DELVING into museum stores might not be the first inspiration that springs to mind when creating works of art.

Yet for her latest series of stone sculptures, Jennifer Tetlow, who lives in Lastingham, has been particularly inspired by the intriguing Harrison Collection, found in the stores at Ryedale Folk Museum.

The collection spans 500 years of domestic artefacts, and the stone objects that Jennifer has created in response to the artefacts will be on show at the Ryedale Folk Museum from Saturday, September 21, until Sunday, November 3.

“Ryedale Folk Museum holds so many inspiring pieces, and the Harrison Collection is full with beautiful items.

“No sooner had I seen something I thought I would love to work with for the exhibition, then I would see another, and another,” said Jennifer.

“Every item in the museum has a past, tells a story, and has a meaning and significance beyond its initial appearance.

Getting to know the pieces and researching them opens a world rich with tales of the human condition and our endeavour, unfolds the magnificent and macabre in our nature, and reveals the fascinating path that leads us to where we are today,” she said.

The Harrison Collection, described by Antiques Roadshow expert Eric Knowles as “a truly astonishing collection of unusual items”, covers aspects of English everyday life from medieval and Tudor times to the Victorian era. The collection was put together by local brothers Edward and Richard Harrison during nearly five decades before they presented it to Ryedale Folk Museum.

Jennifer was inspired by many items including those made for loved ones, cigar and pipe lighters, a Noah’s Ark toy, alphabet learning books, a worn sink, laundry tubs and worn handles, a tradesman’s tools, vessels such as wood, glass and pottery, a lemon squeezer and Scrimshaw – the name given to scrollwork, engravings and carvings done in bone or ivory.

“I began with the making of small maquettes to work through ideas and made many sketches for pieces,” explained Jennifer.

“The thoughts and ideas kept coming. All those displayed items in the museum, each with their own glorious shapes, curves and sculptural appeal – how on earth to capture that in stone?

“I began to feel a little overwhelmed and stood back a moment to untangle.”

Some pieces that Jennifer has created for her exhibition are carved in a local sandstone, others in rare and unusual British stones to reflect the special nature and uniqueness of items within the collection.

“As a sculptor, part of the appeal of carving in stone is the process, the act of putting a chisel to the surface, the sensation of it ‘cutting’ through and the very physical aspect of shaping a hard, natural raw material,” she said.

Jennifer, who is self-taught, was introduced to the possibilities of carving and sculpting in stone many years ago after living in an area with a strong history of quarrying and tradition of stoneworking, becoming a full-time sculptor in 1999.

Entry to the exhibition, entitled Jennifer Tetlow: Museum As Muse, is free, although museum entry charges apply for the Harrison Collection.

The museum is open seven days a week, 10am to 4.30pm. For further details, visit www.ryedalefolkmuseum.co.uk