A group of Dorset Artists worked together during 2004 to produce a new series of original works based on material and artefacts from the Dorset County Museum in Dorchester.

Artists involved included sculptors, writers, painters, potters, landscape and textile artists.

The creation of the new artworks was accompanied by public events and masterclasses by the artists and experts from the Museum.

Throughout the year different groups of artists and experts from the Museum met up to look into the wealth of exhibits and artefacts within the museum.

The works culminated in a great exhibition from October 2004 to January 2005.

The works on show were inspired by exhibits as diverse as pressed flowers and plants, insects, writing by local authors, pottery sherds, jewellery, fossils and clothing.

Another dimension of the project was artwork created outside in the countryside. In this photo, Bill Crumbleholme, the driving force behind of Artyfacts, stands in Thorncombe Woods near Dorchester, at the foot of a huge Butterfly that he and Jon Sloper created at the start of 2004.

Some of the work was figurative, exploring the nature of the subjects in a pure representational manner. Other work presented themes in abstract ways and through lateral thought.

This is one of the exquisite paintings of Roman flora that Sally Pinhey created as part of her response to the Artyfacts experience.

Eileen Sarup explored the geology and the strata of the landscape through her extraordinary new felt works.