Student sells art created by rats to fund degree

3 hours ago

Martha McCrackenin Droitwich

News image — Ella Woodland's rats are an internet sensation, and can make her up to £50 a painting

BBC A brown and white rat on a wooden table with its front paws up on a tiny easel, which holds a blue and white square painting. — Ella Woodland's rats are an internet sensation, and can make her up to £50 a painting

A student has turned to selling paintings created by her pet rats as a way of helping fund her studies.

Ella Woodland, from Droitwich, started selling the tiny paw-traits created by her eight rats last February, after she posted a video of them at work that went viral.

The University of Worcester student now lists about 16 pieces of art a week, with some going for up to £50.

"I put some paint in a little playpen for them and they follow a trail of baby food across my finger and across the canvas, and that's just how I get them to paint," she said.

She explained the inspiration came after she watched a video posted by a similar creator on Facebook.

"I tried it with them and then I posted it, and then somebody else shared it, and it went viral that way," she said. "They got six million views, I think.

"Then I started getting loads of followers on Vinted from that."

A young woman with long brown hair and a nose ring holds a rat, which is feeding from a pouch. She is standing in a room with white and purple walls, with a tall rat cage behind her. — Ella now has eight pet rats that paint the tiny creations

She said people's reactions to her income stream had been "mostly good".

"I think my family have been fascinated by it," she added. "It's wowed people how big they've got and how it's very unusual, so I think people are just shocked by it."

"I sell each painting for £15 now and I've sold some bigger ones for about £50. So it gets me to uni and stuff."

The rat fan acknowledged her pets' oeuvre might not be for everyone.

"If you like rats, you like them and you're going to like it. If you don't like rats then you're not going to like it."

Many buyers request the tiny creations for birthday presents, with one even wanting one as a wedding gift, featuring the theme colours of the event.

A young woman with long brown hair and a nose ring holds up a rat. She is standing in a room with white walls behind her. — The student said she used the profits to pay her way to university

The student said she was proudest of the first piece her original three rats turned out, which she kept, and she thought the rodents were content with their unusual craft.

"They're a lot more adventurous outside the cage since doing this, because they have a lot more time outside the cage," she explained.

"They get a lot of treats after, so I think they're happy doing it."

The student recommends anyone considering getting crafty with their pet should try something similar.

"My friend, I mean, she does it with her pigeons now, so I say do it for sure."

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