Vampyra the Winged Domestic Feline

Meet Vampyra.  She is the beloved feline of a local Philadelphian and has been posthumously winged as per his request.  I think it was a brilliant idea.  She has a very gothy feel.

In life, she seemed to wear a mildly surprised or curious facial expression so I did my best to recreate that.  I wish I had spent more time on her pillow seat, though.  It could use some tassels, for sure, and also tends to want to lean a little bit.

I used wings from a chicken; at first I wanted to use a black rooster but after noticing all the subtle browns and reds in her coat, a pitch black pair of wings would have looked very flat so I opted for a bit more texture, color wise.



Many measurements and carcass casting to make a custom form.

A progress shot of her ears drying.  Despite the carding the ears still gave me some grief.

 Here she is, eternally poised for preflight.

It was an honor, Vampyra.  Charmed, indeed.

Waste Not...

Remember that rat I mounted a few months back?  I also preserved her skull, here are some photos, please enjoy!

Bijoux the Sweetie

Meet Bijoux.  She's the much beloved pet Dumbo Rat of a client and she passed away one night after living with a large cancerous tumor in her belly for some time.

 It was my client's wish to have her preserved elegantly and regally, so we opted for a plush pillow to sit her on and some head embellishment.  I would up using a vintage Betsey Jonson charm as a crown of sorts, and couldn't resist a little diamond ring.

Because she had been ill her coat apparently wasn't as lustrous as it had been in healthier days but I think she's still beautiful.

I used silicone rubber to make a mold of her body (sans skin) and made a carcass cast.  This is a pricey technique but completely manageable with smaller specimen, and yields a highly detailed mannequin to then taxi the dermis onto.  In this case that was extremely helpful as Bijoux had a very specific growth on her body that may not have been obvious under her coat, but was significant in how her body was shaped.

 She went home last night to be with her human, and thus closes another little chapter in my taxidermy career.

Jill, the lil Scamp with a Cleft Lip

Jack and Jill lived in a tree, until the tree was cut down and both baby squirrels were rendered homeless.  A kind woman took them in and raised them, and while Jack thrived, Jill had a difficult time as she was born with a cleft palette and eating was tremendously difficult.  As I write this I wonder-if their home hadn't been destroyed, Jill may have perished much sooner than she did.  Perhaps in a parallel universe that's the case.  And in yet another one, she lives on, animated with her brother and adoptive human mother.

In this universe, however, Jill expired.  Her human's wish was to have her as a soft mount, so I had her teeny tiny hide soft tanned and mounted her with cotton and armature wire so she could be plush and pose-able.  The malformed skull had to be reinforced with clay and glue; I found this aspect to be the most difficult part as I've never worked with a harelip before.  I basically had to recreate the fleshy gum and lips of her palette.  Unfortunately I lost some files as I transitioned from my old computer to this new laptop so I don't have any closeup photos of her face but you can get the idea here:

I'm still getting the hang of this soft mount option and while I love love LOVE it I'm working on figuring out a way to strike a balance between touchable/squeezable and anatomic accuracy.  I'm not crazy about how floppy her little squirrel fingers and toes are.

But she sure is fun to pose!  Sat Nam, Jill.  May your path always be illuminated and free of obstacles.

Koko the Guacamayo

Hola Koko!

Koko is the very much beloved 15+ year old pet Gaucamayo of one of the most delightful families I've had the pleasure of meeting through my work as a taxidermist.  It's profoundly touching to meet folks who care for their critters so deeply.  Koko's humans were in tears when they brought him to me; yet were still able to chuckle as they told me of how he would cuss in Spanish to get everyone's attention.  They had even saved every feather he'd ever shed over his entire lifetime!

 This pet preservation project was an absolute honor to work on.  What a lovely specimen, to boot.

 My client was brought to tears when they were reunited; the entire process was extremely rewarding. She even baked me a cake and sent me photos of Koko after he was back home in his little bird abode.

So long, Koko, I will savor the experience of working with you and your family for years to come.

Bilal

 This is the skull of Bilal the cat, a beloved member of my dear friends' family.  When he passed, they gave him to me to make something with.  I brain tanned his hide and transformed him into a luxurious fur stole, of which I sadly have no photos.

 W & R were instrumental in my early development as a taxidermy artist; I couldn't have made it without their guidance and generosity.  I was reflecting on this last week when I decided to unearth Bilal's head from my freezer, clean it off and gift them with the skull.

 I've been getting into bone cleaning lately, all these heads are in my freezer that I figured I'd do something with someday.  Now I'm really getting into it.  I don't use beetles, as bone cleaning isn't even a significant part of the services I offer (yet) but I'm thoroughly enjoying the catharsis of scraping brains out, yanking cartilage with my bare hands, pulling, plucking and prying all the messy gunk off the bones.  Perhaps it's a metaphor for some deep self exploration I've been engaging in...

 Bilal had some pretty impressive teeth, although he was missing a bottom fang.

 I articulated the mandible to the skull and drilled a hole for his name tag to dangle from.

Another day in Paradise.

Thumper

 Meet Thumper.  He was the beloved hamster of my friend A, and when he passed she envisioned him curled up in eternal dream state with a pair of blue butterfly wings.  I was truly honored that she would entrust me with the task of preserving her pet, and thankfully when I presented the finished product to her today, she was pleased.

 Anyone who knows me knows that small mammals are not my area of expertise; far from it.  I find it extremely challenging to manipulate the teeny skin without manhandling it too much.  They're so delicate!

 Speaking of delicate, the butterfly wings caused me to hyperventilate a few times as I tried to sink them into the grooves I cut into the mount for them.  It blows my mind that those stunning creatures can flutter about the world so freely when one careless touch can destroy them.

It goes without saying that Thumper will live under the protection of a glass dome.  Sweet dreams, little one!