A 77 YEAR-old woman has made “a dream a realisation” after passing her degree.
Shirley Stark from Denbigh is celebrating after gaining a degree in fine arts from Bangor University.
“My life has come together at last, I felt a pretty displaced person for most of my life,” said Mrs Stark.
Mrs Stark, who carried out the course over six years on a part time basis, said she had been interested in fine art since she was a little girl.
“A friend put a pencil in my hand when I was six years-old, I have been hooked since,” she said.
“I ignored maths, and ruined all my margins!”
It was a common thought amongst her peers that Mrs Stark would go on to art school.
“But my mother didn’t let that happen,” she said.
“I suffer from ME quite badly.
“I have run many fashion shows over the years for international companies and was a PA, but my health broke down.
“I was very lucky to get good jobs, you would usually need degrees,” she added.
Ms Stark enrolled on an art course with T Gwyn in Denbigh.
“He was an excellent teacher,” she said.
“We thought the course was for three years, but it was actually only for three terms.
“We were all so enthusiastic after the course had finished that we thought we are not going to give this up.”
The group decided they wanted to carry on with the classes and found a tutor from Rhyl - Phil O’Connor.
The plans for the art class soon progressed when Llandrillo College met with the group to discuss a course.
“The Denbigh Community College had just opened at the time and they said they would do a course for us,” said Mrs Stark.
Mrs Stark sat her GCSEs at the college, which then led on to a life long learning course at Bangor University where she gained her BA Degree in fine art.
“The classes are going from strength to strength,” added Mrs Stark, who now has many plans in the pipeline to ensure her degree is put to good use.
“I have a studio set up in my garden, and I plan to do exhibitions and work with Helfa Gelf,” she added.