as well, and got an acceptance decision and grants within a few days of submitting my application. Couldn’t be more contrasty to the OCAC process.
So yeah, I had a very bad experience with OCAC. The reputation there isn’t great anyway, and the graduates exhibition that was up while visiting was very mediocre/​not interesting at all.
Same pottery teacher there teaches at PCC apparently. (Tuition difference is obvious right?).

This review is for the library only:
I popped in quick to return some books since I was in the area already and it was my first time here. The library is tucked away behind the Art college in a tiny basement-​like room. When I went in, the librarian was extremely friendly and welcoming. I felt comfortable right away. I asked her a bit about the library and if it only had art books, and she explained that they can easily get any books (part of the wccls system after all), but their collection is mainly art based. She pointed me toward the photography section and let me browse.
When I was ready to go, she was very nice in giving me some great information about library studies after I asked about it.
I highly recommend coming in here, even if you don’t live really close by. Checking out the great art books is fun and it’s not very often you find libraries with such a cozy enviornment.

Are you WEALTHY and/​or YOUNG? If not, GIVE UP YOUR DREAM OF GOING HERE! I applied to attend OCAC a little over 3 years ago. This is not an easy school to get into, but my portfolio was accepted, and I was all set to enter the Certificate Program. I am far from wealthy, but was assured that I would get ample financial aid and counseling. I was overjoyed! It had always been my dream to go to a really fine arts and crafts school, one that encouraged students to explore several different areas and learn and expand their skills. I told them upfront that I had very little money, but was assured that, while I would likely accrue some debt, it would not be an amount significant enough to keep me from going to the school. I filled out the government financial aid form, gave the school all my financial information, and this is what happened: I qualified as someone who had financial need, and got two small grants, a and a couple of federal loans. This was great! However, there was still a balance of some $ 11,000 required. I was advised not to get a bank loan because of high interest and lack of regulation. Somehow, even though they knew my entire financial situation, they seemed to think I could just come up with that money from somewhere! I attempted to contact the financial aid officer, but she was unreachable by phone. I eventually received a FORM LETTER with links to a few of online $ 500 scholarship competitions. You can imagine how many of those I’d have to win to make any kind of significant debt in $ 11,000. That was just for the first year of a 3-​year certificate program. I’d have to go through that every year, for all three years. I was almost 60 at that time, and I would have had to take more and more loans to attend, keeping me in debt until my 90s! I suppose if I had been in my 20s or 30s, I would have time to pay off a huge debt before the end of my life. So, yeah, maybe the school is great, maybe the classes are wonderful and enlightening, maybe the faculty is top-​drawer. I’ll never know. I certainly learned a lasting lesson from attempting to go there, however, and now know that your dreams aren’t worth jack if you don’t have a lot of money.

Very pricey, and as far as I know, private pay but it’s really good. The teachers are patient and very informative. I really enjoy taking classes here.

I have taken classes in two departments at Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. The facilities and teaching are first rate. As an artist, the challenge is always technical execution and aesthetics. Oregon College of Arts and Crafts covers both.
As a degree granting institution, the school gathers BFA and MFA students. The joint program with PNCA produces some great results. The full time degree students are a great opportunity to meet, interact with, and get inspired by. They range from 20’s to all ages.
They have a display gallery, a sales gallery and a café. The display gallery, along with the PNCA Museum of Contemporary Craft are well worth a visit if your Internet preview matches your interests. The sales gallery, is great for gifts. The café is an individualistic and high quality-​low price option for business lunches and weekend brunch. There is no arranged or planned seating in this busy spot.
OCAC is a first rate regional opportunity for best end art-​craft classes in the Portland area.

My kids spent a week in Art Camp here and had a great time. Four different art projects a day with games and sports in between. My kids were up early and begging to get in the car and go every morning, so they must be doing something right! The campus is beautiful and they have a nice little café right in the middle. There are a bunch of different shops here: A fibers room, and old fashioned typesetting room, a wood shop, a metal shop, and a huge ceramics shop with kiln yard. It’s worth a stop here just to walk around and dream about taking a class someday.

I took a class in the Fundamentals of
Metal-​Smithing. It was fantastic and extremely well thought out/​planned. The campus is gorgeous, rustic and cozy.
I gave it 4 out of 5 stars only because classes are on the expensive side and it would be nice to see the prices lowered.
I have already applied a lot of the knowledge that I learned to my art/​jewelry making and look forward to taking another class here some day.

I took an adult ed course in B&W film photography with Pat Bognar here a few years ago.
At the time, I worried the course was expensive, but in retrospect, it was worth absolutely every penny.
I learned so much in my course, had a fantastic teacher, and unlimited use of the darkroom. The campus is beautiful, too. It’s a great getaway from the city. OCAC offers tons of other courses as well as degree programs, too. It’s a really interesting place to be surrounded with other people creating and making the world around them.
FYI, the Hands On Café on campus is also incredible. The soups and bread are delicious and homemade tasting.

I took a series of wood classes at OCAC. Good instructors, very good equipment. Outside of the wood program, the atmosphere is a bit rarified (i.e., art snooty), but that’s the West Hills for ya.

Having been a veteran of the Mendocino Arts Center’s Residency program, I was desperately seeking a like minded art center that would offer me some frame of reference when I touched down in PDX.
OCAC has been just that place. They offer courses in Book Arts, Ceramics, Drawing/​Painting, Fibers, Glass, Metals, Photography and Wood. All of these can be used for credit towards a degree, or just for fun.
Yeah for local arts institutions!