Christopher Dresser - Inspired by Nature

The Dorman Museum houses the largest collection of objects by Victorian industrial designer Christopher Dresser, and the largest collection of local Linthorpe Art Pottery, of which Dresser was Art Superintendent for some time. This arty workshop will build students appreciation for this cutting-edge designer who had close ties to our locality. Students will get up close to his work in our Dresser and Linthorpe galleries and explore Dresser’s inspirations, using nature and symmetry as jumping off points for their own fantastic designs and stencilled wallpaper prints.

Arts Award Discover + Explore:

This workshop can be offered as a full day visit with the add-on of an Arts Award Discover or Explore. Arts Award is a nationally recognised qualification certified by Trinity College London that boosts students’ mastery of art skills, helps them learn about local, national, and international artists and believe in their skills as a creative. Dorman Museum can offer Arts Award Discover-in-a-day for our Christopher Dresser: Inspired by Nature workshop or a more advanced Arts Award Explore which could be part of a larger project back in school. Dorman Museum’s Learning team are qualified Arts Award assessors and will deliver the learning and assessment. Student certificates do need to be paid for upon completion. The Tees Valley Museums Group may be able to help your school with the cost of this, so please speak to the Learning Officer for more information.

Session aim:

• Develop artistic skills in drawing and printing through the exploration of the work of Christopher Dresser, his love of nature, and his link to our local area.

Session objectives:

• Discover the work of Victorian industrial designer Christopher Dresser and compare him to his contemporary William Morris.
• Explore the Linthorpe Art Pottery and Christopher Dresser galleries at the Dorman Museum.
• Demonstrate creative flair and knowledge of symmetry in the production of a wallpaper repeat print.

Curriculum links (Department for Education):

• History: “a study of an aspect or theme in British history that extends pupils’ chronological knowledge beyond 1066; changes in an aspect of social history”. [The Industrial Revolution]
• Art & Design: “to create sketch books to record their observations and use them to review and revisit ideas”.
• Art & Design: “to improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including drawing, painting and sculpture with a range of materials [for example, pencil, charcoal, paint, clay]”.
• Art & Design: “about great artists, architects and designers in history”.
• Maths: “identify and describe the properties of 2-D shapes, including the number of sides and line symmetry in a vertical line”.
• Maths: “order and arrange combinations of mathematical objects in patterns and sequences”.
• Maths: “use mathematical vocabulary to describe position, direction and movement, including movement in a straight line and distinguishing between rotation as a turn and in terms of right angles for quarter, half and three-quarter turns (clockwise and anticlockwise).”
• This session is a fantastic opportunity for any schools working towards their Artsmark Award. We can offer the workshop as a full day visit with an Arts Award Discover or Explore to support your learning.