A PENSIONER will open up her own eco-house for the first time for artists to visit on a trail.

In the last year, Chris Worswick, along with her husband Paul, has finished her new eco-home Oak Cottage, off Oakenclough Road, Bacup, and downstairs the couple has built Chris’s Wooden Horse Studio.

The pair who constructed their forever home on the former stables plot in Bacup now run specialist art classes in the Wooden Horse studios.

Mrs Worswick, 72, will welcome artists to visit her studio during the Rossendale Arts Trail in October.

Mrs Worswick, a member of Valley Artists, based in a mill in Waterfoot, helped to launch the trail 10 years ago.

The initiative involves artists opening their studios and galleries over a weekend in the Rossendale Valley.

She said: “There are such a lot of artists in Rossendale, which is why we introduced the trail in the first place.

“Now my own studio is a place to visit on the trail and I am delighted to be able to welcome people here.”

Before visitors get to the studio, on the lower ground floor, they will go through a miniature sculpture trail around the garden of the house.

Once inside, they will see a project Mrs Worswick is currently working on to illustrate her tinnitus in colour, line and feeling.

Painted tiles will also surround the studio in time for the trail.

This year she has attended a woodworking class in Whalley, and her handiwork includes a planter outside the cottage, a workbench in the studio and unique picture frames from recycled kitchen cabinets

She added: “I have introduced art classes here for people who are slower creative learners.

“With my tinnitus, I miss out words, struggle to hear people and feel as though I have a constant radio noise behind my head. Sounds come across jumbled.

“My classes last for three hours and people can work at their own pace. One student John Honness has been doing printmaking and is carrying out a more in-depth study of art history."

The Rossendale Art Trail takes place between Saturday, October 7 and Sunday, October 8 this year.

To find out more about the courses contact chrisworswick700@gmail.com.