Käthe is a visual artist, arts therapist, and arts administrator with a B.A. in Art Studio from the University of California at Davis and an M.A. in Expressive Therapy from Lesley College.
As Program Director and Program Consultant for RAW ART WORKS (www.rawart.org)
from 1994 to her present position as Program Consultant, Käthe managed, supervised, and helped develop the flow of over 20 art therapy programs and community projects. She piloted and co-developed the nationally acclaimed teen arts leadership program, RAW Chiefs. In September 2000, the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities presented the Coming Up Taller award to the RAW Chiefs program. RAW was one of only ten agencies nationwide to receive this award for its excellence in arts programming for at-risk youth.
As the Director and Human Resource Specialist of GRACE ACADEMY (www.grace-institute.org) from 2002–2006, Käthe co-led an after-school creative-education program for over 35 underserved middle school youth in Northeast Portland. She recruited and registered students from eight school sites, provided crisis intervention, formed community partnerships and positive relationships with parents, counselors, administrators, businesses, and other important community organizations. She also designed and managed internships, volunteers, and the teen leadership Apprentice Program. She led groups in painting, sculpture, printmaking, and mural making and co-led all other art programs while promoting quality of student work that was exhibited in businesses and galleries throughout Portland. She wrote and received the Confluence in the Schools Project Grant and worked with 30 middle school students, staff, guest artists, community members and businesses to complete the "Untold Stories and Unsung Heroes" project resulting in 22 woodblock prints, a Cob Bench, a 12’ x 16’ mural, a DVD, and an 128-page Anthology of writing and art.
In August, 2006, she opened up her own business, ART UP, LLC.
Art Up is an art studio dedicated to improving the lives of youth and our community by elevating what needs to be seen and celebrated. It is committed to bridging resources, facilitating understanding, and gaining access to choices and skills through artistic endeavors, gallery exhibits, and community projects.