Prehistory brought to life at Cotswold Water Park this summer (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Prehistory brought to life at Cotswold Water Park this summer

10:15am Monday 6th August 2012 in News

ANYONE looking for something original and unusual to do over the summer holidays should make a visit to the Gateway Centre in the Cotswold Water Park to see three giant fossils, made from clay, wool and willow.

Three artists, Julie Fowler, Liz Lancashire and Susan Early have created these larger-than-life pieces thanks to funding the Arts Council and the Ernest Cook Trust.

By engaging different community groups, including 13 schools, 12 day centres and care homes, Julie Liz and Susan have hosted workshops and enlisted the help of a wide range of people aged from 4 - 90, including knitting workshops at the Gateway Centre where a group of local ladies help knit the guts of a trilobite.

Liz Lancashire's trilobite is a rather wacky and imaginative take on this ancient creature. "Mine is a girl trilobite," she says. "She is carrying eggs and is in full mating regalia. The whole egg section is in bright pink, she has a ra-ra skirt and is sulphur yellow in places. I have had great fun making the trilobite's guts, which can be viewed on special open days when I will let people see inside."

Susan Early's willow ammonite has been crafted from brown willow, and at a metre high, it has a diameter of 2.5 metres, and is tinged with blue lights.

Julie Fowler is a qualified ceramic artist who has worked with clay for more than 30 years - her enormous ammonite is crammed with poems, messages and creatures from the Jurassic era, all combining to make a stunning interactive piece.

These fossils have a wealth of stories to tell about prehistoric life on earth and about the way we are treating our planet today.

The Unearthed exhibition is at the Gateway Centre, South Cerney, from Tuesday, August 7 until Saturday, August 18. As well as the fossils on display there is an Unearthed quiz (£1 per entry) available from the Gateway Centre, to investigate the sea-faring, mud-slurping nitty-gritty of how these creatures lived. The exhibition has been brought to the Cotswold Water Park by the In Our Element Arts programme of the Cotswold Water Park Trust.

Once it leaves the Water Park it will travel around the county at various locations. Look out for the children's art workshops to be arranged in tandem with this event, see waterpark.org for more information.