What the Fox Hat?

My forays into taxidermy began when I found myself living without a television.  One day last Spring whilst cycling down from the Moor I startled a cat who had just killed a baby bunny. He dropped it and I claimed it and then skinned it (why should he have all the fun?). Over the last year I have salvaged, and extracted the skin and bones of many animals and I love it!

I enjoy the process that takes me from the familiar, to the maggots and rotting phase, and then to the sweet smelling, pine bark-tanned, and hydrogen peroxide-cleaned stage. Recently, I realised that I am not alone. Taxidermy has become trendy and it would appear that many of us scour the countryside for carcasses; axe and carrier bag at the ready. My favourite artist/taxidermist is Jazmine Miles-Long. We could be drawn to this hobby for many reasons: it may be a desire to re-enact Inanna's death and descent into the underworld, and later reunification with the heavens when Spring returns to earth. Or, perhaps we are La Loba, the She-Wolf who collects the bones of our  forgotten, wildish instincts in order to breathe life into them; creating art out of the parts of our  soul that we left for dead.

In my case, I just wanted to make a very warm hat!

My fox hat (Photo by Will Stubbs)