Permission to Paint

Kathryn Margaret Holford led a remarkable life as an accomplished artist, sculptor, and award-winning international designer. Born on June 7, 1962, in Fen Ditton, Cambridge, England, Kathryn’s artistic journey began under the alias Katy Holford. Accepted to the RCA (Royal Academy of Arts), she demonstrated exceptional talent, earning recognition early in her career and was awarded the Rosenthal Young Designer of the Year Award in 1988. Later, in 2016 and at the peak of her career in glass, she changed direction and dedicated herself to fine art. This book is an illustration of what happened next.

Kathryn M Holford is represented
by Fen Ditton Gallery, Cambridge

• fendittongallery.com
• kathrynmholford.com
• katyholford.com

In 2017 I left England to live in France. ‘Nous tournons la page’, as the French say. Mark would write, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Maybe continue my glass sculpture, but I knew I needed a new creative direction. I discovered a latent desire to paint. Indeed, it was so hidden that when it came out, I was shocked, and the question that came up was, ‘Am I allowed?’. This desire had been pushed down so deep when I was very young that it took some 50-odd years of life, therapy and a need for a life change to surface.