An expert craftsman will be visiting Bridport LSi to teach visitors the craft of creating ships-in-bottles.

Alan Rogers, member of the European Association of Ships-in-Bottles, will be conducting a live demonstration to show audiences exactly how its done.

The inspiration for the workshop comes from an interpretation of J.M.W. Turner's painting of West Bay. A quick glance reveals a line of people on the shore who, from a distance, look like a crowd hauling the floundering vessel towards safety.

What's more, Yinka Sonibare, winner of the Turner Prize in 2010, created a giant ship-in-a-bottle for the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square, which remained on display until 2012 and received widespread admiration.

These links, albeit tenuous, sparked the memory of the craze, where tiny model boats are constructed in glass containers by using miniscule ropes, strings and tools. Often, the masts of the ship are rigged and raised up when the boat is already in the bottle, but in certain cases and with the use of specialised long-handled tools, the entire structure is built within the bottle.

Alan will discuss the history of the craft, giving examples of how not just ships but all sorts of objects might find their way into a glass container with a restricted entrance. Known as impossible bottles, the craft is a type of mechanical puzzle and includes any bottle containing an object that does not appear to fit through the bottle's mouth. The traditional ship-in-bottle has been found to date back to 1860.

The European Association of Ships-in-Bottles is a non-profit organisation which was formed nearly 40 years ago. It attracts people fascinated by the intriguing art of bottling ships and other objects, and anyone interested in maritime crafts or mechanical puzzles.

The impossible bottles workshop is a Turner event held in association with Bridport Museum. The town is currently celebrating the return of Turner's sketch of Bridport Harbour, which he made on a visit to the area in the early 1800s. The painting is currently on loan from Bury Art Museum, and Bridport Museum is running an extensive programme of arts-based workshops, classes and talks throughout the summer.

This unique workshop is suitable for children and adults alike, and takes place at 1pm on Saturday, August 10.

The event is free, with a suggestion donation of £5 going towards Dorothy House Hospice and Bridport LSi. Tickets can be collected from LSi Alembic Canteen and Bridport TIC, or booked via the Eventbrite website.