We visited the artists and makers at Studio 48 at St Michael's, Jenny Penney and Fiona Neylan, as they prepared to exhibit for Dorset Art Weeks.

Jenny Penney creates sculpted landscapes - a name given by her as it's not thought anyone else does these - as well as oil paintings and photography.

"I've done a bit of art all my life but never to the stage of having a studio and I got a studio about three years ago, but I have been in Dorset Art Weeks for many years before that," she said.

But it was photography that came first for Jenney out of her mediums.

She added: "I used to work in the countryside and would take lots of pictures of coastal scenes and countryside scenes so that probably came first.

"I then moved on to a bit of oil painting, but in the last seven years I've been doing the sculpted landscapes, and I don't think anyone else does it. I start off with a drawing and then I compile a sculpted landscape. I get mount card and layer it up, cutting meticulously, lots of little bits and I layer them up. The finished result they become a little bit more 3D.

"What I usually do is go out and draw a little bit on site, take photographs and compile my picture from there. There's a lot of squinting and trying to get the light, shade and contrasting colours, so there's quite a lot involved.

"My inspiration mostly comes from working in the countryside, coastal images and the wonderful landscape that we have in Dorset - you can't beat it really."

Fiona Neylan is a milliner, who has also recently got back into art and watercolours.

"I have been doing hats, and doing up hats, since 2008," she said. "My grandmother was a milliner and had a shop in Henley-on-Thames and my mother an aunt worked in there and took it over. They also used to do up hats so I learnt a bit growing up.

"It was something that was part of my life but I never thought I would do hats because I went off and studied fine art and sculpture at art college.

"It was later on when I had children that I found a box of old hats, but they were beautiful quality, old vintage felt hats, but they hadn't been shaped, and that sparked my interest. I looked into how to shape hats and went on a couple of courses. I found all that really interesting and I started making my own hats."

Fiona has also rediscovered her love of drawing and painting, which visitors will also be able to see if they visit the studio during Dorset Art Weeks.

She added: "I felt I haven't had enough time to do it because I have been doing hats for quite a while. I felt I needed to branch out and do more drawing and painting and I have started doing watercolours now and I want to tie it in and bring watercolours into my hats."

Fiona buys in some of her hats and enjoys decorating them and also has a range of bags, scarves and dresses to compliment the hats.

"I can make hats from scratch but there's a lot of work involved and I've done quite a lot over the years, so at the moment I am enjoying decorating them.

"I try and have a variety of hats - special occasion hats, wedding hats, sun hats, everyday hats, rain hats, berets, straw hats, Panamas."

Studio 48 - take the entrance off St Michael's Lane and go through the car park, it is up some metal stairs above antique shops - will be open every day during Dorset Art Weeks - May 22 to June 6 - from 10am to 4.30pm.

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