Diane Kappa
Artist Statement
As the daughter of an artist, I grew up surrounded by paint, fabric, and the quiet focus of making. While much of my career has been spent designing for clients, printmaking has become the most personal and intuitive part of my practice. I specialize in block printing, drawn to the meditative rhythm of hand carving and the tactile nature of the process. Rather than striving for flawless repetition, I embrace the imperfections that reveal the human hand. My work often combines block printing with hand stitching, bringing together repetition and textile-inspired pattern to explore texture, process, and pattern. In an era increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and automation, I value what cannot be perfectly replicated: uneven inking, crooked stitches, visible evidence of time and care.
Travel and creative community are central to my practice. I lived in Budapest for four years and have attended retreats worldwide. In April 2025, I was an artist-in-residence at Château Orquevaux in France, where I began this body of work inspired by old wallpaper, vintage lace, and handwork.
Artist Bio
Diane Kappa is a Seattle-based illustrator and printmaker with over 20 years of experience in art and design. She began in product development working for major retailers before growing a thriving art licensing business. Known for her bold use of pattern and texture, Diane combines block printing and hand stitching to explore process, pattern and texture. She teaches workshops out of her West Seattle Studio and was an artist-in-residence at Château Orquevaux in France in 2025.
As the daughter of an artist, she grew up immersed in paint, fabric, and the quiet rhythm of making. Diane is drawn to block printing for its tactile nature and the meditative act of carving by hand. Embracing the imperfect marks of the process, she often layers prints with stitching to explore pattern, texture, and repetition. Travel and creative community deeply inform her work, which is rooted in curiosity, openness, and a lifelong commitment to craft.




