This artist designs intricate suits of armor. The intended wearer? A humble mouse : NPR

were suits of plate armor advanced Back in the Middle Ages. They served as security during the war, but they also became an artHere in the 21st century, a metalwork artist is keeping this ancient art alive, but instead of arming people, he’s making suits for rats, Yep, you read that right,

Jeff de Boer He has been fascinated by suits of armor since he first saw them as a child in a museum in Calgary. Over nearly four decades, he has made a name for himself in the world of fine art as a man who has continued this incredible art on a smaller scale – learning, perfecting, and teaching others.

From ancient knights to armored rats

De Boer’s early interest in suits of armor was not only aesthetic – but also about what they were. Did.

De Boer said, “Armor is one of the first evolutionary defenses against a hostile world. I mean, any amoeba that has a little tough skin can go into warm water. If you have an exoskeleton, you can survive a bite from another monster.”

De Boer’s father was a sheet metal fabricator, and the young De Boer spent his childhood playing in the shop. He also made some full-size suits of armour. But he took a long time – more time than he wanted to spend on a project.

De Boer studied jewelery making in art school, and while he was working with the small tools involved in the craft, he had an idea. If he made a suit of armor for a rat he could produce it in a very short time.

“I just remember handing that mouse over, and the teacher was quiet. And he said ‘Jeff, I don’t think you need to worry about making jewelry anymore.'”

His professor’s belief in the feasibility of this artistic pursuit proved correct. While still in school, De Boer took his mouse armor to local galleries and booked his first professional exhibition. Which resulted in another, and then another, and then more sales and commissions. Although he still occasionally makes jewelry or figurines, primarily, he has established a career in making mouse armor (along with some cat suits).

Big ‘Why?’

“You get these messages on social media,” De Boer says. “It’s just like a great cause. WhyWell, you know – why make anything,”

This is their main answer – that the mouse armor is no less practical than a pendant. But when you press him further, he says he’s drawn to the themes that these works allow him to explore. For example, the theme of the underdog, or the security we all need to survive, or the relationship between those who have power and those who do not.

As a small-scale artist, De Boer often felt like a little man, and he identified with the rat in a way. He believes many people feel the same way when traveling the world.

“The idea that the rat could get an edge, that he could put on a suit of armor and go out there. And maybe make a difference — I think that’s what we’re all dreaming of,” he muses. “What will all our personal armor be like these days? And what will our quest be?”

Lowering the scale also gives him more opportunities to play. Mouse armor – which, we should note, De Boer does not put on actual rats – is based on a wide range of design elements in different cultures. They are inspired by armor traditions from Scandinavia to India and Japan.

“The nice thing with Mouse Scale is that you get to do a lot of neat things. You get to explore all different cultures, all different platforms and just modify it and compress it,” says de Boer.

mouse armor for all

He also teaches the occasional class in mouse armor manufacturing, where students from various backgrounds learn everything from mold making to punching and shaping metal to the science of forging and soldering.

At a recent master class at Pratt Fine Arts Center in Seattle, students included video game designer Thiago Vidotto, who came to learn real-world construction techniques that could make his virtual armored characters more believable.

“For something to be real when it’s digital, it has to have imperfections, because nothing is perfect,” Vidotto explained. “So you have to learn where you can connect the crisis, where it might be a problem.”

Student Laurie Raubacher signed up because, as a new artist, she wanted to improve her metalwork technique. And also because it’s mouse armor.

“I really appreciate the eccentric nature,” Raubacher said. “Like, it’s just for fun.”

De Boer hopes that reviving this ancient art to create these little metal-clad rats will bring joy and fun – and possibly inspire people to try and slay their own dragons.