FINAL preparations are being made for an art exhibition geared to challenge all five senses.

The show, Expanding the Edges, aims to banish the idea that art in a gallery is purely a visual experience.

Five artists showcasing their work at the Cleveland Crafts Centre, Middlesbrough, from Saturday, include an automata maker, a weaver and two woodworkers who have experimented with form and texture, a paper maker looking at emotional responses and a potter taking up the sense of taste.

The potter, Morgen Hall, worked with children from Middlesbrough's Beverley School for the deaf in designing decorative tableware.

The youngsters made line drawings of fruit to be used as stencils to decorate plates.

Choosing images of sign language they photographed fruit under a microscope and used shapes based on vegetables to create patterns as well as looking at the design of tableware.

Julia Palmer, craft curator at the Crafts Centre, said: "The youngsters have produced a phenomenal amount of work and it's been a wonderful experience for them to work with an internationally recognised potter.

"Equally, Morgen herself was inspired by the children to produce the work Summer Tea Service. The combination of Morgen's influence and experience and the youngsters own natural talent are a highlight of the exhibition."

"I think that we will see evidence of the children's effect on Morgen Hall's work for some time to come," she said.