Just the Skull, Please

Meet Z the Pitbull.  His humans had planned ahead as he was sick for some time, and brought him straight to me from the vet after euthanizing.  They just wanted the skull cleaned and articulated, the rest was up to me. 

Aside from burying skulls to let nature do the job, my experience in this department is limited to smaller creatures like rabbits and pheasants.  This was a more labor intensive job than I'd anticipated but nothing too difficult.  It really doesn't take any specific skill set to clean a skull, just a willingness to scoop brains out and get your fingernails really dirty underneath.

 After cleaning off as much muscle tissue and flesh as I could with a scalpel and my bare hands, I scooped the brain out with a fondue fork (also doubles as a rabbit ear splitter and cocktail stirrer when I'm in a pinch) and then boiled it for an hour to get the rest of the little bits to loosen up out of their crevices.

Round 2: Getting the rest of the little bits of (now boiled) brain out of the skull cavity,  You can see the bits and bobs in the photos above.  Everything must come out or, come Summertime, the client will have a very unpleasant surprise when flies start dropping their larva off at Camp Doggie Skull.

 There was still some stubborn matter hiding deep in the brain cavity so I reboiled, carefully (too much boiling can crack the bones, and if there is still oil and flesh on the bones it will soak into it, making it greasy.

 After the second boil I cleaned him off with a wire brush and used a needle to pick any little bits of anything hiding between those very serious looking teeth.

 After the last picking and poking, I soaked it in a bleach bath.  Bleach is not recommended for skulls, typically, unless its hair bleach.  I find that a very light mixture (1pt bleach to 10 or 12 pts water) works just fine for a finish and sanitation purposes.  Just keep your eye on it, take the skull out every 15 minutes or so to check progress. 

 Lastly, I drilled holes where the lower jaw met with the skull and articulated it with steel wire.  I left it long enough so that some movement would be possible.

 

Z's human came to get his skull last night and she was quite pleased.  I think this is a thoughtful and palatable option for pet preservation when having your whole buddy mounted just isn't a good fit.

Some New SHeep Hoof Candle Holders

I just shot this fresh batch of sheep hoof candle holders yesterday; I'll be listing on etsy later this morning. 

I call this pair the dancers.  I experimented with posing and got as close to an on pointe stance as I could.  The bases and candle cups are pieces harvested from antique silver candle holders.

Evoking a ballet costume, I needed sequins or some sort of flash.  I used these hand beaded patches on the back to conceal what isn't the prettiest part of a sheep's hoof.  Kind of like a dancer's worn and beaten feet, I suppose.

 

This single piece is slated to be a gift for someone as part of my ongoing twenty4twenty project; I'll write more about it and its recipient after sending

I wanted something to suggest a beautiful woman, and for some reason this glass beaded fringe loosely wrapped and dripping me down the side reminded me of a goddess draped effortlessly in a flowing robe.

I wanted some of the beads to trail behind like a gown, which isn't necessarily safe for something with a flame on top of it but thankfully there will only be civilized adults where this piece is going-no children.

Here are my Moroccan Dancers.  I've never been to Morocco but it's on my list of dream visits, as I am endlessly inspired by the colors, dress, style, food, houses, everything I see from there. 

I used antique brass hand cups and bibeches with a pair of inverted antique glass bibeches with what appears to be hand made glass beading.  SO much provenance in these pieces.

 

I can practically see them shimmying.  Can you?

Here's my little Cossack hat candle holder.  He's a simple one, standing alone with his slim figure and poofy top.  He'll stand guard over your most intimate evenings, the ones where you spill all your guts onto the table.

Wendy the Woodcock

Hi!

 

 This lil sweetie was possibly my most humbling mount to date (well, aside from that Sharpie Hawk) because of its petite size and tissue paper thin skin.  Above, you can see all the holes I made while skinning it.  A colleague used the term "wet toilet paper" to describe their dermis, which is pretty spot on.
  But she turned out pretty swell, in my opinion, and my client's-which is what really matters.

They use their very long beaks to root around in the dirt for bugs, which they locate with their ears that are at the base of those long beaks, by literally putting an ear to the ground!
Their enormous eyes are located high in the head, and their visual field is probably the largest of any bird, 360° in the horizontal plane and 180° in the vertical! Definitely unlike any other bird species I've worked with.

 My fingers will look like this someday, but more veiny.

 

 She wanted him perched on a brick to convey an urban environment.  I was dubious at first but it turns out woodcocks look great on bricks!

 OK, that's all for now.  See ya sweetie!

Ciao Ciao

Arriving in my studio from Italy by way of Philadelphia import, this Borsalino hat is a classic.  I received it from a painter in my building and held onto it until inspiration struck.  I love men's hats, I love men IN hats, but I also find designing for them to be challenging.  Us gals can get away with anything, in my opinion.  Men still seem to be held up to certain gender expressive fashion standards and are subject to judgment in a sense that women just aren't.  Perhaps one of the only ways we aren't.
This is all simply to say that I proceed with caution with men's accessories.  Usually.  Who am I kidding, I've only made like three men's pieces in my life.  Who cares?
I grabbed this hat and wove my couture taxidermy wand over it to create something for the type of man (or woman) who would want exactly what I made. And voila:

 I felt inspired last week to dig a raccoon tail off a hide I'd skinned, fleshed and tanned months ago and sew it on.  I accented it with a burst of chicken feathers and a small vintage gem.

 While it is technically a men's hat, it's on the small side (size 7&1/8) so it fits a more petite noggin.  Of course ladies look good in these hats (see what I mean?  We can wear anything) as demonstrated by my lovely model here:

 And here's many more photos of this hat in case you didn't get a clear idea yet:

 Listing on etsy now!

Kika

 

Hi!

 

 Kika was the 18 year old beloved parrot who brightened the days of my client, Berta.  She was in tears the day she brought her in to me.

 When she came in today to pick her up, there were more tears- thankfully the sweet happy kind.

 Berta brought her son (who is just one year older than Kika, btw) and he told me that my studio smelled "like sadness and dreams" which I thought was very poetic.

Berta;s wish was to have Kika perched how she was in life, so I opted for a cocked, close wing mount and made a wall perch from a wooden dowel and disc.

And that's all!