Kathryn John is one of those people that the minute I met her down by the bridge in the most rural parts of Pembrokeshire, I knew I would get on with her like a house on fire. I'd been driving aimlessly for 40 minutes trying to find her place. I was in the middle of Storm Francis that was properly bashing the massive oaks around. They were towering over my car on the narrowest of country lanes. No two vehicles would be able to pass each other,  and I was dreading to meet a fellow storm chaser. The debris of branches and leaves made my car skid down sideways on the 45° angle hills. It was a bit hairy few times, I wasn't exactly lost, but I just couldn't find her place and with no mobile reception to use the phone. After stopping and asking for directions a third time at a farmhouse, I finally found it.

 This trip had been one of those on the whim decisions to drive to Wales for an impromptu getaway. But as I had started to plan and put together a personal project it would have been madness to be so close to Kathryn and not try and meet up, as I had hoped to 

photograph her for it.

Kathryn is an artist, writer, ink maker and educator. We had met on Instagram over our love for natural ink making and experimenting.

We had so much in common, our chatter didn't stop. Kathryn's artist studio had the best energy ever, and it was truly off-grid. The simple, slow life. A place to breath and not rush, not being interrupted by phones, social media - only Storm Francis, it was absolute heaven.

We looked at her sketches, inks, artwork, shared ideas, experiences, drank tea and went picking acorns from a massive branch that had just fallen next to the compost toilet. I couldn't have been happier. This visit was precisely what I needed. 

You can find out more about Kathryn's practice from here.

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