Life-drawing studio at Dorset Centre for Creative Arts
Have you ever imagined a life-drawing class with a dinosaur for a model? How about carving Jurassic creations from willow, or out of hard Portland limestone?
Clay pliosaur from Creative Clay for All
Well, imagine no longer, as Dippy on Tour: A Natural History Adventure takes to the Dorset Centre for the Creative Arts this Saturday, 21 April. Organised by the Jurassic Coast Trust alongside the Centre’s Director Sarah Drew, the day will feature an eclectic mix of activities in all sorts of creative and artistic disciplines. Participants can carve a dino footprint, help build a dinosaur sculpture, make a clay dinosaur with Debbie from Creative Clay for All, and construct their own Jurassic-styled landscape to put them in.
There’ll also be a very special guest on show – a replica 3D-printed skull of Dippy! On loan from the Natural History Museum, Dippy’s plasticised skull has been seen by over 15,000 people in Dorset and East Devon, touring libraries, museums and other venues as part of the iconic specimen’s visit to the Jurassic Coast. At Dip into Arts and Crafts, you can have a go creating a life-like sketch of Dippy’s skull, using the Centre’s life-drawing studio and canvases. It’s sure to produce some fascinating interpretations!
Rocks at Portland Bill. Oil on canvas. © Colin Bentley.
In the Centre’s cafe there’ll be a small display of artwork from Colin Bentley, an East Devon-based artist working on a three-year artistic collaboration with the Jurassic Coast Trust. Colin will be showcasing beautiful landscape paintings from across West Dorset, as a tantalising preview of what’s to come in his major exhibition planned for later this year.
Purbeck Rocks, part of the new Jurassic Range
Also on-site will be the Jurassic Coast Trust’s Lead Business Partners Purbeck Ice Cream, showing off their new Jurassic Range, part proceeds from which go to the Trust to help look after our unique coastline. With the recent, long-awaited warm weather, now is the perfect time to try out a Dig-A-Saurus, Purbeck Rocks or Ammonite Bites for yourself! Cool off and support our World Heritage Site at the same time, what could be better!
