ICAN (International Ceramic Artists Network) announces that this year's winner for the Making a Difference in Ceramics Award is...
C.A. Traen!
C.A. (Cat) Traen started working in clay in 2001 at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and later earned a Master’s degree in art education from UNLV. Aside from her work teaching at the Rancho Ceramic Studio, Cat has taught workshops and exhibited
in the United States, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Croatia, China, and Taiwan. She is also a found partner of Metro Arts Youth Council, which is a pre-professional association for young emerging artists and scholarship program. Through teaching,
Traen has created a model to follow for development of her own life, work, and, love.
Cat lived and worked in Las Vegas Nevada, until very recently, now she resides in Memphis, Tennessee. She has been a practicing ceramic artist since 2012. Cat has spent the past several years working hard within her residency in the Rancho High School
Visual Arts department of Las Vegas in order to show that artmaking had to be presented as a professional opportunity and to show them what it means to be an artist in the ceramic arts.
"I got to know Cat at one of the NCECA conferences, where she accompanied her Rancho Ceramics Studio students. At that time, and ever since, I could feel her huge dedication to ceramics, and especially her heart full of love for her students. She is a person who is constantly looking how best to serve others, how to make others happy, and how to get, year after year, a bunch of excited and lively ceramics students to NCECA. It’s only right that prizes find their way to Cat now and honor her special talents. No better person for this prize. Cat Traen has made, and continues to make, a huge difference within the ceramics community, and I am sure we will hear and see more from this promising artist in the future. Congratulations
Cat Traen!" Evelyne Schoenmann, Former Advisory Board Member, ICAN
"Cat possesses the ability to inspire young people to organize and mobilize in a combined effort to achieve some pretty lofty goals. This is evident from her last four student organized trips to NCECA. It’s amazing to see these students split up responsibilities and focus in on tasks like selecting airfares, researching and booking hotel rooms, planning daily activities and schedules, producing and practicing their presentation for the annual K12 Exhibition, aiding in the set up and tear down of the National K12 Exhibition, and list goes on. There is so much that these students have gotten out of her program that propel them into their future careers regardless of what path they choose. I hope this model Cat has developed and nutured for students will inspire educators all over the country. Additionally, Cat has poured countless hours of work in assisting other teachers in her district in helping them grow their programs and she has assisted the National K12 Exhibition Foundation Board in raising money for scholarships. She is an inspiration to her students, her fellow teachers, and the ceramic community as a whole." Rob Lawarre, Advisory Board Member, ICAN
About the Making a Difference in Ceramics Award:
As part of her award, Cat Traen will receive $1200 from ICAN. The Making A Difference in Ceramics Award recognizes individuals, groups, or organizations that positively impact people or their communities through the use of ceramics arts. The
Award is also designed to promote awareness of how ceramic arts and ceramic artists are an integrated and important part of our everyday lives. The Making A Difference in Ceramics Award will be presented every two years. The
award is not restricted to artists or specific art groups. You do not have to be a ICAN member to be eligible. Keep your eyes out for the next opportunity!
Making a Difference in Ceramics Award
ICAN (International Ceramic Artists Network) announces that this year's winner for the Making a Difference in Ceramics Award is...
C.A. Traen!
C.A. (Cat) Traen started working in clay in 2001 at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and later earned a Master’s degree in art education from UNLV. Aside from her work teaching at the Rancho Ceramic Studio, Cat has taught workshops and exhibited in the United States, Germany, Netherlands, France, Italy, Croatia, China, and Taiwan. She is also a found partner of Metro Arts Youth Council, which is a pre-professional association for young emerging artists and scholarship program. Through teaching, Traen has created a model to follow for development of her own life, work, and, love.
Cat lived and worked in Las Vegas Nevada, until very recently, now she resides in Memphis, Tennessee. She has been a practicing ceramic artist since 2012. Cat has spent the past several years working hard within her residency in the Rancho High School Visual Arts department of Las Vegas in order to show that artmaking had to be presented as a professional opportunity and to show them what it means to be an artist in the ceramic arts.
About the Making a Difference in Ceramics Award:
As part of her award, Cat Traen will receive $1200 from ICAN. The Making A Difference in Ceramics Award recognizes individuals, groups, or organizations that positively impact people or their communities through the use of ceramics arts. The Award is also designed to promote awareness of how ceramic arts and ceramic artists are an integrated and important part of our everyday lives. The Making A Difference in Ceramics Award will be presented every two years. The award is not restricted to artists or specific art groups. You do not have to be a ICAN member to be eligible. Keep your eyes out for the next opportunity!