Carol — who attended Forest Town Primary, Garibaldi Comprehensive and Mansfield School of Art –– moved to the Scottish capital at 19 to study at the Edinburgh College of Art.

And after graduating as a tapestry artist in 1988, Carol (42) began running art and prayer workshops throughout Scotland before completing a Spiritual Direction course in 2000.

But finding it difficult to choose between a career within the church or as an artist, Carol set about finding a job that would combine both her faith and her love of art.

Said Carol: "I wanted to pull together my faith and creative side but there were not any jobs within the church that I could see myself doing, so I had to make up a job to include the two.

"In 2003, I set up a charitable trust called Soul Marks in Edinburgh –– which is a Christian organisation committed to furthering the use of visual arts to express and inspire faith in God.

"I wasn't sure how well it would be received at first but decided to put it out there and see what happened."

But Carol need not have worried, as churches and communities throughout Britain soon began to get in touch with the charity to find out more about its work.

And one of the groups interested happened to be Ladybrook Church in Mansfield –– helping to take Carol back to her home roots.

"It was great to go back to where I grew up and work with Ladybrook church and children from some of the local schools," she said.

"During my time at the church we produced two large textile hangings while the children made leaves and water droplets to attach to the artwork.

"Throughout the week we used religious education while focusing on local and global issues to inspire the art we produced.

"The group recently sent me photos of the completed artwork which will be displayed in the church and at Mansfield District Council offices."

Carol celebrated the fifth anniversary of Soul Marks last month and reflected this week on what she has achieved since leaving Forest Town and taking a chance.

"It is amazing how many people have shown an interest and now we almost have too much work on," she said.

"I am very grateful to all those who have supported the charity and I am glad my job allows me to work with people from all different walks of life throughout the country."

Any groups or churches interested in booking a workshop, or want any further information about Soul Marks should visit www.soulmarks.co.uk.