AN artist who makes masterpieces out of matchsticks has been invited to be part of the Royal Academy of Arts exhibition.

Laura Stocker, 23, of Brindwood Road, Chingford, got the inspiration for her technique after exploring using different materials from a craft shop.

She sent hours creating colourful graphic pieces as part of her final year at Central Saint Martins College of Art.

One piece, Black and White 2, was spotted by Humphrey Ocean, one of three curators for the Royal Academy of Art's summer exhibition, who invited her to display her work after seeing her degree show.

Miss Stocker, a former Chingford School pupil, said: "People always ask me why I started using matchsticks and I don't know myself. I was in my last year and my teacher said to go mad and experiment so I did.

"I saw the matchsticks and started putting them together and it went from there. I never thought it would be doing that but it worked for me. It takes a long time but it is worth it."

Miss Stocker can spend up to two weeks gluing matchsticks to create one piece of work, which she says requires a great deal of patience.

Her tenacity paid off though, because she was one of 1,200 artists chosen to be part of the Summer 2008 exhibition out of 10,000 entries. Her work is being displayed until August 17 alongside established artists like Tracy Emin and Damien Hurst.

She said: "I am really pleased and excited, and sold my piece on the first day, which was a relief. Now I can relax and enjoy the rest of the exhibition."

Miss Stocker hopes to get more orders for work throughout the exhibition and to develop her work to become an established artist. To see more of her work, visit: www.laurastocker.com.