FULLY BOOKED
Hardy’s Wessex: Drawing on the ancient past
17 June - 11 July 2022, 10:00am - 1:00pm
A six-week creative course with Helen Garrett
This six-week course led by artist Helen Garrett will take you on a creative journey through Thomas Hardy’s work, inspirations and Dorset Museum’s collections.
Tickets: £140 for 6 weeks, includes tea and coffee and an opportunity to look around the Museum before or after the course sessions. Places are limited.
Programme
- Week 1: 17 June – Material Earth – Geology
Exploring the unique qualities of rocks and fossils from both the artists and the museum’s collection using raw pigments, chalk and pastel techniques with handmade and cotton papers – with a reference to Hardy’s A Pair of Blue Eyes description of a character meeting face to face a fossilized creature. - Week 2: 24 June – The Nature of Trees – with excerpts from The Woodlanders and other writings
A dynamic session with observational studies from branches, bark and leaves, experimental drawing techniques, working with texture, surface pattern, frottage, subtractive techniques, Graphite blocks and pencil. - Week 3: 1 July – The Poetic Imagination – A Journey Through Natural Form
Using the natural form as our starting place and inspiration we will work in an intuitive way allowing our writing to emerge naturally from our sense of connection with the material and the power of the imagination. Materials will include goose feather quills, Chinese ink for writing and illustrations. - Week 4: 8 July – Romantic Landscapes in Art
Hardy’s descriptions have inspired artists to convey scenes from his stories. We will look at those displayed in the Hardy’s Dorset Gallery and touch on the Romantic Art movement creating atmospheric landscapes. We will draw and paint onto colour grounds using sepia inks, red Conte crayons and pencil. - Week 5: 15 July – Drama and The Elements in Hardy’s Writing
Using a wonderfully exciting ink and bleach technique and inspired by the drama of Hardy’s writing, we will play with scale, contrast, tempest and power in our ink paintings. We will draw imagery from Tess of the d’Urbervilles, The Return of the Native and some of Hardy’s best-loved poetry. - Week 6: 22 July – Exploring the Hardy Exhibition
Our last week will offer the opportunity to spend some quality reflective time in the Hardy’s Wessex exhibition; sketching from his personal possessions and other artefacts in the Dorset Museum collection. Using sepia/coloured pencils and our sketchbooks, developing a further study – group reflection time/feedback.
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Opening hours:
Daily: 9.00am - 4.30pm
Sunday: 10.00am - 4.00pm
Bank Holidays: 10.00am - 4.00pm -
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What's On
18 February - 22 June 2023
The Art of Seeing: An exhibition of photographs by Dorchester Camera Club
The Club is delighted to have this opportunity to exhibit some of their members’ prints in the Dorset Museum together with an audio-visual presentation.
Find out more22 March - 25 June 2023
ARTIST ROOMS Louise Bourgeois
Explore the work of Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010), one of the most important figures of modern and contemporary art. This spring Dorset Museum will show a major presentation of her work in this ARTIST ROOMS touring exhibition featuring works jointly owned by Tate and the National Galleries of Scotland.
Find out more29 March - 9 July 2023
PJ Harvey – Orlam
Dorset Museum is now displaying an archive of material relating to PJ Harvey’s verse novel Orlam.
Find out more10 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more17 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more21 June 2023, 2:00pm - 2:45pm
Collections Discovery Centre Tour
Join our Collections Team for an opportunity to explore behind the scenes in the Museum’s Collections Discovery Centre.
Find out more22 June 2023, 5:00pm - 6:30pm
FREE | Museum After Hours
Join us for an opportunity to explore the Museum at this FREE late opening.
Find out more22 June 2023, 7:00pm - 8:30pm
ORIGINS: How the Earth Shaped Human History | Professor Lewis Dartnell
By taking us through millennia of human history, and billions of years into our planet’s past, Professor Lewis Dartnell tells us the ultimate origin story.
Find out more24 June 2023, 10:00am - 12:00noon
Roman Town House Tours
A guided tour of one of the best examples of a Roman Town House in England.
Find out more