Raised on a cattle ranch in eastern Washington, Jay Olinger is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar residing in Portland, Oregon, where she teaches at Portland Community College and Portland State University.

Jay received a B.S. in Arts and Letters from Portland State University with Minors in Art History, English, and Medieval Studies; as well as a Post-Baccalaureate in Comics Studies and Art History. After holding a position at Marvel in the Special Projects Department in 2016, she pursued graduate studies in Scotland, where she graduated with Highest Distinction from the University of Dundee with a Master of Design in Comics and Graphic Novels, fully-funded by the Principal’s International Excellence Scholarship. Jay’s graduate project, Prompt(ed), was awarded the 2017 Duncan of Jordanstone Comics Prize. Prompt(ed) was an interdisciplinary project that combined research and hands-on application that explored the intersection of media application in Fine Art and Comics.

Along with teaching, Jay presents her research at international conferences, curates group exhibitions, and creates short comics. She welcomes opportunity for research, teaching, workshops and collaboration in any form.

Cancelled COVID Events: Transitions 9 in London, UK; Pop Conferences at DePaul University, Chicago, IL

June 2020-August 2020: Teaching Understanding Architecture and Understanding the Visual Arts at Portland Community College

September 2020-December 2020: Understanding Architecture (2) and Understanding the Visual Arts at Portland Community College

Event Archive

Event Archive

Old News:

Since moving back to Portland upon completing graduate school, I've been keeping my eyes and ears open for comics opportunities. I am excited to announce that I will now be teaching ART 217, Comics Art & Literature at Portland Community College upon the referral of my mentor, Diana Schutz. In related news, I will also be attending Emerald City Comic Con this year as an industry professional!
April 4 - June 13 2018: Comic Art & Literature begins at Portland Community College
June 18-22 2018: Graphic Novel Workshop with Jonathan Hill at PNCA, funded by a partial-scholarship for educators
July 2018: Solo Art Show at Common Grounds in Portland, OR
July 2018: Comics Arts Conference at San Diego Comic Con
July 28 - 29 2018: Portland Zine Symposium
June - August 2018: Miss Anthology Comics Workshops
August 6 2018: Guest speaker in Jonathan Hill's Sketchbook Intensive @ Oregon College of Arts & Crafts





The Kickstarter to raise printing funds for
Miss Anthology 2018 is now live! We aim to raise a little over $5k in addition to our grant funding to print the anthology and compensate those who edit, create the cover image, and fund the workshops so that they remain FREE for the youth who attend! Any donation, contribution or comic purchase is greatly appreciated!
September 7 - 9 2018: Rose City Comic Con
September 2018: Super Salon at Gallery 101
September-October 2018: Art on display at Henry Higgins (Foster)
October 2018: Group show at Splendorporium
November 3 2018: Short Run Seattle with Miss Anthology
November 10 2018: Euzine Fest with Miss Anthology
Check out this great article on Miss Anthology director Melanie Stevens in the Fall Arts Guide of the Willamette Week!

September 24 2018: Fall term begins at PCC, teaching  ART 102 
December 15 2018: Digital Inking Workshop at PCC Cascade
January 4 2019: Post-production Workshop at PCC Cascade
January 2019-February 2019: The Portrait Show at Artist & Craftsman Supply North Portland
March 14th - 15th 2019: Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, WA
May 2 2019: Mini-Comic Guest Lecture at Portland State University in ENG 449, Comics Theory, with Diana Schutz.
April 4th 2019: Opening reception for "Process" at Sequential Art Gallery + Studio, curated by yours truly! Exhibit open through May 2019. 

May 28 2019: Awesome Portland Grant Party @ Backyard Social in Portland, Oregon--WE WON!
April 2019 - June 2019: Teaching Art 217 (CRN 20714) & ART 102 (CRN 23883) @ Portland Community College.

June 9th 2019: Karaoke Benefit for Planned Parenthood at The Trap in Portland, Oregon.


June 21 - 23 2019: Zine workshop instruction at Lake Oswego Festival of the Arts. 

July 17 - 21 2019: Presenting "Adapting Jane" at the Comics Arts Conference at San Diego Comic Con. 

July 25th-27th 2019: Presenting "Poe-nography" and "Teaching Graphic Novels Workshop" at the 2nd annual Comics Studies Society Conference at Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada. 

August 12th 2019: Teaching a one-day Comics History lesson for the Summer Youth Camp at the IPRC in Portland, Oregon.

June 2019 - August 2019: Teaching Art 102 at Portland Community College (CRN 34450)

September  - December 2019: Teaching ART 102: Understanding the Visual Arts at Portland Community College. 

September - December 2019: Teaching ART 101: Understanding Architecture (CRN 42612) at Portland Community College

January - March 2020: Teaching ENG 496/596: Comics Theory at Portland State University.

January - March 2020: Teaching ART 217: Comics Art & Literature at Portland Community College.

January - March 2020: Teaching ART 102: Understanding the Visual Arts at Portland Community College.

March 2020-June 2020: Teaching Understanding Architecture, Understanding the Visual Arts, and History of Graphic Design at Portland Community College. 

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