Lou Tonkin’s Craft Workshops at The Lost Gardens

Lou Tonkin is a Cornish Textile Artist & printmaker living in the nearby village of Gorran Haven.

‘I studied Illustration at Falmouth College of Art  2000-2003 and have worked as a self-employed artist  since 2004 on various different projects.

I have a real passion for sustainable materials, I love to re-use & recycle, most of the materials I create with have been used somewhere else before like my towering piles of old fabric & wool I use to make Artworks. I collect wool from the hedgerows & I started a project a couple of years ago called The Cornish Wool Project to try to source materials as close as possible to where I work which helps environmentally but also adds value & use to our local materials.

I absolutely LOVE the Lost Gardens of Heligan, the natural & worked environment already forms a large part of my inspiration as an artist most things I make with have been used somewhere else before like my towering piles of old fabric & wool I use to make Artworks. I’m really looking forward to the use of the wool fibres produced at Heligan as part of my daily working practice.

I will be using my work space to create artworks & products to sell but I will also be running workshops. Please contact me or drop in to find out about workshop times, this can either be one-one or as a group, perhaps as a morning workshop with lunch in the wonderful café after or come & make with me over an afternoon tea.'

Lou can be found in her craft workshop Monday – Friday 10-3 during term time and is always happy to talk about her working practice so please feel free to pop in for a chat and to explore her work.