Topic Author's Original Post - Sep 30, 2011 - 02:20pm PT
Thread by request so heres some samples of what i do, and do so out of love and intense interest for wildlife. It may be one of the hardest jobs to do at the least per hour you can think of.
Hey I'm curious about one thing Ron... do you get a lot of requests from folks to stuff their dearly departed pet dogs? I saw a good judge judy about a botched pet stuff and the weirdo woman had the lil pooch in her freezer AS EVIDENCE hahahaha.
Have you ever done a horse, like Trigger? (that sounds beastial! lol)
DMT
ps. just light hearted questions. While I am not the sort who would engage your services I really think your action poses like the cat with the, what is that, a chukar, anyway, I think those are really a step above most anything else I've seen
and Dingus, yes the "pet market" has increased drastically and it all started in,,,,,New York city lol! Ive only done one black FAT cat in the previous years. I COULD NEVER do one of my own, and we charge a hefty price for these 100% custom mounts . It is one of THE most difficult jobs you can do, and Ive sweat like a whore in confession each and every time Ive worked on one, as people are INTAMATLY familiar with their dear departed, they have to be ,, pardon the pun,, "dead on".....
This was a combo of another taxidermist and myself, i did the finish work on the sheep as well as the habitat and rock work, which is at the top of concourse B stairway in the Reno airport...Mural was by Reno artist Chris Lacey.
In general, stuffed animals creep me out (I'm soft). A nightmare trip for me is to one of those Cabelas or Bass Pro Shops (or whatever store). STUFFED ANIMALS EVERYWHERE! I asked a clerk there why the human clothes were hung on fake humans instead of stuffed ones. Seems only fair to have taxidermied (sp?) people in there too.
They have NO sense of humor.
Though the stuff I've seen in the past has bugged me, your work is beautiful and the animals don't look even a tiny bit freaky. I can't even look at the Cougar - I have actual fear looking at it - VERY realistic and scary!
Stzzo, it is in the sculpting work that is done in ceramic clay on top of a commercial form that has been resized to the cat. Taxidermists have to be sculptors, painters, have composition and color co-ordination skills, basic carpentry and design skills and be able to see anatomy and symmetry. That separates those who try and those that can. It takes a lot of earning your dues, and attention to detail and reference.
Apogee, no conflict at all, ill let ya think on it for a mo..;-)
Crimpie! Coming from you with your general feelings,,,,that IS A VERY nice compliment!
i was on the road to hawthorne, nv from mammoth lakes one evening and came upon a freshly hit great horned owl in the road. i picked it up and placed it in the back of my truck. it was a weekend, and didn't know who to call. so a day later i took it out to that hill just southeast of the airport on the way to the hot springs and set it there. that seemed like the appropriate thing to do at the time. although if I new a taxidermist, i would have had it prepared. it sure was a beautiful bird. very large and powerful. i didn't take/pull any feathers off, or remove any claws, etc.! i felt as though it would have been disrespectful. if a feather had happened to fall off i would have kept it. sounds a bit silly know, but there is something about being in the actual presence of such a beautiful creature. i particularly felt bad about its demise since i realised that it had just been hit(body was warm, and it was very cold out/winter). that shortly before i found it lying lifeless in the middle of the road, it was full of life and ruling the sky and prairie.
thaDood, UNFORUNATLY in THIS country, all protected species are ILLEGAL to posess regardless of circumstance, without a permit from the USFWS, and they only give those out to learning institutions, museums, nature centers etc,, and some NA tribal members. All the MILLIONS of raptors and song birds hit on aour nations roadways must go to waste basically. Canada does it differently there, and those road kills are considered part of the countries "treasure", and you could easily get a permit for it. (sigh).. Being a taxidermist, i also have to be up to date on the CFRS , USFWS regulations,as well as Cites, lacey act and State laws regarding wildlife, which are VOLUMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and THANKS FOLKS! Wasnt sure how this was going to "go down" lol!
i have like 110 files of pictures...lemme know if theres something particular youd like to see lol...
That is beautiful, and I'm sure painstaking work. I always get joy out of seeing people who can practice their art for a living, regardless of the medium they choose...thanks for sharing.
your work is of excellent quality. I've seen plenty of taxidermy that by comparision is mediocre at best. That bufflehead is superb as is that cougar. It reminds me of comparing Lansdowne to the vast majority of other wildlife painters. I've tried my hand at it myself so I have a sense for the difficulty in attaining such superb replication. way to go
yes, that wayed in on my decision to let nature take its own course with the bird. i was fearful of being stopped and having it discovered in the back of my truck. or getting turned in by the taxidermist if i managed to find one. i wasn't sure of the regulations at the time(1978). but i was getting a little paranoid in that regard. i couldn't see just dumping it in some dumpster in town. i imagine that it went to good use and, for instance, some little critter such as a field mouse was a tad bit warmer that winter with some nice fluffy down under-feathers that it managed to escape with and add to its burrow. life goes on...
Tanx All! I did want to say that i started this thread with a wee bit o hesitation as i didn't want to offend anyone! ANd thaDood, i went past a western tanager laying on hgwy 50 just yesterday.. Its shameful these go to waste as they do..The laws became to be in the early 1900s over the fashion industry and particularly, ladies hats. They are antiquated and irresponsible in today's times, but without a lobbyist, my industry remains chocked.
Ive been lucky to work at one of the largest studios in existence in Reno, Animal Artistry by Mike Boyce, where i was a salaried supervisor and when i left, we were doing 240K per month of finished pieces delivered. It was experience that you can only find there. I worked on specimens from nearly every country in existence. I've had a part time biz since i was 12 then full time for the last twenty some years.
this TINY lil mount won six major awaards, including best of show. Sometimes big things come in teensie packages..(yeah,, where have i used that line before !!1;-))
Ya know, I got to thinking about this after looking at some of Ron's awesome life-like work, but I think there is some awesome educational value in these works.
Imagine these in a school setting. Gettng to examine awesome wild specimens up close without danger, and without looking at a dead animal corpse. Taxidermy is the best of both worlds for curious children who may never see these specimens.
They can actually sit an examine them, and study them.
I know some people hate seeing dead animals and don't agree with taxidermy, but think of the educational value, man!!!
Kids would totally dig it!!! And it doesn't really encourage killing animals.
Ron - I was worried my post would come across even a tiny bit negative and it was not intended to! Glad it wasn't. My thoughts were designed to demonstrate that I feel your work is spectacular! They are all beautiful animals and your worked has really preserved that.
Still won't look at the cougar though. It scares me! So real.
Questions if you don't mind. Who are your clients? Hunters? Museums? Cabelas? Do you think most have get an animal with this outcome in mind? I'm curious how the animals ends up with you.
How did you learn to do this? Is it a family thing? How long have you been at it? Did you always know you wanted to do this? I guess you had no family member try to feed you to the giant hairy boar mounted on the wall in the middle of the night (my family *does* have a sick sense of humor).
Ron: Thanks for sharing the great photos of the work you do.
I teased Heidi about having our 19 year old cat-son stuffed, after he died last spring. Told her I wanted the jaws to open and recorded meows to issue forth.
A parrot shop in Houston had all their deceased birds stuffed around the shop. There were a lot of them. Bleck!
What creeped me out most was that they were all super dusty from sitting on shelves. It seemed like they should have just wiped them off. Or maybe not? What's the proper care of something like that?
"they are antiquated and irresponsible in todays times..."
I agree, it is really a shame. as a kid living in the great outdoors of eastern canada, central utah, the foothills of the appalachian mts and the shores of the california coast i was in awe of all the various critters, particularly the raptors that frequent those locals.
Your "art of death" actually brings them back to life for us to enjoy.
Thanks!
edit: Crimpergirl, as a youth, "How to Taxidermy" courses/schools, etc. adds were in many magazines and comics etc. Most boys were fascinated in the art/science. It just had this appeal, a link to nature. the ability to preserve creatures and so forth. hard to define.
EDIT: vvvvsplitclimber describes the reasons well.
Sorry guys & gals, had to go make a delivery lol! As per the questions, Yes indeed ive done many student seminars around schools, boy scout groups etc etc. I donate mounts to "hunt of a lifetime" programs for ill children, so on and so forth. Also do seminars on taxidermy itself through out the country at times, as well as my shop. I learned through a home taxudermy book by shooters bible, circa late 60s and it went from there. Im really NEVER satisfied with pieces though which is a good thing for keeping the creative fire going i suppose. Clients vary, ESPECIALLY now, but i have out fitters that recomend me for a percentage, and local word of mouth reference from freinds and customers, as well as the internet. Ive had to shift priorities to doing wholesale for other taxidermists these days with the crappy economy around here and i have wholesale clients scattered through out the country..I sort of well known in my industry..
edit:Neversummer, the vaulues or costs vary greatly..A bobcat for instance is 995.00 on a basic habitat. If you wanted it wall mounted thats a bit more, and the more habitat to the scene, the higher the price. I sold a world show competition piece of five quail for 5200.00 Lots of variance!
double wolf piece they stood over 6' on the base...
Credit: Ron Anderson
in progress pronghorn antelope, clay had neen added to correct the form, make gland tucks, eye orbits and jaw lines which lack in mannikins. All these things must be learned through hands on study of skinned reference. I even add a flesh colored septum to the interior of the nostrils..
All these things must be learned through hands on study of skinned reference.
I took a class once in my misspent youth from a prof. that had received his masters in fine arts from one of the major Calif universities. It was the only one that had a dissecting anatomy class, (same one premeds took) as a required course.
as per chimpanzees, Yes, from zoos or legally owned private sources. Not wild...Ive never done one myself, but i did work on a orangutan skin that was forty years old for a museum..
and yes TGT, there is much to this that is uhhh,,,non-glamorous for SURE!
Credit: Ron Anderson
this piece was done for NDOW for thier Elko office, where a lot of my work is displayed. A prarie falcon and rosey finch, both road kills picked up by game wardens. it is in progress drying then went on habitat etc..
Cool work, Ron. Once again, we led similar paths bitd. I learned as a teen through Northwest(ern) Taxidermy School. Couldn't wait as a kid to get shipments of glass eyes, woodwool and tanning chemicals. It was a great experience. My favorites were coyote hides, coots, rabbits, a cub bear. Never attempted a fish. Also mounted a couple of hawks and a Great Horned Owl picked up down by Cradlebaugh Bridge. It was only a few years back a couple of jays got into the garage and picked the owl apart. Which I had up on the shelf for 35 years - talk about dusty! Otherwise I'd post a pic of it. Miss jepedos in CC. Too bad we didn't hook up - climbing and taxi together as teens would've been fun!
Absolutely outstanding..
As an animal and bird freak I've had more than a few dead birds, and animal parts in my freezer. In Alaska I had a Crested Auklet, 3 species of Eider, Bowhead whale nephrons and cardiac tissue and all kinds of arctic vertebrae
I spent untold thousands of hours studying the taxonomy of birds...for some reason?..LOL
You are an artist. I envy you..
For a very, very very large majority of people this is as close as they will ever get to these animals and these artist pieces strike more wonder in the heart of young naturalists then most of the rest of the bullshit combined.
Hopefully you get some in some museums.
My kids and I were just at the Smithonian Natural History Museum in January- blew their minds
Bravo!
thanks Riley! I do have work scatterd around varoous nature centers, public offices and museums like Carson, and Elko museums etc..Many places back east have pieces of mine as well..I just did a HYBRID brewers blackbird X common grackle for a nature center in MO..
My landlord was a hunter. He has about 10 animals mounted. Sitting in his house sometimes weirds me out. I don't fully understand hunting. At least not for things you don't eat.
Like Crimpie though, I think your work has a beauty to it.
A friend of mine carves wood birds. They are sort of simple carvings, yet he has a knack for capturing their beauty. You also have a knack for capturing these animals beauty. I imagine it was a fairly rigorous learning process.
More birds please and thanks for posting this. It is interesting.
this one was second in world at the 2007 World competition in Reno. 48 states and 57 countries in over 500 pieces. I sold it for 5200.00 right after the show..
close up af a chukar partridge which appeared in an instructional book by Frank Newmyer, five time world champion bird taxidermist along with five or six other guys me being one of em circa 89/90?
IF you look closely, you will even see a nicitating membrane in the front corner of the eye lid which has also been rebuilt and air brushed along with bill...
They are electrodes Locker, for when Ron is ready to take over the world. He is actually an evil genius and he plans to bring all of his creations back to life where they will devour their owners.
So far he has animals in all the democrats houses.
they laughed at Dr Doolittle, but ill have his revenge! MUwaahahahaaaa!
Credit: Ron Anderson
this Pintail drake was done for a client 36 years ago, and was recently brought in to be cleaned.. Kind of a rookie mount, but they stand the test of time - i take great measures to make them as bug proof /bombproof as possible..
a feshly mounted Woodcock...( oh--boy) Many dermists consider this bird to be among the hardest to mount, as their skin in spots is thin enough to see your finger print clearly through...(electrodes/pins are holding everything in place while it dries...then they get put onto the "habitats"..
sorry Spock, no dead money shots, ive done a few different species, but they are under another shop with copy rights. Gotta respect the fellow artist and all...
Riley id bet they are close in dna. Several african raptors look amzingly like NA species also!
how bout some fake sierra granite!! Not so oddly, climbing transcended into my art -who is more familiar with UP CLOSE details of various rock types than CLIMBERS!!
I walked into a black bear walking home one night. Pitch black, no flash light and the bear was crossing the road I was walking down. Neither of us saw the other until I walked right into him. He was waste high.
Locker, the SKIN claws pads nose pad part of the lips is all real. IUnder neath is a form that weighs about 220 lbs and about ten pounds of clay hide paste etc plus the skin itself weighs about 80 lbs....Thats about an 1100 lb brown bear from Russia...
Thanks again folks, and Apogee, and all,, it really thrills me to be able so show you some glimpses of this art form. And to get compliments from folks that wont ever think about having something like this validates that it is indeed an art form. Art trancends...Ive been trying for years, and hopefully for many more..Its a tough biz though. Some may wonder if im on the puter all day, but Im at the shop so much that i simply dash acrss the showroom then back into the shop..Its handy living where yu work...that, and running a small biz in this economy is enough to keep you STRESSED out of yer gord, just trying to get some customers to pay.. Sometimes half my day is spent on skype..:-/
edit: Locker, i have tons of reference, pictures etc, that ive built up over the year, opr they bring in their own pic and go "i want this'.. And thats what they will get. I can do 100% alterations, or simply carve my own mannikin from the carcass frozen into position. I try to get them to leave a lot of the presentation to myself,,because well,, it works better that way lol!
Apogee, after forty some years, it really is just a normal thing lol! Even my parrot is completely at home with the whole thing! Its a craft that started with the Indians here on the continent. Roots in Europe as old as the 1400s.
By going through the school of HARD knocks, and doing it EVERY wrong way FIRST then finally like a blind sow,, one finds the "acorn"..;-) That and a life of observation of wildlife coupled with going to countless taxidermy comps from coast to coast coupled with working with other great artists at some of the shops coupled with trial, error and lots of imagination.....
Moosie,,,i mounted an alien for em already,, they had it straddling a chair like Demi Moore in strip tease,, sick f*ckers anyhow....
100% alterations on a mtn lion. This entailed a complete re-sizing of the form in length, and girth and total reposing as it was attached to th hind quarter of a desert big horn sheep with the out stretched paw, and the sheep had only one hoof attachment to the rock base.. these type of mounts and alterations are accomplished by only about ten percent of the taxidermists out there. I was doing this as a seminar at another shop...After this, the form got all parts foamed together, rasped down and muscle detail carved into it ready for clay mache and the skin. It took two days to alter and mount the lion...
the whole shebang, sheep was also altered 100% for the scene. It went onto a three foot high turn table base and slowly rotates. You can see the male/female square stock steel that runs from the cat, then mates into the sheep and out the left rear leg/hoof of the sheep. In the finished piece, it looked as if there was onlt two inches of the R/L hoof touching and the cat magically suspended frm its right rear hip...
Apogee- "it must be trippy having all those animal parts lying around staring at you all day."
I took various anatomy and physiology/neuro-anatomy & neuro-physiology classes for over four years, particularly the last two. Before i took my first lab class with cadavers(several per class)I thought I might have a problem with it. But it is so facinating that you don't really relate to them as cadavers of actual whole human beings. You are usually focused on working with very intricate and complicated parts of the whole. And identifying trauma and illness etc.! I was alone on many occasions with full and partial cadavers. No big deal. Always had respect for the person that once inhabited the cadaver & their family. But they are long gone. Anatomy is facinating.
You may recognize the guy on the right side of the pic. This was at Animal Artistry back around 2002..Im next to him, 2nd from right, with the gloves on..
anyone got a guess?
Clearly very nice work Ron, even if I also can't deal with it relative to large mammals of any kind. Still, I am honestly curious how that croc got from the Nile to you.
As an aside - no aspect of climbing in Southern Illinois BITD was as frightening as hunting season - hundreds, if not thousands, of suburban and urban 'hunters' from St. Louis and Chicago would descend on the whole area and the result would usually be a carnage of inadvertant hunter-on-hunter violence.
Well, Nile cros are found throughout most of Africa. The hunters hunt them over there commonly in problem croc areas shoot one, it is skinned and salted dry there, goes through a quarentine periond, then dipped in a dust of GOD KNOWS what but is supposed ot be a standardized non lethal to humans....Then shipped back on a slow boat across the pond to a port of entry where a brokerage normally handles the paper work and inspections by USFWS. THEN it goes to a certified USDA taxidermist,moi,,and i send it to a commercial tannery to be tanned, then get it back and mount it...Its SPENDY and complicated. And Yes, the situaton you describe in Chytown can put a bad taste in ones mind...
MR Karl Akeley Father of modern day taxidermy techniques, whose work graces the Smithsonian, and other prestigious museums around the world. Posing with a leopard he killed in Africa,,,,,with his bare hands..Born 1864. One of his main influences in life,,,John Muir...
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Winehouse's final recording, a duet entitled "Body and Soul" with Tony Bennett, was released on 14 September 2011 to commemorate what would have been her 28th birthday. Proceeds from the song will go to the Amy Winehouse Foundation "to support charitable activities in both the UK and abroad that provide help, support or care for young people, especially those who are in need by reason of ill health, disability, financial disadvantage or addiction".[13]
Himalayan Snowcock,,, one of the rarest and most prized birds, with only ONE mtn range in this hemisphere that contains them, the Ruby mtns/east humboldt range of NE nevada, found commonly at altitudes of 9000 to 11000 plus feet.. These birds have eyes/ears that rival any living thing, coupled with shoulders that can stand G forces in a stoop or dive of 2000 feet that would literally RIP the shoulders out of a Golden Eagle. They usually are found VERY near Rock faces as that is their primary escape method..
Maria / 19 Sep, 2007 at 09:52 am
I was wodering if anybody else suffers from fear of taxidermy. I can deal with small birds, maybe a squirrel, but any bigger than that I just have to cover my eyes and be led out of the room. Bears are the worst, especially if standing on to legs. The natural history museum would be my worst nightmare.
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Sonya Gonzalez / 24 Aug, 2010 at 03:43 pm
yes yes yes..im not alone..it freaks me out so bad..any store or restaurant or museum..Philadelphia has a giant ox or something with long wooly hair.I couldnt look at it.I think i know where mine came from..as a child i was bitten by a dog..i had to see a plastic surgeon who was a big game hunter..his entire office was covered with dead animals from Africa..
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Xandra / 25 Aug, 2010 at 12:23 pm
I've been known to start shaking/crying and be unable to move when there's taxidermy nearby… totally freaks me out.
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Alma / 18 Apr, 2011 at 07:56 pm
i also have this. Sometimes it’s so bad that I’ll have dreams where taxidermy falls on me, or i am impaled on antlers, or i am forced to put my head in the mouth of a stuffed bear. Sometimes if i see a deer in the wild i freak out because, duh, it looks like taxidermy.
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Toby / 11 Jun, 2011 at 05:59 pm
I too have this fear (well, I’d really call it a phobia at this point.) I once had to accompany children to a nature museum for work, not realizing that the museum would just be rooms FULL of taxidermy animals. Huge panic attack.
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Emily / 29 Jun, 2011 at 11:58 pm
You’re not alone.
I’m twelve years old; since I was about . . . six, I’d say? I’ve been terrified by taxidermy. I went on a trip to Germany a couple winters ago, and the bed & breakfast we were staying in was packed with taxidermy. thank god our room didn’t have anything, but it was humiliating — i literally had to be led in and out of the building by the hand, my head down, so i didn’t freak out. The one thing I could handle was the little bird by the stairwell, but even that sent a shiver down my spine.
For me, the bigger the animal is, the worse it gets. That’s the general rule for me. But all taxidermy just throws me into a state of panic.
The simple idea of animals being killed, having their skins peeled off and smacked up onto the wall is just horrifying for me. The ironic thing is that when I was about three or four, I would apparently visit my friend’s house and go in the basement to play with the taxidermy animals her father kept down there.
I think it was when I was old enough to realize that those things were DEAD animals, not stuffed playthings, that the phobia really started for me.
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Heikold / 20 Jul, 2011 at 03:38 am
I suffer from this and I agree with the size thing – it definitely makes it worse.
Do the others here have issues with things the higher up they are too? I can usually deal with stuff on the floor, but if it’s above my head I tend to freak out.
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jfrater / 19 Sep, 2007 at 09:53 am
Maria: wow – that is fascinating! I love stuffed animals – I just can’t imagine being afraid of them. What do you think brought that on?
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Maria / 19 Sep, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Well, there are no childhood traumas that I can think of, but I have wondered myself why this is, many times, since my reaction is so severe, not just thinking stuffed animals are gross. I simply cannot enter a room if there is one of those things there.
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rebecca king / 20 Jul, 2010 at 04:55 pm
I also have this fear and everyone just tells me its rediculous. Its the first thing I look for in a steakhouse or a cabin. I KNOW that they can't hurt me, but its still just creepy. I am of Indian decsent and my father used to say it was because we could feel their souls. Little strange I know, but its the only explanation I can think of. I just think it is a sick practice that our society needs to let go. I feel it is just as unacceptable as stuffing a human body. Its sick and wrong.
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Amy / 17 Sep, 2010 at 05:14 pm
I am also terrified of any and all taxidermed animals. I have never met anyone else with this fear so I'm glad I'm not the only one. I tried getting over it by waitressing at a restaurant where we had many dead animals on the wall- I only lasted a few months and it was a nightmare for me everytime I walked into work. We had a fieldtrip in 5th grade to a natural history museum, I tried walking in and had to run back out and sit outside the entire time with a teacher b/c I was having a panic attack from going in. Has anyone found a way to get over this fear?! I am okay with fish and the occassional bird but anything else freaks me out. It's also the first thing I look for when I walk into any restaurant or unknown place which could possibly have them…AHHH!
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Wowzer / 24 Sep, 2007 at 08:33 pm
Maria: I sympathise. Though I don’t have a fear of stuffed animals (such as teddy bears, plushes, whatever), I am uncomfortable around taxidermied animals. I haven’t a clue why, but I get away from them as fast as I can (I refuse to enter a furniture store at the local mall because it’s covered in taxidermied elk heads.) Just thought that was noteworthy.
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Maria / 24 Sep, 2007 at 10:56 pm
No exactly! I don´t have a problem with toy stuffed animals, of course, but taxidermy just like you Wowzer. If I suspect that there are any in a store or a house I usually have someone check it out for me. Like in the local Viking restaurant, were I totally panicked and the people there probably thought I was completely crazy…! I am glad I am not the only one!!!
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annie / 1 Aug, 2010 at 06:02 am
I have the same problem! Museums are the worst. I have nothing from my past that could have triggered it. Are you also afraid of wax dummies and things behind glass with spotlights on them like in museums?
I remember being at somebody's cabin as a kid and looking out their window and was suddenly shocked to see this huge deer in the window right in front of my face. Then I realized it was just the reflection of the deer head on the wall behind me.
Well, i'm here to reduce the fear of the "unknown" Karl! ;-)
Its like Hollywood's version of taxidermists,,they portray them as some skits out wierdos in some dank dark room. Just about every movie Ive ever seen with taxidermy in it, the CRAP they have looks like amateur city- the likes ones finds on EBAY...Ive never seen one DECENT mount in a movie, so that perception becomes ingrained in the deep consciousness..
I've always enjoyed seeing trophy heads on walls...they are intriguing, often unexpected, objects.
When I was younger for many years I used to work bartending at special events and one client was American Museum of Natural History in NYC. I've spent hours standing amongst the various life sized dioramas contemplating them.
If you have shots of workbench, tools, special supplies it would be cool to see some pics (messiness is cool) : I always dig seeing a work area with the maker's character.
Would also be interested to see some of the completed built up dioramas, in-situ, with presentation lighting.
Are there any safety hazards a taxidermist need to be cognizant of, either from the industrial supplies or the organic matter?
I'm an artist and during my college studies did some human anatomy study/dissection at Columbia/New York Presbyterian. To this day the structure of the skinned human hand, with all the small tendons and bones is one of the most beautiful structures I've seen.
Have you done any turtles?
PS: Earliest taxidermy memory ... in the Smithsonian Institute as a young boy with my family. It was late in the day and the museum was closing. My dad left us to get the car in the rain parked far away from the museum due to the abysmal parking situation in DC. The then closed but my mom, sister, and I were probably the last of the public inside and lost ... the place was so big we couldn't find the exit. It was dead quite, no employees in sight, and lights and doors in some areas were closed. We came upon a giant Wooly Mammoth in the middle of a room and I got a taste of what it must have felt for our ancestors to have been face to face with such a powerful beast. Very freaky, powerful emotions.
PSS: maybe earlier memory. A friend of my dad brought me a gift from a trip to South America: a baby stuffed crocodile (or alligator). About a foot and a half long with heavy stitches the length of its belly and very sharp teeth. I loved that thing!
Its like Hollywood's version of taxidermists,,they portray them as some skits out wierdos in some dank dark room. Just about every movie Ive ever seen with taxidermy in it, the CRAP they have looks like amateur city- the likes ones finds on EBAY...Ive never seen one DECENT mount in a movie, so that perception becomes ingrained in the deep consciousness..
I just want to know how many Armadillos you stuffed!
Mess,,, i gots LOTS of mess! Taxidermy doesn't cater to the "use a tool and gently replace it on the bench" style of thought- its fast dynamic, stuff kicking off and hardening etc, so messes are part of the game. I use mache mixes, vermiculite, two part epoxy sculpting compounds , ceramic clays, hide pastes, bondo, lacquers and acrylic paints, 2 part foam which has an invisible and class a carcinogenic fume to it (respirators mandatory) and a ton of other items that would make osha run for the hills. Gone are the days of using arsenic and other poisons though..Although i do use acids in tanning.
edit: ansers to questions,, Yes Locker LOVE stuffed crab! And No there is no animal i wont due and have done a significant amount of the speicies roaming the earth! and Yes locker the rhino is my work..
And Karl,, ive only done a few "dillos",,kind of a regional thing lol!
And Karl,, ive only done a few "dillos",,kind of a regional thing lol!
That brings to mind dildos. And since Locker is onboard, I might as well ask:
What about 'dildo' taxidermy? Or rather customers requesting stuffed animal genitalia for display? Proud stud farm owners? You mentioned upthread that the pet taxidermy market originated in NYC. There's certain to be a client base for taxidermy kink in NYC.
Due to the bullfighting thing, I saw plenty of stuffed bull's heads in Spain.
What country/city is the epicenter for taxidermy these days?
there are all sorts of spin offs from taxidermy. Plushidermy is a semi mounted animal (head) with a soft dry tanned body like a kids stuffed toy! Then there is "rouge" taxidermy where artists piece together bizarre looking creatures from various parts of other animals. Quite interesting, but not my bag.
Here's a funny "genitalia" story, while working at animal artistry long ago, we had a newer taxidermist who was mounting a hyena...Now for those that don't know, Hyenas are a bit weird and "large", but they have a HUGE amount of "foreskin". This guy had no clue, and when he wheeled into the finish room,,,,,here was this hyena with a nearly two foot long appendage! LMAO!!!!! We had him "revise" it a bit....
as for the "center of the industry,, i dont believe there is just one, but if it were the case it would no doubt be here in the US, but Europe Asia Africa and others have large industries as well... But economically,, one would think here... And the pricing center of the country for many years has been RENO due to Mike Boyces efforts to bring taxidermy into a more professional and business like lime light.
here is a NON GLAMOROUS detail...Once upon a time, I had to develope a realistic looking sphincter area technique.....How many of you would care to take on that task LOL! FYI, the seventeen line model worked out the best....Its ALL in the DETAIL! the nine line version just looked "rookie"...
Factoid: The use of Dawn dishwashing soap for wildlife caught in oil slicks came from taxidermy, as weve been using it for decades as part of a degreasing process in the preparing of bird fish and mammal skins. It IS THE BEST degreaser other than SOLVENTS.
we had a newer taxidermist who was mounting a hyena
.. Must...Resist...
Now for those that don't know, Hyenas are a bit weird and "large", but they have a HUGE amount of "foreskin". This guy had no clue, and when he wheeled into the finish room,,,,,here was this hyena with a nearly two foot long appendage! LMAO!!!
I don't recall any Hollywood portrayals of taxidermists. My 'creeped-out-ness' came from family members chasing us are with heads and stuff. Not nice, people!!
This is all really fascinating.
[dumb question]
So, you skin each critter then put the skin on the body you make? Or is a lot of it paint and such? I also thought one took the body, gutted it, then filled it with I don't know what.
Yes, they are skinned, and the claws, nose, septum , eye lids and ears , legs and or wings are "reversed" so that the cartilidge can be removed. Hard to explain it..Then the skins are tanned and then measured so that a from can be altered to fit and for the pose. The only thing real on them is the skin pads of nose and feet. claws hair or feathers. Everything under neath is man made materials. A body is removed without puncturing or "guts" with any skill...There is a lot of technique to that as well.. Now there is freeze dryng, which is essentially what you describe,, but really only works well in the smaller critters ,, mice and the like. Long term freeze drying isnt a good option. I dont freeze dry anything, it is all traditionally mounted, even the mice...wanna talk EYE STRAIN!!
edit: i either carve a body from the carcass reference, or order a commercial form from a taxidermy supply company and alter it to the pose and size of the skin...
areas that get finished with epoxy sculpting compounds are the nose lips mouth- eye rings -caruncle areas (front corner muscle of eye) toe nails, foot /toe pads or bird bills feet and eye rings, then all areas mentioned get air brushed thier natural colors...It takes five colors to paint a mtn lion eye ring,,flesh, mars red, cocoa brown , dark brown and black..
as for Lockers question earlier, at the age of 7/8, my idea of a great morning was to be out in the bushes sneaking up on birds and drawing them. Or catching glimpse of a jack rabbit and doing the same. I was simply attracted to the wild at an early age and by the time i was 10, i wanted a mounted quail as those birds amazed me soo much i needed one close, but the price back then was a hundred bucks, and for the times, that was a WAD of money. I made the commitment then to learn it myself and on my 11th birthday mounted my very first speciman,,,,a quail! although it WAS HIDEOUS! LOL!!!!!!!!!
Here in NYC there's a store in SOHO called The Evolution Store (theevolutionstore.com). They cater to rich tourists as it's located in the center of NYC's hip fashion shopping district. It's loaded with all kinds of cool stuff including some bigger mammals.
Ron, how do you keep insects, mice, and rodents from eating your work?
Do you do stuff with skeletons or is that generally treated as another field?
You mentioned movies, what do you think of The Silence of the Lambs?
Excellent timing of a bizarre story in the paper (i.e., online). This is just gross! Not that they are rats (love them, had them as pets, have two living in the back I really enjoy) - it's that they look dead. Ew.
Text from the link:
"Taxidermy animal accessories
Looking for an eco-macabre way to accessorize? A rat coin purse or pigeon feather necklace might be just what you need. Reid Peppard, a vegetarian and designer from London, doesn't want the animal victims of busy streets and pest control to go to waste, so she uses her taxidermy skills to transform their carcasses into wearable pieces. Ranging in price from hundreds to thousands of dollars, Peppard’s accessories are sure to make a statement — Lady Gaga even wore one of her creations in her “Bad Romance” video. But who are Peppard's biggest customers? Surprisingly, American men."
through PROPER preparation of the skins. Believe it or not,, 20 mule team borax soap is a well known bug proofing for birds and small mammals..Bird legs are injected with "balmex" first developed in ww1 to preserve bodies in the field...Lots of stuff we use to insure longevity, but cut rate taxidermists WILL leave a lot of these steps out as they are expensive over head wise.
edit Crimpie,,, AGREED eeewwwww....FREEZE DRIED!....nuff said
edit: Love,, yes i ocasionally do skeletal stuff, but mostly just bleached skulls etc.
and Thought Silence of the lambs was a cool movie,,, but typical..lol!
whats inside a bird? well here is the head part..An excerpt from "UPland game bird taxidermy" by Frank Newmyer in which i do two chapters. All my own self invented techniques.
this crazy freak named ralph kraus had a rat stuffed with blue bird winds,
he called it the ratley or some weird ass acid dreamed up sh#t,
think use to freak me out, man,
if we passed a dead animal in the middle of the road, he would be all over it, stripping the hide from the pavement to wear it like a grapefriut hat, wtf, over?
DOH! That guy is hard core lol! Im a little less brave when it comes to road kill cuisine..!;-D Although, the two deer ive hit while driving, i did indeed utilize!
Ironically illegal in Alabama, but legal in Tennessee (to take and eat road kill).
But just to even things up you can buy Jack Daniels in Alabama but not in its home county in Tennessee. I think those Lynchburg teetotalers are liquor making hypocrites and good for them I say!
Bob, yes ive worked on pieces for Cabelas stores, not sure exactly where they went, and did some finish work on some of the displays at the Reno store as well.
Never been there, but it looks like an interesting place!! I saw a recent article on Martha Stewart about taxidermy as home decor- seems it is gaining a crowd of city types even!
This is a competition piece done for the 2007 world show. The sage brush has a 3/8 threaded rod through to near the tip, and goes into the base- and is comprised of about five major pieces from different brush, all bonded together, textured and painted to match the real wood. The root system is root collected from several different brushes, tress etc, and all put into place one by one to "build" composition. Floral techniques on composition are also used including "heaven, man and earth" basics as well as pos/neg space, color co-ordinations and non centering flows etc.. This was a piece i had had in my head since i drew it for my mother when i was about 10 years old..it got a 2nd in world and was featured in industry magazines and web sites. Twas a labor of love for Mom, and i hope she was pleased..
death is currency.
i traded two deaths for some sonshine.
the inheritant will surely enjoy thoroughly
the concluding passage that was assigned to me.
that death will weave in and out of
god's passion, and leave Her drunk.
im not sure now what im up against.
i've got to die twice,
once the death of a martyr
and once the death of a villian.
im bored of death's game,
for i always win,
though the villians death coming to me
should me, intrigue,
as the culmination of my questioneering.
That reminds me Weeg,, A lady taxidermist friend of mine down in the bay area just had a customer call her about,,,,,,,mounting his FINGER! Yes,, he lost his ring finger in a work accident, and the hospital let him keep it, now he wants it "mounted"...
Ive done a few REPRODUCTION humans and or parts for scenes before, but never the real thing. And of course, Ive had wives ask how much to "stuff" their hubbies and Hubbies asking how much for wives..;-D
Thanks Nutjob,, you know the buzz i get when completing a piece is much like the buzz one gets when completing a difficult pitch.! And they both only last a little while, and must be re-fed..;-)
Ron, the family I asked about, the old man, Tom Bolack was one of the first really big oil millionaires in NM. He was briefly governor of our state He was a big trophy hunter in the late 50's and into the 60's. My father used to take me out to their ranch to see his trophy room which was, well not quite basketball court size.
All the taxidermy was realtively crude, but the dudes collection was awesome. I'm pretty sure he had one of the biggest polar bears ever taken. I never thought of him as a sportsman, to get that bear he flew around in a chopper until they found a really big one. I think he got a lot of his African trophys the same way. That aint hunting to me.
The old man was a drunk, a bad guy really. When he wanted to punish his son Tommy he frequently locked him in a closet for long periods. My old man was a long time acquaintance and my family was on friendly terms with Tom is why I'm privy to these kind of details.
Anyway, Tom finally checked out leaving the empire to Tommy and Tommy built himself a super deluxe pad quite a ways from the original house. I don't think it held a lot of great memories for him. I haven't gone to see it but he had a lot of the taxidermy redone in the lifelike action style that a lot of your work shows. I have the impression Tommy might have sunk a really big chunk of change into it. The next time I get a chance to go see his pad I'll be sure to get some good photos and post em up here.
Thanks a lot for showing us your work, it's really fun to see!
An old Freind of mine, Igor Caragodin (from Russia) is pictured working on a MOST SPECIAL project, a california Condor- a victim from AZ. A Once in a lifetime opportunity! And Igor is a talented Artist!
edit: NickD, that would be cool to see!
Credit: Ron Anderson
Credit: Ron Anderson
^^^Igor working the nine foot wing span on this awsome bird.. Its being mounted for a museum of course..
Ha Chaz! I was wondering the same thing - if the bird would have his tags on. The only one I saw, had tags. The tags were diagnostic for a positive ID!
Yes actually in most areas mounting of humans is frowned upon ! BUT the Chinese have taken the preservation to fascinating extent with their latest human body exhibits which caught MUCH FLAK while here in the US.!
Credit: Ron Anderson
thier version of "the thinker".. You can see the musculature, the nerves- everything is preserved.
Some of us snuck into the body exhibit late at night while it was in another country. That added an awful layer of creepiness to it. I lasted 10 second and high-tailed it out of there! Bleck!
yeah i never made it to san jose to see that exhibit when it was here but i have taken med classes and got to "play" with preserved corpses. not as freaky or disturbing as one would think.
The human body show made it to Vancouver and I went with a lover of adventure. We both were super creeped out by the examples of plasticised corpses. Free will being what it is the donors of themselves were presented in various flattering and ridiculous poses.
I was under the impression the work was German, not Chinese.
So Ron, I have nothing but fascination for what you do. does the modern polymer injection technique to achieve the withered but detailed EX-people have any bearing on your classic technique for taxidermy ?
Jim, Not really- "standard" taxidermy deals only with the skins which are tanned to a leather. I do often use the carcasses as a 3-d reference for carving the mannikins though! The carcasses also tell us about muscles, tendons etc.
Credit: Ron Anderson
and Rielly NICE HAZEL-HARE LOL! Kinda like the Lion Pedastal to Go-B.
Shack, from what ive been told that sheep exhibit is going to be moved due to TSA needeing more touchin and squeezin room...
hey there say, ron... thanks for sharing.... had not seen this, either
first time up...
say, i was babysitting one night for grandkids and a show came on:
it was about a man that does this...
they showed the shop, what he did, and his wife and his home life...
he seemed like a very nice guy...
was very nice to folks,under odd conditions, and patient...
thanks again...
:)
*yep, it showed all the sculpting involved, painting etc..
my auntie that died (falling through ice in her pond, was 79)
well, she had been art director, etc, at the cleveland museum of
natural history and had done work in all things similar to this too,
... not sure how much was real critter, or not (birds, etc)...
but she did many prehistoric copies, too...
Cool Neebs. Most taxidermists do indeed have great amounts of patience.
Credit: Ron Anderson
The "wart hog".. Named for its protrusions of fatty like material extending from the face on either side if its cheeks. Typically beat up and abused by lions and other cats. The LARGE tusks are quite sharp on the lowers and the uppers are HUGE, set into the jaw some three to four inches and are strong enough to lift animals off the ground.
Isnt this a beauty? You see, anyone can become a licensed taxidermists. all you need to do is pay the fees for licenses. The economic times have driven many into a part time occupation as "taxidermists". Just like the rest of america, instant gratification is used in lieu of experience. Watch a video and bam your a "dermist". Get your cards made and pass em out!
So here we have a prime example of very little experience with a turkey that is supposed to be "strutting" . This done by a COMMERCIAL taxidermist in the area. The customer was charged a commercial fee and wrote a testament to the artist for creating such a wonderful trophy and that the talent and love for the work was obviously displayed! ---??
What is sad is that customers eventually become dissatisfied with an ugly mount like that and they loose interest in any more pieces in the future.
Great thread! Love it when old gems like this pop up. Ron, a world class artist and climber. Cool.
Just read the whole thread. Ron, no one commented on your photo of the ring-necked pheasant with the puma lounging on the couch in the background. That cracked me up. Would be fun to visit your shop next time I'm in Gardnerville. Would that be possible?
Growing up in DC I used to spend hours and hours in the NMNH looking at the exhibits. The tiger was my favorite (think it has been moved out of the great hall).
thanks fer the compliments! And yes anyone can stop by for a visit- call first to make sure im here! for maps ,,numbers etc,, www.nevadawildlifestudio.com
Im not often EXCITED about a speciman,, but this is a SPRING sage grouse via a Native American permit that i just received for mounting. Ive only done three of these spring birds in the past 44 years.. This is the only time of year that a true strutting mount can be accomplished due to changes in the enzymes and other biological changes that allow the huge expansion of their breast skin for the booming of their ritual struts. The skin soon recoils to normal after mating.. Most sage grouse are hunted during the normal seasons and as such cant be mounted correctly in a strut pose.
These birds are ancient, and have NOT changed a bit from fossilized remains. Ill post a pic when completed..
Note: each of the white feathers of his collar have been meticulously trimmed and groomed by him, as well as the long plumes, which were once full feathers that were trimmed to be long shafted ornamental plumes one at a time by that bird.
Mr Dave York was up for a week long seminar with me, he won in an auction for another fellow taxidermist whos going through some major grief. He mounted his first predators as well as a day of my bird techniques and sizing bear manikins to the skin. A BUSY week! He was a good study too!
Credit: Ron Anderson
Mr Dave York from SoCal,, working on his first predator, a young african lion male!
a good looking lion face, after re-sculpting the zigamatics, maciters and eye rings/caruncles and nose..
Credit: Ron Anderson
Credit: Ron Anderson
Dave applying the clay for the facial features.
Dave working on his first life size bobkitty!
Credit: Ron Anderson
Credit: Ron Anderson
Credit: Ron Anderson
Credit: Ron Anderson
An intense seminar week was had--techniques of clay sculpting, metal ears, invisa thread, Eye sets, nose shapes, and mannikin alterations were the menu.
so true what you shared, too, about 'some may get into the business
easy, but--it does NOT mean quality or skill...
not all the pics have loaded, but frm what i saw, with the lion,
i can tell they are good stuff, done ver well...
neat note as to this quote of yours:
wow, i never suspected that--bird are so fun in what they do!
Note: each of the white feathers of his collar have been meticulously trimmed and groomed by him, as well as the long plumes, which were once full feathers that were trimmed to be long shafted ornamental plumes one at a time by that bird.
Ron, I must say that I am very impressed with your skills. You obviously are a meticulous artisan.
I'm not been particularly interested in specimens I've seen in the past, but I realize that I've mainly seen poorly done work.
Through this thread, I've gained an appreciation for the various steps involved, all of which are artistic in nature.
You haven't talked about it a lot, but you must give considerable thought to the "pose" that will be involved, before you even start working. I'll bet you dream about it!
Thoughts of posing? Yes, its frequently on my mind when getting another project started. Most of the time, this is discussed with the clients as they usually have some idea or preference. Then , through a bit of transmogrification, we arrive at "the look" and pose. I have many things in my head that ive seen in flat art magazines, or nature photos , or simply ideas. These influence what i will suggest to the customer from time to time.
When mounting, the expression of the animal bird or even fish must match the action or nuance of the pose. For instance, the african lion being posed in a calm regal fashion, had to have the eye set a bit "lazy" or heavy lids to the top of the eyes to achieve a "quiet confidence" sort of mood.. Even ear pose in animals reflects their mood.
On the bobkitty, her ears are forward and somewhat alert- as she will be looking at a mouse held down by the tail from her front right paw, and the eyes are focused on that exact spot. So Yes, all these things are factored in for each type of pose.
This all involves a never ending study of reference, and using such as you mount. Its nearly impossible to memorize every look of every critter- so you always refresh your mind by viewing some reference. ALL manikins that are made commercially have flaws, miss shape from hot removals out of forms., and symmetry problems as well as lacking in many facial features.
It is through reference that we know how to adjust these manikins for each specimen. One size never fits all, as animals ,, each and every, are unique to themselves,, just like US.. In addition, makers of these manikins tend to over build all the muscle structures which looks cool on the manikin, yet arent even close to what was skinned, so carcass references and anatomical studies have to be another ingredient. The work you see that "just doesnt look good, or right", is often mounted on these manikins as is, with out the extra effort to properly size, and just and add with clays and other techniques because they fear clay work and make it much harder than it really is.
So Yes Ken, theres much thought about it,, but after forty some years doing it, i thankfully no longer dream about such things. Instead i just loose sleep thinking on them lol!
Then,, we think on the HABITAT..This is the number one area of weakness for many taxidermists. Things like odd tight wads of artificial grass poking magically out of solid rock etc are common place.
There are many things that are considered in GOOD habitats. Some can be art, and interpretive, while others attempt to artistically mimic nature in exactness. Floral composition rules were brought to the industry be a friend and fellow taxidermist, Stephan Savides. A composition genius. Heaven , man , and earth philosophies, off centered subjects,,positive an negative space, color co-ordination, odd numbers are just some of the aspects of well done habitats. I once did a small bufflehead drake piece- he was standing on snow covered ice at the edge of water, and i mixed the resin hot to kick off more quickly, the spent an hour or two total, with an airbrush brushing in realistic wave and wind pattern in the water, including the round reaction ripples from a small round rock poking through the surface. So you have to be a nature observer of the flora and dirt as well. When you have a well done specimen on equally done habitat, it speaks for itself.
Then you get a "pet" project...These ARE the most pressured situation a taxidermist can ask for. The people being intimately familiar with their departed pets. each one ive ever done was easily the most worrisome. They all come with many pictures for reference and they always want a very specific pose, EXACTLY DUPLICATED, nary a whisker out of place.
NO PRESSURE THERE EH! Most taxidermists wont even accept them, but they will send them to me. (sigh).. Yes this is a we weird - even for a long time dermist. Not because they want to have their pet mounted, but the fact it was a pet. I stress over these and so far, the reactions have been very positive.
Ol "Garfield" in the pic was one of these such projects. The manikin was carved directly from his body, then a HUGE layer of mache and clays were added to compensate for three inches of fat that was removes from the skin- 3 inches!!! every where.
Cosmic,,,Some what YES. As upthread the cadaver exhibits and such.. The main problem is LEGALITIES there ! Ive had many a hunter ask about their spouses both male and female lol!
The nature of human skin is best reproduced in plastic. Ive done a few human parts, like a hunters arm in a 19' crocs mouth- this actually happened in Africa- they got his arm back, and was re-attached. But he wanted it mounted with his arm as he bit it off. So i cast a similar size taxidermists arm first in alginate, then poured a two part plastic in it.. The finish and painting of humans is extremely difficult. There are many colors in just a hand,, like greens, blues, fleshes of varying depth, near white, off yellows etc etc.. COMPLEX we are!
Absolutely fascinating! I have a brother in law who is a major big game hunter including hunting safaris all over Africa and the Far East. He has 100s of things mounted, and many "skulls" mounted. When at his home I always feel sorry for the animals that are stuck in the garage or other out of the way areas of his house....but he has so many they couldn't be put into the main living areas. He actually had a story for each one. Hard to believe he can recall each kill. One thing, well 4 actually, we never talk about is some elephant leg stools he has.
And Susan, yes there are some very large collections out there- museums in their own right!
There is a trophy rook built by a very rich person in MI, that we worked on we=hen i was at Animal artistry. It was thousand of square feet and contained different rooms if you will that the habitat changed from say Africa to the polar regions, to the mountains of N America. Complete with fiber optics stars of actual constellations and such , pressure pads in the floors that brought up different sounds or tribal music in Africa, automatic camp fires that would ignite etc etc,, amongst about two hundred specimens. There were baboons setting on the thatch roofed bar of the african section, crow circling a grizzly and his caribou kill and the like. His office was a secret panel door way into the inside of a large rock mountain with wild sheep displayed on it. A wildlife Disneyland..
A rare treat for any taxidermist,, a spring male Sage grouse- only time of year a true strut pose can be done due to to changes in their skin during mating.
Credit: Ron Anderson
these spring birds can only be taken by museums, or learning institutions with collection permits, or in this case, from a Native American permit.
Ron, I wish I new you back in '78, b'cuz I came upon this Great Horned Owl (maybe it was a Great Horned ?/it was huge), laying in the middle of the road, on the way to Hawthorn from Mammoth late one night. I stopped, and it was still warm, so I tossed it into the back of my truck and continued on. I started calling around and couldn't find a taxidermist, so a couple days later I took it out and placed it someplace respectible. Sure was a beautiful bird, kinda sad memories regarding it, actually.
Keep up the "Great" work, bro!!
edit: "archaic laws on the books..." - i vaguely remember that was what i ran into with the taxidermist i contacted in Bishop, at the time. :(
Yeah,, pets are a little odd, but i do them occasionally.. And the owl would unfortunatly have to be wasted due to archaic laws on the books here regarding raptors.
This sage gruse took abut 12 hours of pinning and skin and plumage manipulation to get this strutting pose-- they have an unfair advantage of 150 nerves that do it for them, i have to cheat those nerves !
Why yes,, i have on occasion mounted something odd- like a baboon riding a wart hog dressed in a little cowboys outfit,, or a two headed quail.;^) Also did a baboon standing that was holding a tiolet paper roll. Glad you all enjoy the thread- i worked on a tiny specimen until 12:30 this morn--a poorwill . Twas a tiny potato chip- and required my secret rehydration techniques to bring the skin back to something workable..Micro surgery and micro "boids" make for a fun evening!
Gorgeous work, Ron!! We at TINS will be very proud to use these for education and outreach!!
EDIT - And sorry about the dehydrated skin - we try, but sometimes specimens come to us that have just been chucked in the freezer with no protection. I always recommend a paper cone and double freezer bags - seems to do the trick for birds I'm going to make into study skins.
Glad ya like em Will! Happy to help out the Institute and the good work You do!
Interesting about the white headed being a victim of the angora fire too!
I was thinking that pecker was do for a molt when looking at the white head- and tiny dark and grey stained feathers which didnt wash out with dawn dishwashing sop. I thought it to be natural,, then upon conversing with Will was told she was an angora fire victim lol! Smoked she was !
awesome work ron. i would love to stop by your place. i have a friend that works at the nugget and lives in sparks that wants me to visit next football season. will try to fit it in. i will supply the hippie lettuce.
Hey Ron Questions,
Do you do fish?
Are they easier or more difficult than birds/animals.
anything you hate doing, love doing?
I would assume larger things bring you more $.
does doing someones pet creep you out or is it all just work for ya?
Nice work by the way!
Tad
Cool MM.!.
And Tad, yes i do fish- birds, reptiles, mammals and pets. Pets are a bit different and id never do my own.. But money is money and customers are always right! Some of my favorite are specimens like ive been doing for the Tahoe Institute of Natual science- protected species arent that often done,, and i love da boids! But mammals fish are good too! My least favorite is snakes. Just because..
Ha,that never occurred to me given yer locale. I saw the thingie on the end of the bill and just thought it was the ring on the Ring-billed. Now that I look closer i can see it is that 'thingie'. Being an Alaskan I never paid no mind to juvie jaegers as there was always plenty of adults to ogle. :-). So did this one show up in yer hood?
That jaeger washed up on the beach at Sand Harbor, on the east shore of Lake Tahoe, back in August of 1999. Starved on migration, apparently. It's been frozen ever since, passed through a few different hands, and now, finally, we'll be able to display it thanks to Ron's skills and artistry (and rehydration secrets)!
BTW, Tahoe probably gets a couple jaegers every fall, but they're pretty rare and it takes certain weather conditions to expect to see them.
Thanks peeps! I wanted him to have a kind of glaring inquisitive look,, as if to say hhmmmmm should i make you MY next meal?
They are lovely birds to work on, the feathers all serrated for silence in flight. The tiny nearly invisible lashes of plumage on the face ring--the NAs for the most fear this bird as the harbinger of death. Ive always FELT the opposite that they are the bringers of a good hunt. When ive seen them early in the am hunting, ive always done good.
Glad ya liked ol Woodsy! He was a N shore roadkill..
Ron, I guess you may have seen this on the Flames. I'm posting the whole picture, warts y todos. The Trophy Room Bar awaits your sooner-or-later patronage. It's opening maybe in another month.
Their mounts have aged well, as far as I can tell. They date back to the 40s, most of them. You've probably seen lots of these ancient ones in your life as pig o' the woods, etc.
Well,, as far as "favorite taxidermy,, ill say birds,, but as far as fav mammalian ,, id say felines , as their facial features are interesting..
And Ys Jim,, the acupuncture helps keep the focus- of the SKIN!;-) Those are "euro pins" - lil sharp tiny pins used to hold the skin into place while drying.
every now and then you get a speciman that defys ALL forms and shape.. This DOE gemsbok is just that. The form required 100% re-sizing and shaping as they dont make many DOE gemsbok forms (NONE actually).
The skin is used for sizing, then about four pounds of clay work to re-organize the shape and facial features.
Not to mention those DAMM stripping screws- CHEAP basitds that cant even go into wood without stripping.!!!!!!!!!!!
Im tellin ya,, i could use a COGNAC about now lol!
My Happy customer, and friend of 40 years or so, Dave Mathiesen with his new mount.. He long bow hunted in Africa for those..All smiles.. A good sign..
So I'm curious about the mount. Did he request that stacked type layout, or did you suggest it, or where did the idea come from. Wouldn't be my personal choice, but I guess it also depends on the trophy room where it will live.
You do good work Ron...even if I don't like to see animals killed for sport or stuffing...for food and full use of their parts in a respectful manner I condone
I just hate to see magnificent specimens killed for some person's wall as for your client being all smiles...isn't he in one of those movies where they hunt the humans for sport?
ElCap,, yes he requested the "double pedastal" style mount-- just an artsy presentation- a bit more than just "on the wall" if you will..
And Mt Lion,, not ONE bit of those animals went wasted. The hunter gets a meal or two off each one he gets, and local tribes get the rest. A very typical arrangement among outfitters and locals. A win win for all concerned. And also brings in $$$$ to their economy as many locals work for the outfitters. Its a main stay in Africa for quite sometime, and these large ranches also are responsible for the recovery of many specimens, fyi..Poachers usually dont get away with poaching on outfitters grounds. Also a plus for Africa..
and he hunted them with a LONG BOW. if you had the slightest clue of how hard that is in AFRICA,, you may go,, wow,, impressive! In the bush in Africa, everything either a)- sticks you, or b)- bites you..
Rj ,, did a lobster for the "Doarys Oar" restaurant at SLT way back, it was their long time aquarium pet- sixty some years old and with the claws it was 3 feet long! HUGE he was!
Actually RJ,, yes indeed i do use that stuff. For instance on a crocodile, i augment the muscles on the legs shoulders and neck by a small hole using canned foam to squirt in under the skin, then manipulate it from the outside by using tacks, and carding the hold the proper muscle detail- Which is WAY lighter than doing those in six pounds of clay! ;-)
We used to make many forms at AA when i worked there. Heavy fibergalss forms bolted together then injected with 4 lb density foam. If TOO much foam was injected, those forms would EXPLODE like a grenade! Saw a bolt go through a wall lol!
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