KATHRYN DELANEY

Storytelling

Authentic stories told through ink and press

Project I

Patricia Stories

Silkscreen • Hand-pressed • Archival Ink

With roots in Irish-Montreal and Québecois culture Kathryn Delaney grew up immersed in the storytelling and oral history tradition of both. Delaney’s artistic practice expresses a commitment to personal narratives and Feminist notions of empowerment. In 2022, Delaney began to illustrate ‘Patricia’s Stories’ a narrative journey centered on her mother’s self-published memoir Swinging on a Star (2011). Images have been selected from 290 original four-panel pages. A chronological series of large silkscreen prints on black and white Stonehenge paper represent a sequence of real-life events from Patsy’s Stories. Delaney’s process demands experimentation with hand drawn color separations that embrace free-form figurative lines and patterns, evenly toned colors embody her creative expression.

Project II

Birth Series

Woodcut • Lithography • Sugar-lift

My Birth series began with a black monochrome linocut of 12” x 12” on white paper. It was Two Women on a Couch followed by a series of woodcut block prints. The woodcut images represent a global view of fertility goddesses and pregnant women from different eras, and cultures, Irish Shelia – na - gig an African representation of a pregnant woman, an Aztec Goddess and self-portraits of my own birthing experiences. Labor Jeans was produced with the same series of woodcuts block prints on a pair of worn faded denim blue Jeans, symbolizing the hard labor of childbirth.

Pregnancy and childbirth are timeless acts of creation and reproduction, carving wood by hand and reproducing it, is also a primal act of human experience and could be associated to the birth of printmaking as well. As a child, my storyteller mother shared her birth stories with me. She explained that babies usually present head first, but her own birth was a breech birth. She was born, feet first, in 1932. Monica, my storyteller grandmother, shared her story of her difficult labor during the birth of my mother. My artist father shared with me, his belief that the act of creation was an ultimate goal for a human being. I wanted to be both, mother and artist.

During the childbirth of my two children I was accompanied by my midwife, who followed me all through my pregnancy and labor. I felt empowered and supported in the hospital and at home. During my second childbirth experience, I was home with my partner, midwife and my sister who took polaroid photos of the different stages of my birthing experience. On viewing one photo in particular, I was flabbergasted by the image of my baby’s head presenting. I could not believe it. My first thought was: “women around the planet are doing this every day and, yet, we never see this powerful image. Why?” I knew at that moment, one day I would share this birth knowledge, story in my visual artwork.

My birth series recognizes and honors the physical and mental endurance of childbirth labor and acknowledges the courage and strength of birthing mothers, enfants, midwives, fathers, family members, communities, nurses and doctors who assist women around the globe.

In 2003, I was given a Jeune Estampe du Quebec prize and represented Atelier Circulaire in a touring exhibition for my photolithography print titled, Birth Part One inspired by the birth of my second baby.

A second series of six sugar lift prints, based on the same polaroid photos, won a Concordia’s John Topelko (1925–2019) prize in 2004.

Project III

Dots

Paintbrush • Watercolour • Stencil print

My fascination with dot patterns began during a sewing session in Ivujivik, Nunavik, in 2014. All the women present had brought their various sewing projects to work on as we gathered together. Not wanting to be left out and wanting to be in the zone with everyone else. I took out my sketchbook and small water color kit and started drawing then slowly I began to mimic the sewers rhythm of stitching. I began making a deliberative mark with the bottom of the hair on my paint brush so that each dot became a stich. An act of printmaking with a brush! I kept the size and the space between each brush mark identical, eventually creating groupings and movements. I continued over many months with this meditative mark making on white and black paper.

A large dots project grew out of a collaborative group process of recuperating left overs from the digital lab at Atelier Circulaire for our 2025 member’s group exhibition now on tour with CAM touring exhibitions 2026-2027, curated by Dominique Desbien. From that creative experience, I began printing my large dots using digital cast offs as templates, printing the negative space from cuttings that I found in the recycle bin. Using a sponge and a stencil hand printing method with ink, I began to print patterns of dots on paper, resulting in a series of large dot prints.

Every print is a handmade original, created with intention and archival care.

ABOUT

Her Story

Kathryn Delaney
Narrative Artist | Visual Storyteller | Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Kathryn Delaney is a Montreal-based narrative artist whose work lives at the intersection of memory, emotion, and imagination. Through painting and mixed media, she creates visual stories that invite viewers to slow down, reflect, and discover meaning beyond the surface. Each piece becomes a chapter woven with symbolism, texture, and atmosphere where personal experiences meet universal themes of identity, resilience, connection, and transformation.

Rooted in the belief that art is a language of stories, Kathryn’s practice explores the spaces between what is seen and what is felt. Rather than simply depicting a moment, her work builds worlds where every mark, colour, and composition contributes to a larger narrative, encouraging viewers to become active participants in the story unfolding before them.

Drawing inspiration from nature, human relationships, folklore, and the quiet poetry of everyday life, Kathryn crafts immersive visual narratives that linger long after the first encounter. Her work seeks not only to be seen, but to be experienced awakening curiosity, conversation, and emotional connection.

For Kathryn Delaney, every canvas is more than an artwork; it is an invitation into a story waiting to be told.

Kathryn Delaney lives and works in Tiohtià:ke - Mooniyang – Montréal. She has a Master of Fine Arts and a Bachelor in Studio Arts from Concordia University. Awarded the Conseil Québécois de l’Estampe: Award, Jeune Estampe du Québec.

Delaney has a broad experience in culture and visual language in Montreal and Nunavik as an Artist consultant for artist residencies in Akulivik, Inukjuak, Ivujivik, Kangiqsujuaq, Salluit (Nunavik). Diverse and shared histories within communities inspire her creative expression.

Funding from La culture à l’école, ministère de Culture et des Communications du Québec. Grants in research and creation, Aumaaggiivik (Secrétariat des arts du Nunavik), Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ) The Canada Council for the Arts, Reconciliation grant, have made possible her personal and collaborative projects. As co-founder of Illirriavut collective with artists from Ivujivik (Nunavik) and Montréal. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and artist run centers in Montreal, Paris, France, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Toronto, Ontario and Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Her work is in diverse private collections in Québec, Ontario, USA and France and in the Banque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), Montréal.

GALLERY

Stories captured in ink and press

The Pines

Woodland Serenity

Watercolour • Limited Edition

Public Faces

Community Narrative

Printmaking • Stencils • Woodcut

Portraits

Community Narrative

• Stencils

START A REQUEST

Ready to turn your story into a legacy?

If you're looking for art that feels personal, authentic, I'd love to hear from you. Share a bit about the moment or narrative you'd like to capture, and let's begin this artistic journey.

Kathryn Delaney

Narrative Arts

© 2026 Kathryn Delaney

kdelaney332@gmail.com