FLO and Tom Oakley have come up with a unique way to help fund their university education – by taking advantage of their mother s artistic skills. They are holding an exhibition of mum Julie s work completed over a year of setting a challenge to other art

FLO and Tom Oakley have come up with a unique way to help fund their university education - by taking advantage of their mother's artistic skills.

They are holding an exhibition of mum Julie's work completed over a year of setting a challenge to other artists on her blog.

Julie, a Sandridge-based graphic designer and mother of four, urged fellow bloggers to, "Walk a minimum of one mile from home. Record where you've been with a drawing, sculpture, photo or painting and then walk back. Every day for a year."

Fellow bloggers Alison Horridge and Penny Crompton in Australia took up the challenge and every day their lives touched each others, sometimes observing the same things, such as the glorious full moon, and at others showing the unique characteristics of their own environments ranging from English rain to the Australian drought.

Every day more than 100 people across the world followed the journey of the three "sketchercisers" by visiting their blogs.

Flo, aged 18, who is about to start a maths degree at Oxford, said: "I thought my mum was mad and would never complete it. I was delighted to be proved wrong and see just how talented she is!"

Her 16-year-old brother, who is following in his sister's footsteps by taking A-levels in the mixed sixth form at St Albans Girls School, was convinced his mum would have to stop when three months into the challenge, she trod on a nail and suffered a nasty wound.

But Julie soldiered on and undaunted, even featured the nail on her blog.

Now Flo and Tom are holding an exhibition of their mum's artwork from their family home at 86 High Street this weekend to help with the cost of university.

Fittingly most of the walks started from the house and among the work on display will be the walks that can be taken from Sandridge village, the landscape where the newly-proposed forest is to be planted and many more besides.

The exhibition takes place from 10am to 4.30pm on both Saturday and Sunday and further details can be found on the websites www.oakleygallery.com and www.onemilefromhome.com