NO EXPERIENCE in life is ever wasted on an artist. That’s certainly true for long-distance swimmer Lisa Stansbie, Head of Art and Communications at Huddersfield University, who has found herself artistically inspired by her strenuous hobby.

Since taking up competitive open air swimming three years ago she has begun developing work based on the paraphernalia that swimmers use to feed and drink while in the water.

She’s all-too-familiar with the problems faced when tackling a lengthy and cold swim. Her past successes include winning a race across Derwent Water in the Lake District and completing swims in Buttermere and Windermere. She regularly trains in the River Wharfe and has even been swimming in Salford Docks.

Next month Lisa will be part of a six-swimmer relay team in an attempt on the English Channel and she has signed up for a 10k race along France’s River Seine in September.

“There are lots of rules and rituals connected with long-distance swimming,” says Lisa. “When you swim solo you feed or drink every hour. You can’t touch the boat that’s accompanying you so people create all these ingenious devices with bottles, baskets and tubes.”

As a working artist as well as member of the university staff, Lisa decided to create sculptures based on these devices.

“I asked swimmers to send me images of their homemade apparatus that their helper sticks out over the edge of the boat,” she added. “There were all sorts of contraptions.”

Lisa, 37, admits that until seven years ago her swimming style was more “doggy paddle” than anything else.

“I wasn’t much of a swimmer as a child,’’ she said. “I was a runner and a dancer, but I decided to go to adult swimming lessons as an improver and found that I had a natural knack for it.”

Her progress from swimming laps of a pool to becoming an open air swimmer was swift. She joined the City of Leeds Swimming Club and, after initially being told she wasn’t good enough to compete decided to give it her all.

“If something’s a bit of a challenge I want to pursue it – that’s my character,” she said. “My best thing is outdoor long-distance swimming because I used to do marathon running so I’m good at endurance.”

The season for open air swimming begins at Easter and finishes at the end of the summer. Even so, the waters in and around Britain are cold.

Lisa can expect the Channel to be between 15°C and 17°C in July. By comparison, the average indoor swimming pool is between 28°C and 30°C.

“I began open air swimming with a wet suit but the British Long Distance Swimming Association doesn’t allow you to wear one,” she explained.

“I don’t grease up because I’ve never found it helpful, although some people do. I think you just get acclimatised to the cold. You start off with 15 minutes at a time and build up your resistance.”

In order to qualify for the Channel relay she will have to complete a two-hour swim in water that is 16°C or below.

Lisa trains every other day with swimming club Leeds Masters. When pool training she swims 3.5kms at a time and needs to get up at 5.30am in order to complete the session before starting work.

Because she was a late entrant to competitive swimming, Lisa believes she has yet to peak and is more than happy to dedicate much of her spare time and holidays to the sport.

“My partner is Greek so when we go to Greece I’ll do a lot of really long swims with him following me in a boat,” said Lisa.

“I have swum from Kefalonia to Ithaca which is about 5kms. I’ve even had a pack of dolphins following me, which was wonderful.”

While the challenge of Channel swimming has always been a headline sport, Lisa believes that open air swimming generally is becoming vastly more popular than it used to be.

“When I first started in 2009 there weren’t that many events,’’ she said. “Now, with the popularity of triathlons, 10k open water swims being in the Olympics and David Walliams swimming the Thames, it’s getting really big and there are almost too many to choose from.

“Last year’s Great North Swim in Windermere attracted 7,000 competitors.”

Lisa is now in serious training for the Channel relay which will take up to 14 hours. And it’s inspired another artwork based on the GPS routes followed by swimmers and boats.

“We have to pay for a boat to accompany us and a pilot who knows the currents and tides,” she said. “I have asked them to supply me with the GPS routes and overlaid them to make an interesting drawing.”

Lisa, who graduated in contemporary art from Leeds University, is originally from Birmingham but has worked in the USA, Edinburgh, Manchester and Leeds.

Her work, including sculpture, installations and short films has been exhibited in several countries.