Karn

☽ Hello! ☾ Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Karn (they/them), a queer, neurodivergent artist living in West Wales. ✺ Thank you for being here ✺ The community that I found here on Instagram has nourished me in glorious ways. I am, however, continually feeling worn by the algorithm negotiation and dodging a bombardment of advertising campaigns. I would like to, therefore, invite you over to a different corner of the internet, which is growing and evolving into a place I am really proud of. My newsletter, currently named INKLINGS, is hosted on Substack and allows a direct link between me and you, with offerings, writing, and seasonal updates straight to your inbox. This is where I will periodically share new work, keep you informed on my upcoming workshops and give insights into my various areas of research. If you are interested in this, you can sign up at - link in bio. See you over there. ✺ Warm winter wishes ✺ ☽KJ☾

We had a great time at the first Marginalia. Diolch yn fawr iawn/thank you to all who came, shared, discussed and made art. Join us next time, 6 - 8pm on the 25th of May, at Local Motion Carmarthen. Please book to receive the prompt. @_karnjohn #marginalia #criticaltheory #activism #sociallyengagedpractice #art

🌼🔥 CALAN MAI 2026🔥🌼 Every year, we gather together to celebrate the coming of Summer with an extra special Calan Mai celebration - it’s become a big part of the Glasbren calendar and one of our favourite ways to welcome you all to the farm! This year, we’ll be continuing our annual tradition of Maypole dancing, gathering Hawthorn blossom and boughs of flowers to decorate the spaces, and lighting the May fires. Thanks to support from the @tnlcommunityfund , we have an excited programme of activities planned, including Hawthorn Ink Making with land-based artist @_karnjohn , @little_stewards activities for children, a plant sale, food from the fire with local chef Deri Reed @ethicalchef and @ceginhedyn and and really special evening of music, storytelling and fire to round things off. We’ll be joined by storyteller Angharad Wynne @dreamingtheland and musician Simmi Singh @simviolin for an extra special dive into the stories and music of Wales and the spirit of Calan Mai and the coming of Summer. We’d love you to join us for all of part of the programme..... BOOK TICKETS at the link in our bio.

〇 Zine-making 〇 I have been hand-making zines for over a decade. Each small booklet is a gathering of found papers, images and words, and more recently, a way of showcasing the wonder of natural ink.  Each bottle and bundle of ink I have ever sold or gifted at workshops, events, markets and online have come with a little 12-page A4 zine booklet. Each contains a story of the ink, some in(k)spiration of how to use the inks yourself - an honouring and celebration not just of the end product but of the joy of the process.  This most recent zine that I have made as part of the limited edition winter bundle with Hawthorn and Willow Inks, is a firm favourite. An evolution of the form into something so slow and small and delight-filled, well… I just love it.  Each zine features mini ink works I have made with the inks and information on the strong and supportive plant allies that are Hawthorn and Willow. It’s a little pocket-book conversation to accompany each bundle.  These winter bundles, along with the Oak Gall and Copper Pipe bundles, are currently available over on my website. They also come with stick pens and a selection of cards and paper for you to use with your inks. *Paper to inks is like chutney to cheese - they relate in different ways to each other and make for a medley of interesting flavours.  Shop through the link in my bio 🌿

▵Make Your Own Plant Inks at Home▵  Beginning to make your own plant inks at home can feel like a daunting task.  Where to begin? What do I need?!  And… ✺You feel the call to buy less and make more.  ✺You want to embrace a slower and more sustainable creative practice.  ✺You love nature and want to learn more about plants and the place where you live. This is why I began putting together these ink-making-at-home kits for folks. They have everything you need to get started… just add plants and a saucepan.  Each kit contains:  * 4 colour-shifting modifiers that make the plant colour alchemy pop (*to change plant colours, you can add gentle acids and alkalines for exciting results) * Gum arabic binder  * 3 bottles with sticky labels for when you’re ready to bottle up your inks  * A bottle of copper pipe blue ink to get your started  * A hand whittled stick pen and glass pipette for working with ink on paper  * A Khadi paper sample and ten recycled cards and envelopes  * 2 digital workbooks: An in-depth ink-making recipe booklet, and the Seasons and Cycles workbook. * Plus a cheeky little paper zine and note cards for your inkspiration. all wrapped up in a box and posted to your door. Using less plastic paint and mass-produced supplies not only helps to build a more ecologically sound crafting/arting/writing/noodling practice, it also connects us more with the natural world and ourselves through the making process.  The alchemy doesn’t just happen on the page.  Link to all inks and kits in my bio 🌿

❄ Limited Edition Winter Bundles ❄ 🔹Oak Gall + Copper 🔹  I have fallen in love with labelling and bottling inks again.  Last year, I had a couple of stamps made to make stickers for my bottles, and while this shortened the time it took to label each bottle of ink, it also lost a little of the ceremony of slowly preparing ink to wind its way to a new home, a new hand. After reconnecting with this element of the process by bringing together the Hawthorn and Willow inks in a wintering ritual, I have now spread the love into the Oak Gall and Copper Pipe inks, too.  All made with materials found and foraged from here in south Pembrokeshire, West Wales. The galls from the ageing oak in my garden, and the copper pipe from my late father’s shed.  With 186 miles of coastline in this county, I wanted to send a little of the beach along with each bundle, with the addition of shell bottle charms.  In this, the darkest and most liminal of seasons, a little extra care and attention to detail in each offering.  With a hand-carved Hazel stick pen, Khadi paper and a stash of recycled card with envelopes, you have everything you need to get started with experimenting with the inks and sharing your noodling with others.  A perfect gift for a nature-loving, creatively curious loved one.  Each bundle comes with a Colour from the Compost zine sharing a recipe for making pink ink from Avocado skins and stones, and can also be used for beetroot, onion skins, pomegranate skins and old tea bags!  Link to shop in bio 🌿

ↂ MAKING BY HAND AND HEART ↂ Making colour with plants is a slow and satisfyingly sensory process. Seasonal. Simple. Sacred. All of the S words. Unleashing these inks on the page and watching them do their thing is a whole other thing. The initial colour on the page can be one thing, but over time as this living colour responds to the air, as it oxidises, a deepening and emerging occurs. It never fails to delight and intrigue. Working with these plants, with these inks is a collaboration with the other than human. They tap into the deep nature within and without. Offered in slow solidarity with all hearts everywhere. A limited edition batch of these inks is now available on my webshop, link in bio

✺ HAWTHORN + WILLOW INKS✺
 As Calan Gaeaf / Samhain came to greet us I was hanging out with Willow and Hawthorn. These inks on the page, with added colour magic modifiers (citric acid, sodium carbonate, iron rust water) fill my heart. As two plants that are used in traditional herbal medicine for the heart, inflammation, heartbreak and grief this time begs for their sweet and steadying allyship. I have crafted some bottles of these medicinal inks for sharing and they’re now available for preorder over on my webshop, link in bio 

Image 1: Willow Ink on paper
Image 2: Hawthorn Ink on paper

☽ PREORDER NEW WINTER INKS Hawthorn and Willow  In honour of the seasonal turning, Calan Gaeaf / Samhain and the tenderness of winter. Over recent weeks, I have been slowly returning to these plant friends, clumsily asking to gather branches, not quite knowing how to listen to the response, but doing my best to hear. The inks have been simmering and steeping slowly over days. The pace of this mirrors the longed-for pace of the days ahead. Gently imbuing this sacred colour with as much attention, space and care as possible. A fresh zine (little booklet) has been made to accompany these bottled inks, filled with inkwork and care-filled words. These two plants are allies for this tender-hearted time of the year, for the darkness and grief that is so naturally with us. I feel moved and enthused by the prospect of sharing these new special ink bundles with you.  You can preorder these bundles over on my webshop now, and they will be posted out to you very soon. Link in bio

You are warmly invited to join me, Karn John, in this newly formed in-person and digital space to share your creative practice in an informal way, and explore the kind of future you would like to see in our community. Following the hugely successful inaugural Brew-times, our next hang outs will be held online on 3rd + 17th November, and in-person at @spanartsnarberth on 10th + 24th November, all 5-7pm. You are welcome to attend any / all of the dates and can join for as little or long as you want. These sessions are offered on a contribute-what-you- can, no questions asked, sliding scale basis. £5 - £15. Not being able to contribute financially does not exclude you from joining. Sign-up form + more information through the link in my bio! * You do not need to be formally diagnosed to attend.

Join me for a Natural Ink and Paint Making Workshop 🍂 at Narberth Museum, SA67 7AG 🍂 on Saturday 18th October from 10am - 4pm 🍂 Spend the day learning how to make your own art materials from found and foraged plants, earth and metals. Together we shall explore the seasonal alchemy of botanical ink-making with autumnal berries and oak galls, alongside working with deep time earth pigments to create paints. You will leave with your own cluster of handmade materials and newfound skills to continue playing at home. 🍂 Cost: £95 per person Booking at /whats-on/ or through the link in my bio. 🍂

Are you a neurodivergent artist living in rural West Wales? Would you like to hang out with other neurodivergent artist folks in a relaxed and informal way? Hello, I’m Karn (they/them), I am looking to meet folks and create mutually supportive spaces for connection and creative practice tending. The vision for Creative Brew is to grow a supportive community for chatting, co-working, body doubling and creative sound boarding to help us connect, root and flourish.   You will also be invited to share about your practice in an informal way, and explore the kind of future you would like to see in our community. The inaugural Brew-times will be held in-person on 1st October at SPAN Arts, The Towns Moor, Moorfield Rd, Narberth, SA67 7AG and remotely via Zoom on 8th October. Sign up link: /forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMevBqjSN9220wuAFffuKVKJuSUg4yofdD1oonk-QdqYLwCQ/viewform Full details: /creative-brew When? in-person on 1st October 5-7pm SPAN Arts, Narberth, Remote meet up via Zoom on 8th October 5-7pm +++ Ydych chi'n artist niwrowahanol yn byw yng nghefn gwlad gorllewin Cymru? Hoffech chi gymdeithasu gydag artistiaid niwrowahanol eraill mewn ffordd ymlaciol ac anffurfiol? Helo, Karn ydw i (nhw/hwy), rwy'n gobeithio cyfarfod â phobl a chreu mannau cyd-gefnogol ar gyfer cysylltiad a chefnogaeth i arfer greadigol. Y weledigaeth ar gyfer Creative Brew yw tyfu cymuned gefnogol ar gyfer siarad, cydweithio, dyblu corff a seinfyrddio creadigol i'n helpu ni i gysylltu, sefydlogi a ffynnu. Byddwch hefyd yn cael eich gwahodd i rannu gwybodaeth am eich arfer mewn ffordd anffurfiol ac archwilio’r math o ddyfodol yr hoffech ei weld yn ein cymuned. Cynhelir y digwyddiadau agoriadol wyneb yn wyneb ar Hydref 1af yn Adeilad Celfyddydau SPAN, Gwaun y Dref, Heol Moorfield, Arberth, SA67 7AG Ac o bell trwy Zoom ar Hydref 8fed. Dolen ymuno: /forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMevBqjSN9220wuAFffuKVKJuSUg4yofdD1oonk-QdqYLwCQ/viewform Manylion llawn: /creative-brew Pryd? wyneb yn wyneb ar Hydref 1af 5-7pm Celfyddydau SPAN, Arberth, Cyfarfod o bell trwy Zoom ar Hydref 8fed. 5-7pm