Hi, spillane, I have always found that if you soak the ceiling well with a mix of warm water and washing up liquid it comes off easily. Just do it a bit at a time and maybe a few times so that it doesn't dry out. Make sure that the floor is well covered and if you put newspaper on top of the covering you can just roll that up afterwards and it won't be so messy. Some very old Artex contained Asbestos but should still be fine to remove as long as it's is kept wet and it's not dusty when you remove it. That is Artex made before the 70s though.