About Diane Kaylor

More than 40 years ago Diane graduated from Parsons School of Design with a degree in illustration. She has worked in various aspects of the art world throughout her career: freelance illustrator, giftware designer, art director, decor designer and as the owner of her company, DK Designs.

DK Designs produces fun and functional handcrafted items derived from Diane’s mixed media collage work. Since the early 90’s she has traveled the country exhibiting these works at fine art and craft shows as well as maintaining her business online.

Her artwork has also been represented for licensing through her partnerships with giftware companies resulting in a wide range of products being made from her images including: wall calendars, ceramic tiles, fabrics, tote bags, mouse pads, puzzles, place mats and posters.

Over the years, Diane has been the recipient of various awards ranging from best new artist, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in mixed media to best in show. While maintaining her work with DK Designs she has currently expanded her profile to include exhibiting her original collage work exclusively at some of the most prestigious fine art shows around the country.

Pushing to the edge of what is possible in paper medium. Diane is expanding the boundaries of fine art with paper fiber.

Throughout her art life, Diane has been exploring and developing different techniques for advancing the possibilities of paper fiber in her art.

Art is form, shape and pattern. Artists use physical, theoretical and visual means to observe, analyze, create and adapt.

My collages consist of thousands of pieces of paper which are cut, layered and over painted. The type of paper collage I create is a balance of abstract images and realistic representation. First the papers are hand printed with a variety of abstract techniques including:

Frottage – rubbings

Collography – printing from objects

Screen printing – stenciling

Grattage – scraping paint away

These printed papers are then honed into the creation of a traditional landscape utilizing layer upon layer of paper and board built up into a relief. This art combines all forms of texture: physical, visual, decorative, spontaneous and mechanical.

Bernard Berenson, art historian, argues that painting should appeal to our “tactile imagination as strongly as the actual three dimensional object being depicted would".

Hands and eyes are profoundly connected. We can often identify the material of an object by looking at it. Perception of texture is intimately tied to visual discrimination and to associations in higher regions of the brain. Hence, it is possible that texture is capable of stimulating memories and emotions