Kathryn “Katie” Marie Donovan was born in Concord, Massachusetts on 13 January 1995. She was the oldest child of Kristen and Mark Donovan. Katie experienced a complicated birth, suffering health complications in her early years. Her strength unconquerable, she persevered. She grew up in Westford, Acton, and Marlborough before residing in Stow, Massachusetts for the rest of her life. Katie was Deaf, and her first language was American Sign Language (ASL); she and her family and friends used ASL and English to communicate. Her family attributes her visual abilities and sensitivity for color to her identity as a Deaf artist.
           Mark works as a software developer at MEDITECH; Kristen, as an art teacher at the Groton School. Kristen inspired in Katie a love for art that flourished throughout her life. Kristen homeschooled Katie from an early age. Her favorite subject was World Cultures—particularly Ancient Egypt and the Indigenous peoples of North America. A visual learner, Katie produced elaborately decorated trifold dioramas and art projects inspired by these cultures.
         Later, her siblings, John and Emma Donovan, were born in 2002 and 2006, respectively. Katie deeply loved her siblings. She loved to watch Emma play basketball; her family called her “Cheerleader.” Her cousins, Lauryn, Caroline, and Lily; Auntie Carol; and Uncle James lived a short walk down the street. Katie considered her cousins like siblings and visited them frequently to play silly games where she was often the center of the activity. Katie loved her grandmother, Marie, known affectionately as Grammy. Katie and Grammy liked to do arts and crafts together and text late into the night. Katie’s greatest joy was spending time with her family and friends. Katie, her siblings, and her cousins enjoyed playing together in Frye Island, Maine, where Katie developed an appreciation for nature. Flowers, animals, and birds feature extensively in Katie’s oeuvre.
          In 2007, Katie’s mother, Kristen, began teaching art classes at their home for the neighborhood children. As the number of students increased from the first three, classes moved from the dining room table to the basement. The students loved to visit Katie during class. She considered Kristen’s students great friends and often gave them artwork as gifts. Still more students joined Kristen’s classes, so she and her family established the Donovan Art Studio in the center of Katie’s hometown of Stow. The “Studio,” as the students called it, consisted of two classrooms, a gallery space, and an office where Katie spent time teaching and making art with her siblings. Kristen then opened her studio to the senior citizens of the Council on Aging in Stow. Katie loved spending time with her friends from the COA, who showered her with love and gifts all the time.
          At the end of every school year, Kristen held an art show exhibiting students’ artwork. Katie always sat in a chair in the center of the festivities, greeting her friends with a smile and a wave. When Katie turned 20 in 2015, her family held an art show for her at the Studio. Her friends and family attended and were excited to find that Katie had drawn portraits of each of them. Katie was proud to have shared her artwork with her friends and family.
          During the COVID-19 pandemic, Katie enjoyed her time at home with her family. She enjoyed walks in nature, pulled along in her iconic red wagon. She took photographs of wildlife from which she drew her marker masterpieces, including squirrels, rabbits, and her dogs. Katie produced hundreds of drawings during this time, and Kristen hung each of them up on the living room wall, filling the room with a garden of colorful flowers and a menagerie of happy animals.
          Tragically and unexpectedly, Katie passed away on 1 January 2022. She is remembered for the love she shared with her family, friends, and everyone she met. Katie was pure. She made everyone around her a better person. She could only love and saw bad in no one. She loved nature, flowers, High School Musical, the Twilight series, Barbies, dogs, animals, birds, art, her family, her friends, Frye Island, swimming, purple, Halloween, Christmas, parties, restaurants, crafts, basketball, spicy food, the American Girl dolls and books, and drawing. She was silly and brave, confident and loving. Ask anyone she knew, and they will say, “I will never meet a person as amazing as Katie.”
          I am Katie’s brother, John Donovan, and I was lucky to have her in my life. She taught me the value of love and kindness more profoundly than anyone. To help preserve her art and legacy as an artist gives me great pride. Like a garden of flowers, Katie’s artworks will astound by their combined effect and provide deep contemplation individually. To be that garden’s caretaker has been my proudest honor. I hope viewers will share my joy in viewing Katie’s artwork and learning about her life.
          This is the first attempt to collect, photograph, and exhibit the complete works of the artist Katie Donovan. We are delighted to present an astounding 1380 pieces. Enjoy, and always choose love. 

JD