N ot long ago, my 11-year-old son admired some very realistic-looking carved sheep in the gardens of Woodstock Museum. So when I went to visit Pat Elmore's gallery and workshop at Longcot recently, I was delighted to discover that I had come face-to-face with the sheep-carver herself.

As soon as you turn into Pat's driveway, you are greeted by lifesize models of ostriches, strutting proudly through the orchard. The ground floor of the house has been almost entirely taken over by carvings of all shapes and sizes, and there is a pleasant, indefinable smell an amalgam, no doubt, of the various materials that Pat uses to create the sculptures that have been distributed all over the world.

As I admire the graceful torsos, lifelike faces and humorous characters that fill Pat's rooms and garden, I am amazed to discover that she is entirely self-taught, and that all of these models are the product of her own imagination and natural talent.

Anybody expecting Pat to reel off a list of art qualifications will be surprised.

"I was expelled from school for drawing caricatures of the teachers," she chuckles.

"I went back a few years ago to do an exhibition in the library, and they ran a feature on me in the local paper entitled The rebel returns!"

So how did she become a sculptor? "I worked at BT in the drawing office, and I used to carve the rubbers with a razor blade. That's what started me. I began carving in 1980, and just got the bug. I enjoyed it so much I kept going, and managed to fit it around bringing up my kids."

Pat's first carvings were in wood, but these days she uses a variety of materials, including stone, marble and alabaster. She is inspired by her immediate environment her extensive garden features a lake and wildlife haven, and overlooks White Horse Hill and her family, which she lists as "four handsome sons, two lovely daughters, one husband (a cross between Father Christmas and Jesus), ducks, cats and sheep."

Looking around Pat's studios, these influences are readily apparent. Her first-ever model was a wood carving of her daughter, Heidi, which now graces her hallway and has since been reworked in different materials.

In the garden is a head-and-shoulders model of her husband in his Morris dancing costume, and there are numerous animals lining the paths.

Pat has exhibited her work in Paris, Jersey and throughout the UK, and has been surprised to discover that her carvings are particularly popular with foreign tourists. "People in this country tend to only buy things that are useful," she reflects.

"They don't want purely decorative items. But if I was to put an ashtray on the head of that model over there they'd buy it!"

Passing on her skills to others has become an increasingly important strand to Pat's work, and she estimates that she has taught around 500 adults and children over the last few years. It is clear that she finds teaching extremely satisfying, yet it is something she began purely by chance.

"I didn't want to be a teacher," she admits. "I always thought teachers were failed artists. But somebody who had seen my work had a student who wanted to learn wood carving.

"She came from Winchester, and as a result of learning with me she got into Bath University. Then someone asked me to teach at Sunningwell, and it has just gone on from there. We always have a good laugh. There is such a feeling of togetherness. You learn from each other."

Pat's studio and gardens will be open throughout Artweeks, and are also open by appointment throughout the year. Whenever you visit, you can be assured of a smiling welcome from a lady whose enthusiasm for her art is infectious.

"It is a bit like yoga you can lose yourself in it," she says. "Instead of having a fit body, you have a fit mind."

For more information, call Pat Elmore on 01793 782258.