“Kalvak is a born storyteller. She relates the adventures of her life, and [traditional stories] with vigor and originality.” 

—1973 Holman Island print catalogue

Regardless of the time of year and what else is going on, there are few things that delight me as much as looking at beautiful graphic art, and Helen Kalvak, CM, RCA (1901–1984) certainly produced a lot. Although she didn’t start formally drawing until after she turned 60 and moved to Ulukhaqtuuq, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT, over 150 of her drawings were made into prints that were featured within the community’s annual print collections—the largest body of work published within them. 

Helen Kalvak Polar Bears among Ice Floes (1966) Stencil 45.7 x 61 cm REPRODUCED WITH THE PERMISSION PUBLIC TRUSTEE FOR THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES COLLECTION CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION COURTESY CCCA CANADIAN ART DATABASE © THE ARTIST

This print, Polar Bears among Ice Floes (1966), was released just five years after Kalvak started to make drawings. My first reaction to the piece was amusement, with the arms of the bear outstretched to jump onto or over the floe putting me in mind of the nursery rhyme of the cow jumping over the moon. Aesthetically, the flowy blue ink matches the suggestion of water in the background, otherwise hinted at through negative space rather than other details, in a technique echoed in works by other artists working in the Ulukhaqtuuq Arts Centre (formerly the Holman Print Shop), like Peter Aliknak Banksland.

Helen Kalvak Drawing for the print Polar Bear among Ice Floes (1966) COURTESY NORTHERN EXPRESSIONS © THE ARTIST

But what is most remarkable about this work is actually what is obscured by the print: Kalvak’s linework. The drawing for the print uses outlines alone to delineate bears and floes and, although done with some form of pen, ink, or marker, it doesn’t have wobbly or unsure lines. It’s possible that Kalvak was tracing over a pencil sketch she’d made to define her lines, but even to trace those lines so deftly is a difficult skill to attain.

Helen Kalvak The Little Hunter (1982) Stonecut 55.9 x 73.7 cm COURTESY CANADIAN ARCTIC PRODUCERS © THE ARTIST

The Little Hunter (1982) shows more of Kalvak’s linework, as thin white negative spaces reveal the garments, people, tools, and even iglu blocks within the print, stark against graphic black ink. This print reminds me of playing in the snow as a child and building snow forts, as most children do if they live in a place that gets enough snow. But the child here is beyond idle fort building, instead cutting and lining up iglu blocks, aping the shelter their parents built. They’ve run inside—perhaps to warm up or show their parent what they’ve made—and interrupted someone, likely mom, in the middle of sewing. Is mom preparing for the day her little hunter grows up and will need sturdy winter gear to keep safe on the tundra? Or perhaps she is patching and preparing her gear to do some hunting of her own.

Helen Kalvak Summer Scene with Flowers and Insects (1970) Felt pen 45.5 x 60.8 cm COLLECTION WINNIPEG ART GALLERY-QAUMAJUQ © THE ARTIST

Summer Scene with Flowers and Insects (1970), unlike the previous works, allows you to see Kalvak’s hand directly, even the strokes of her felt pen as she fills in blocks of colour. The drawing carries tension in the form of symmetrical elements offset by deliberate breaks: the central line on which the blue butterfly and purple bug are positioned is a vertical axis for reflectional symmetry (sometimes called line or mirror symmetry), and the bug and leaf constellations on the right also feature reflectional symmetry across multiple axes in various angles to one another. 

The humans in the image, however, stand apart; they are asymmetric both with the right side of the drawing and in the way they are individually positioned. Is Kalvak using symmetry to posit harmony in the natural world, with humans positioned as disruptors? One of the humans is literally poking nature with a stick, an almost archetypal image of disruption. Whether true or not, the way Kalvak has penned in her natural subject matter with simplified geometric shapes and symmetric axes—when nature is more often represented in art with organic shapes and asymmetrical compositions—keeps me looking longer.

If you enjoyed Kalvak’s work, you may also enjoy work by other printers and graphic artists from Ulukhaqtuuq, such as Peter Aliknak Banskland, Elsie Klengenberg, and Mary Okheena.

This Artist Spotlight originally appeared in the March 2026 Inuit Art Quarterly newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter here and be the first to receive new spotlights!