Artist Statement

My mission is to enhance people’s lives through the beauty that inspires me. I love exploring nature. I love to create and have a passion for expressing life…any way to share the common journey we all travel together, be it bumpy or smooth. Living is beautiful and challenging. I want to squeeze out every moment and utilize it for expression and I get a thrill in seeing others do the same. I love inspiring conversations and believe sharing ideas enhances joy. I love gentleness and building an environment of noncompetition. I love reading books about the spiritual journey of life. I don’t know the answers or consider myself a guide for others, but I’m playful and curious. I try to keep my judgements of others in check and to remind myself that we are all here doing our best. At times, I can be hypersensitive and this is something I’m trying to have faith and patience with while I continue to grow as an artist. I’ve started writing poetry as another layer of my work. It’s exciting to receive these poems, that match so beautifully, with the visual pictures that come to me.

Katie Dean is an artist and printmaker who is known for her vibrant and unique color palette and her linoleum block prints are influenced by her passion for nature and exploring open spaces. Katie studied art, design and print production at Western Washington University in Bellingham. During this time, she was introduced to letterpress printing and fine art printmaking. After graduating in 2001, she moved to Seattle to begin an inhouse graphic design and marketing job. This was a great opportunity to learn about branding, marketing and business. Her work as taken many twists and turns since then. 

In 2007, she started developing a line of greeting cards to market and sell. Not long into the journey, she became a mother of 2 and decided to divide her time between creative business and motherhood. During the heavy days of being a new mom, she decided to explore her love of printmaking and letterpress as a way to find joy and lightness amidst the responsibilities of parenting. Creative juices flowed and time for experimentation was available. 

Katie’s recent work stems from a desire to tell stories. After reconnecting with the local figure drawing community, she’s begun using block printing techniques as a way to illustrate the complex human form to compliment her current style.  She continues to utilize many of her original art prints as designs for her product-based business, Little Green Design. She continues to raise her kids in Tacoma, Washington, where her studio space remains active and alive.