A STRICT vegan is set to give people in East Lancashire the opportunity to learn the art of taxidermy in a series of brand new workshops.

Self-taught 23-year-old Nicola Hebson runs her own jewellery making and taxidermy business and has been featured on This Morning as well as a documentary on Sky TV called No Country For Old Men.

Nicola is now looking forward to bringing her Taxidermy classes to Blackburn Museum every Tuesday from November, 26 to December 17.

Nicola said: “Everybody is welcome to come along and I’m really excited to show people that the craft is a delicate process and not all blood and guts like some people might think.”

Ethical Nicola only works with animals that have died of natural causes and insists she would never harm a living create in the name of art.

Nicola studied for an art degree at University Centre Blackburn College and her interest in nature led her to consider taxidermy.

“I felt like I was the first person in the world to try taxidermy,” she said.

“I read a lot of books and did my own research but I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning. Now, people can come to my class and won’t have to make the same mistakes I did.

“I think that taxidermy sometimes gets a bad name because of the obsession with shooting animals and displaying them like a trophy but I’m promoting the new wave of taxidermy which is ethical and about celebrating the life of the animal rather than their death.

“My class will focus on anthropomopic taxidermy, which gives the animals human characteristics and I’m encouraging people to bring along their own outfits or accessories to give their mice personalities.

“Taxidermy is a really fun, creative and spiritual activity and I can’t wait to show other people that it isn’t doom and gloom.”

To book for a lesson or for more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/nickytaxidermist