With thanks to Caroline Eccles from Huckleberry Films in Accrington for sharing his blog with visitlancashire.com.
Just before Christmas I attended a 1 day beginners taxidermy course at Blackburn Museum. It was led by self taught vegan taxidermist Nicola Hebson, who has been practicing taxidermy since 2011.
Nicola welcomed us all to the class, and explained the techniques by demonstrating on a little white mouse. I was a little bit queasy watching as she made the first incision - but it was a lot less messy than I’d expected, and really amazing to see how quickly she worked. Then it was time for us to put on our latex gloves and get started ourselves! We each selected our own mouse, and began to follow the same process that we had just watched. Nicola was really helpful, assisting with tricky bits and offering advice throughout.
After a lot of patient and slow work with a very sharp scalpel, I managed to completely removed the skin from my mouse. I carefully cleaned it, and then whilst it was drying, made it a new ‘body’, using wool wood to create the main structure, and binding it with cotton so it would keep its shape. We used clay to shape the head, and small pieces of wire to add stability... then reassembled the mouse with its new body, and sewed it up.
As this was an anthropomorphic class, lots of people brought little outfits and props for their mice, including a top hat and and hula hoop!
Blackburn Museum was a great venue for the class, as they have lots of taxidermied animals to look at. After completing my own piece and looking at their collection, it made me realise how much time and work must have gone into the exhibits on display there, and gave me a new appreciation for them. It’s not for everyone, but I really enjoyed the class and would like to try again in the future.
Blackburn Museum is holding more classes at the moment.
For details about future courses and to find out more about Nicola Hebson, go to: https://www.facebook.com/nickytaxidermist?fref=ts or http://www.nicolahebson.com
More on taxidermy in Lancashire:
- Blackburn Museum have got the last two Bustards from Lancashire on display and one of the finest collections of beetles in the UK
- The Whitaker Museum claims to have the finest and earliest pieces of taxidermy in the world, a python and a tiger, celebrating its 200th anniversary this year. It is also the subject of a painting that hangs in the Louvre, Paris.
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