ABOUT
Taxidermy Artist / Owner at Lone Fox Taxidermy
Nicole Baldelli
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My passion for animals started when I was very young, and soon after came the love of taxidermy and preserved specimens. Years later, I have made something I appreciated into a way of life.
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Within the past few years I left a retail management job and took a job with less time restraint so that I could pursue my taxidermy career. In 2015 I attended a class at the Harvard Natural History Museum by Mickey Alice Kwapis. Our class was how to taxidermy a small rabbit, which was the gateway for me into the world of taxidermy. Shortly after this class I began working on small animals like rabbits, mice, and guinea pigs. I began a small business called Nikki Deerest where I specialize in small animal novelty mounts.
Over the past five years my passion has only increased and I have moved onto bigger and better things. In 2016 I attended a three day one-on-one taxidermy class with award winning taxidermist Amy Ritchie Carter of Amy’s Animal Art Taxidermy. Here I learned the process of skinning, fleshing, and mounting a bobcat and grey fox mount. Amy taught me the details that are vital to creating a life-like look and how to study references of wild animals. The tools she has given me have truly brought me to where I am today.
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The past three years I have spent a vast amount of time training under Master Taxidermist Bob Watkins of Watkins Taxidermy in Millbury, MA. I have also been training under waterfowl Master Taxidermist Victor Cole of Joppa Flats Ducks in Newburyport, MA. I am also a member of the New England Association of Taxidermists, Maine Association of Taxidermists, and Garden State Taxidermy Association. I am always continuing my education to bring your mount back to life with as much detail as possible.
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Mass Cultural Society - Traditional Arts Apprenticeship
I received a grant for FY21 and FY22 with Victor Cole of Joppa Flats Ducks for an apprenticeship program with the Mass Cultural Society. This project was supported [in part] by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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