You might have thought the Victorian fashion for taxidermy was  dead and buried. But the craze for the gruesome hobby of stuffing and posing dead animals, has been growing in recent years and now  fans of the macabre art can learn to do it for themselves. Mickey Alice Kwapis began teaching her unique taxidermy classes to the public three years ago. Mickey Alice Kwapis, pictured surrounded by the work of her mentor, Chuck Testa . The 24-year-old, pictured with a living groundhog who she is helping to rehabilitate at a local animal rehab facility. The artist, from Chicago in Illinois, who works with all different types of animals, shows one of her students her technique for stuffing a hedgehog . Mickey said she found her work, turning something dead into 'something beautiful' very rewarding . Since then, thousands of people around the world have become have-a-go animal stuffers. The artist, from Chicago in Illinois, teaches the course across five different countries - US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, and Australia. Mickey, 24, said she became interested in taxidermy from a young age after collecting dead bugs. Costs of the class range from $200 to $300 based on the cost of living in a given country. She insists on only using road kill, animals who have died from natural causes or animals that have been bred for human consumption for her work. Creative or creepy: Pieces of the artist's finished work includes a mounted guinea pig with purple ribbon (left) and a rabbit (right) Mickey teaches the course across five different countries - US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, and Australia . Students can learn to create a Victorian-style anthropomorphic mouse diorama class in one session . While it's not for the squeamish, Mickey said her students were often surprised the process was not as gruesome as they feared. She said: 'Everyone I have in the classes is very open-minded. 'They wouldn't have signed up for a taxidermy class if they hated the idea of working with a deceased specimen. 'I think the most common reaction I get is that the process isn't as gross as students initially anticipate. 'It's eye-opening to be able to take something that's essentially a furry lump of frozen meat and turn it into something beautiful that looks alive and can last forever - that's so rewarding.' Mickey, pictured with her students at the Dry-Preserved Rat class, in San Francisco, only uses road kill or animals who died natural deaths for her work . The teacher, pictured with a taxidermy class in Sydney, said the most common reaction she received was that the process wasn't as gruesome as people anticipated . Mickey, 24, became interested in taxidermy from a young age after she began collecting dead bugs . The cost of Mickey's classes range from $200 to $300 based on the cost of living in a given country . The artist, pictured with a tray of dead rodents, said everyone on her unique course was very open-minded .
Mickey Alice Kwapis has taught thousands how to stuff dead animals .
The 24-year-old has taught taxidermy across the world for past three years .
Artist Mickey insists she only uses animals that have died from natural causes .
You might have thought the Victorian fashion for taxidermy was  dead and buried. But the craze for the gruesome hobby of stuffing and posing dead animals, has been growing in recent years and now fans of the macabre art can learn to do it for themselves. Mickey Alice Kwapis began teaching her unique taxidermy classes to the public three years ago. Mickey Alice Kwapis, pictured surrounded by the work of her mentor, Chuck Testa . The 24-year-old, pictured with a living groundhog who she is helping to rehabilitate at a local animal rehab facility. The artist, from Chicago in Illinois, who works with all different types of animals, shows one of her students her technique for stuffing a hedgehog . Mickey said she found her work, turning something dead into 'something beautiful' very rewarding . Since then, thousands of people around the world have become have-a-go animal stuffers. The artist, from Chicago in Illinois, teaches the course across five different countries - US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, and Australia. Mickey, 24, said she became interested in taxidermy from a young age after collecting dead bugs. Costs of the class range from $200 to $300 based on the cost of living in a given country. She insists on only using road kill, animals who have died from natural causes or animals that have been bred for human consumption for her work. Creative or creepy: Pieces of the artist's finished work includes a mounted guinea pig with purple ribbon (left) and a rabbit (right) Mickey teaches the course across five different countries - US, Canada, UK, New Zealand, and Australia . Students can learn to create a Victorian-style anthropomorphic mouse diorama class in one session . While it's not for the squeamish, Mickey said her students were often surprised the process was not as gruesome as they feared. She said: 'Everyone I have in the classes is very open-minded. 'They wouldn't have signed up for a taxidermy class if they hated the idea of working with a deceased specimen. 'I think the most common reaction I get is that the process isn't as gross as students initially anticipate. 'It's eye-opening to be able to take something that's essentially a furry lump of frozen meat and turn it into something beautiful that looks alive and can last forever - that's so rewarding.' Mickey, pictured with her students at the Dry-Preserved Rat class, in San Francisco, only uses road kill or animals who died natural deaths for her work . The teacher, pictured with a taxidermy class in Sydney, said the most common reaction she received was that the process wasn't as gruesome as people anticipated . Mickey, 24, became interested in taxidermy from a young age after she began collecting dead bugs . The cost of Mickey's classes range from $200 to $300 based on the cost of living in a given country . The artist, pictured with a tray of dead rodents, said everyone on her unique course was very open-minded .
her unique taxidermy classes to the public three years ago. Mickey Alice Kwapis, pictured . The 24-year-old, pictured with a living using road kill, animals who have died from natural causes or animals that have been bred for Rat class, in San Francisco, only uses road kill