I really have been focusing on the taxidermy in the past couple months. I'm still practicing on small animals and found... parts of animals. I'm enjoying the sculptural aspect of it. I really just enjoy doing anything that's hands on and creative. I've come to realize I'm all over the map when it comes to my art practice but this in particular is really satisfying my bridge between science and art. I'm trying to create something that retains beauty and a sweetness with these animals, Memento mori like dioramas. There's a delicacy and intimacy here. When I was in my early teens, my mom and I used to go to workshops and make our own teddy bears. This feels a lot like that, only with a touch less innocence.
I have a far way to go with getting things accurate, but that is my goal. I would love to apprentice with a taxidermist to learn how to do things properly to achieve nicer faces (I'm having trouble making the lips not look horrific!). I'm not ready to work on larger animals on my own, because of the chemicals, supplies and permits involved in tanning the hides, but I really have the desire to learn on something bigger than a squirrel. I've been reading a lot online, joining forums and asking a lot of established taxidermists questions in sometimes over enthusiastic emails. There are courses offered out west, mostly in the States, that I am thinking of enrolling in. I day dream about working in a museum, preparing animals for species preservation as my "day job".
The majority of these projects are being documented on my instagram and tumblr accounts which you can link to at the side, or on the bottom of the page.
