✺ Karn John ✺
artist, writer, facilitator, mentor + coach
Education
2007 - 2008 University of Wales, Cardiff — PGCE in Further Education: Art History and Visual Culture (Distinction)
2002 - 2006 University of Wales, Aberystwyth — BA (Hons) Art History, with Museum and Gallery Studies (2:1)
Current Projects
2026 - present Marginalia. Co-organiser with Emily Laurens for a new monthly meet-up for artists who want to think, talk and make art together with a focus on critical theory, activism and socially engaged practice. Run at Local Motion, Caerfyddin/Carmarthen.
2025 - present Creative Brew. Founder and facilitator. Creative Brew is a space for neurodivergent artists in rural West Wales to connect, create, and support one another. It offers relaxed in-person sessions at SPAN Arts and online hangouts for creative parallel play, co-working, conversation, and exploration of the futures we want to build together.
2019 - present The NATURAL INK. Project. Founder and facilitator. Facilitating online and in-person seasonal writing, ink and paint making workshops, (Embercombe, Devon. Green Scythe Fair, Somerset. Dove Studios, Somerset. Buddhafield, Somerset. Colby Lodge, National Trust. Narberth Museum. Glasbren CIC.) Researching and developing sustainably made plant-based inks and earth pigment paints from locally gathered materials. Handmaking small batches of inks and artworks for events, markets and stockists. Regular seasonal writing via a Substack newsletter to 600+ audience to share practice. 2.7K followers on Instagram. Featured in Dark Mountain Journal, Simple Things Magazine and Ernest Journal.
August 2025 - present Creative Steps Grant, Arts Council Wales. Awarded second grant to support professional development, working with other local neurodivergent, queer and land-based practitioners. Building resistance and resilience in community-focused practice. Managing budget and organising ongoing collaborations and project development.
July 2025 - present Queer Creatives, SPAN Arts. Member of the core team, steering group and event organiser and facilitator for community arts events run by local LGBTQIA+ artists.
Socially Engaged Community, Creative and Leadership Roles
2015 - Present Buddhafield Charity volunteer. Member of the Decor and Land and Social Change teams, alongside Inclusivity circle. Working to organise and manage key areas of the festival alongside the off-season team organising. Current role: Member of the Peace Keeper team, organising Affinity Space support, on the ground conflict resolution and advocacy.
2024 - 2025 Queering Wales, Connecting People withOn Your Face Collective
2023 Date Nature film participant and artist facilitator contributor for A Queer Date with Nature community event.
2021 - 2022 Christie Animas ‘Fool Camp’ assistant. Devon. Supporting the running of 2 week-long play and process-work camps with the facilitator team.
2014 - 2023 Regular volunteer at land-based community Tinkers Bubble, with a focus on coppicing and forestry, veg growing, community cohesion and domestic care.
2017- 2018 Regular volunteer at Avalon Permaculture Garden.
2016 -2017 Regular volunteer at Rhos Market Garden, Knighton.
2015 - 2017 Traditional Signwriter. Completing commercial and private commissions following training with Christina Watson in Hay on Wye.
2015 Artist Assistant, supporting Melanie Thompson on site-responsive residential project in Mols and Aarhus, Denmark.
2010 - 2014 Light Box CIC, Bristol - Workshop volunteer, workshop freelance facilitator leading to role Head of Learning + Participation and Director (2011-2013). Managing day to day running of public facing community arts project. Organising and supporting volunteer team. Writing and facilitating arts and mental health workshops and courses in community settings. Holding outreach sessions with vulnerable adults within various community support groups. Developing partnership links with third and public sector organisations, staff and clients, and managing volunteer team.
2007 - 2008 Children’s Entertainer at Festinho Festival. Suffolk.
Facilitation + Mentoring
2026 - present Mentor for Creative Steps Artist.
2025 - present Mentor for University of Highlands + Islands MA Arts + Social Practice student.
2025 ‘Natural Ink and Paint Making Workshop’, Narberth Museum, Pembrokeshire.
2025 ‘Introduction to Botanical Ink Making’ public workshops for the National Trust at Colby Woodland Garden, Pembrokeshire.
2025 ‘Celtic Wheel of The Year’ course online exploring seasonal botanical ink-making, ritual and folklore through a Welsh lens.
2025 ‘The Ground Beneath Our Feet’ - local geology and earth pigment workshop in collaboration with Dr Morgan Jones at Glasbren CIC, Carmarthenshire.
2025 ‘Calan Mai Hawthorn Ink-Making’ workshop. Glasbren CIC, Carmarthenshire.
2023 ‘Midwinter Write Club’ day workshop, Wild Goose Space, Bristol.
2023 ‘Seasonal Colour Saturdays’ Ink-making workshops at The Engine Room, Bristol.
2022 Weekend-long NATURAL INK. workshop at Dove Studios, Somerset
2022 - 2024 Earth Pigment Paint making workshops.Green Scythe Fair, Somerset.
2021 ‘Bad Arty Party’ and ‘Creative Cycles’ workshops. Buddhafield Festival, Somerset.
2020 - 2024 ‘Root + Write’ online community writing workshops.
2020 - 2021 ‘Bad Arty Party’ community art-making workshops online.
2020 ‘Root + Write’ workshop. St Dogmaels, Cardigan.
2018‘The Handwritten Word’ in-person weekend workshop. Dove Studios, Somerset.
2018 ‘The Artist’s Way’ 13-week in-person group course. Dove Studios, Somerset
2017 ‘Found Art’ Children’s workshop. The Globe. Hay on Wye.
2017 Art Tutor. Collaborating with Hay on Wye Book Art Trail and a local primary school to facilitate the creation of a student art installation.
2018 ‘Walk Like A River’ workshop.BEEF Studios, Bristol.
2010 - 2011 Awarded place on Engage’s ‘Watch This Space 7’ Gallery education programme. Working in collaboration with Arnolfini, Bristol and local secondary school to create curriculum-focused sessions for A- Level Art Students.
2009 - 2011 Language + Teaching Support Assistant, Various Schools, Bristol
2009 - 2010 Freelance Artist Educator. Arnolfini Art Centre. Bristol. Devising and delivering gallery-based education for schools in relationship with visiting artists and the staff team. Producing educational material for exhibitions.
2009 Community Arts Tutor. Inside Out. Caerphilly, South Wales. Devising and running community-based art workshops and gallery visits for people receiving mental health support in the local area.
2008 ‘What is Art?’workshop. Craft in the Bay, Cardiff.
Funding + Grants
2025 Creative Steps, funded byArts Council, Wales
2025 - 2026A-N Artist Bursary Fund. Artist development grant.
2024 - 2025 Queering Wales, Connecting People. On Your Face Collective.
2024Creative Steps, funded byArts Council, Wales
Training
2026Relational Dynamics Leadership, Coaching and Facilitation training
2025 Creative Evaluation Training with Jane Willis, Bristol.
2025 Disability Access Training with Disability Arts Cymru
2025 Food Hygiene Certificate
Artworks + Exhibitions
2025 - 2026 Poetry as Protest contributor. Narberth Museum and Oriel Y Parc.
2025 QueeringTime week-long residency, Narberth museum. Self led artist residency exploring the theme of queering time in relation to ongoing ecological and social crises.
2025 Tir Cwiar//Queer Land group exhibition at Elysium Gallery. Swansea.
2022 Love and Lossinstallation at Dove Studios Somerset Art Weeks exhibition.
2019 Somerset Art Weeks group exhibition ‘6 Unravelled’ at Dove Studios, Somerset.
2019 Artist in Residence at Dove Studios, Somerset. Part of week-long group residency. Creating site-sensitive installation with found earth pigments and collaborative film in response to ‘Start By Not Knowing’. Exhibited as part of Somerset Art Weeks.
2018 - 2019 Wild Edges site-specific project, Assistant and co-artist to Melanie Thompson generating writing, performance, film and installation material for community orchard event. Somerset.
2014 - 2015 Solo Artist, Unraveled By Hand, A 3-month site-responsive installation project in my neighbour’s home using found objects exploring theme of sense-making after abrupt change. Bristol
2014 Short film ‘one mot’. Completed as part of the Intro to Digital Video course at Chapter Arts Centre.
2012 Solo Artist, ‘28 Days Notice’ home-based installation exploring repetitive acts of noticing and making. Easton Arts Trail, Bristol Residencies
References
Available on request