Adios and hola Hector

Meet Hector:

About two months ago I got a frantic call from a woman who spoke very little english but found my info on Yelp after her chihuahua’s sudden death and her subsequent decision to have him preserved.  Pair her muy poqueno English with my very limited Spanish and you get one very stilted conversation.  I was able to text my address to her so she could have it in writing and when she dropped off her little guy she was so upset.  Because of the language barrier, my usual line of questioning in which I feel out the client to suss out if this is really something she wants done (or are they making a grief induced, regrettably rash decision) and tenderly discuss options in regard to poses, all the while trying to provide some comfort- all that went out the window.  Payment options and pricing were sorted out immediately and I acted out several posing options on the floor since I was caught off-guard without any photo examples.

She expressed to me that she wanted Hector in the pose you see above, since that’s how he would sit on the window sill and wait for her to come home from work each day.

Unfortunately she had not one photo of Hector to give me a better idea of his facial expression and sadly, didn’t tell me that he was always smiling with his giant row of teeth exposed.  When she came to pick him up yesterday, although she was pleased with the work and wanted to take a stack of business cards so that she may pass them onto her employers (“white people crazy for their pets” -guilty as charged!) I could tell she was disappointed that Hector wasn’t wearing his trademark grin.  I’m saddened over this but there is nothing I can do at this point.  I never thought to ask, she never thought to tell.  I have to chalk it up to the learning process and in the future keep this feature in mind.

Another feature which is new to me is genitals.  Sure I deal with them every time I skin something but this was the first time I tackled the job of mounting them.  Okay, deep breath, lets shake off our fourth grader giggles right now before I proceed.

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Alright.  So, due to this pose with legs spread and belly exposed, there was no avoiding the genitals. A blank spot would just seem bizarre. So, I mounted my first dog penis and testicles. It was surprisingly easy once I shook off the pervy feelings in my head over handling something I would most likely never touch in any other circumstance.

But that’s something I love about my craft.  It’s a never-ending string of unusual circumstances that keep me out of that mundane trance life can lure you into, which can make some people forget they’re alive.  I have never felt more alive than when I’m dealing with death.

Adios, Hector.  It was great working with you.

Bill Bill

 

A few months back I received an email from a grief-stricken woman whose dog Bill Bill had just passed away.  She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with him, but she just knew part of him, at the very least, should be preserved.  Looking at the photo she sent me, above*, it’s no wonder.  That is hands down the kind of coat a taxidermist (or anyone who appreciates beautiful animals) will just drool over.

Sorry if that sounds crass but I mean it with the utmost respect.  That’s the tricky thing about working with pets; I’m currently in the middle of my sixth custom pet project and in each of these cases I’d never met the deceased beforehand.  I do my best to handle the “drop off” with all the sensitivity I can, but ultimately my taxidermist brain is looking at a specimen.  I’ve never seen this animal animated, living.  When the time comes to decide how to handle the death of my own beloved pet children, I suppose I will truly be able to see both sides.

Until then, however, I instead strive to truly connect with the bereaved human.  It’s a humbling honor when a total stranger comes to me in such a vulnerable and saddened state; as someone who has often wondered exactly where my “nurturing chip” is (I have yet to hear one tick of my phantom biological clock and have never connected with infants- I even found the neediness of my puppy irksome before she grew into a more defined young ladypup) it’s profoundly validating to connect with these other humans in a nurturing fashion, where I really feel like I can use whatever it is within me to help this person heal.

Even as I type these words I think of what people might say- “it’s just pet taxidermy, Beth.  You’re not curing cancer.”  Duh.  I totally know that.  But the feelings my clients have are real and cannot be discounted.  The connections I make with these people can never be taken away, just like the ones they’ve made with their pets.  When it’s all said and done, our connections to each other, places, things, etc, will always exist, and however we choose to hold onto them is our right to pursue.

Bill Bill still had his collar on which always makes things extremely real for me, but it’s not as hard as it was that first time with Elke.  My client decided on a sweet little dreamy dog sleeping pose and it came out exactly as I’d hoped.

The final product is a little bit more petite than the original specimen due to a small but manageable lack of fur.  Bill Bill had been sick before his passing and almost all the fur on his underside had been shaved off.  Also, the poor guy had lost his tail.  Lucky for him, he had a human who cared very much for him.

My client and her daughter came by my new studio today to pick him up, and both were quite pleased.  I’m still at the stage in my confidence level where I get the jitters before a piece gets picked up, hoping my work will be deemed acceptable.  So far no complaints!

Here’s the view from the back.  I cannot express enough how much I enjoyed working with this gorgeous coat.

And gorgeous dog, gorgeous client and family, etc.  Great spirits and charm all around!

It was great working with you Mr. Bill Bill.  Sweet dreams.

 

 

*the photo of Bill Bill I attempted to include in this post is apparently in some format that won’t translate so you’ll have to take my word for it.

I have one thing to say:

You’d better work.

And voila:  Here’s Elke 2.0, in all her glory.

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Shiny.

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Feather detail.

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So coy:

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Up next is Grazyana, also on a pillow.  I like exploring unique environments for my pieces; I think using fabric communicates a sense of luxury that I associate these particular works with.

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To the left.

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Those are real pearls.

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Her veil is gathered into a bustle in the back, secured with the head of an antique hairpin.

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sashay, chantay.

*Photo credits: Jim Coughlin

Triumphant!

I have returned from Brooklyn a winner…in so many ways.  The entire two day experience was a blast, the crowning moment obviously being when I was presented the title “Best in Show” at the Carnivorous Nights taxidermy contest.  The evening was a cavalcade of awesome, however, beginning with arriving at the venue and peeking at the other entries.  I felt very timid and nervous, not having any idea how this whole thing was to go down, and lying on the presentation table backstage were some pieces that I would embarrassingly refer to many times that night as “stiff competition”.  (Could’ve been the one too many cocktails to steel my nerves or my complete lack of wit, take your pick).

Melissa Milgrom, author of Still life, adventures in taxidermy, opened up the evening with a brief chat and I was hanging on her every word.  Even though I’d read the book and all that she described was somewhate familliar to me, I always admire a decent public speaker.

Mike Zohn, host of Discovery Channel’s new show “Oddities” was the key-note speaker and I loathe to admit that his speech was lost on me because at that point my nerves were starting to get the best of me.  My hands were shaking and I was trying to go over my presentation in my head while fighting off the near-crippling fear that I would say something stupid. Thankfully I was seated next to my dear friend Thea who brought her recording equipment and was producing a piece about the event.  I look forward to listening to her material so I can refresh myself on what I may have missed. Behind me was Daisy Tainton, who I traded quips with throughout the evening.  She specialises in insects and snark.  Seriously, her presentation has me spraying red wine out my nose.  In fact, I found most of the contestants to be quick with a joke and very humorous.  I, on the other hand, was possibly just the right combination of awkward, sad and sweet.

Here I am describing my first entry, Elke 2.0.  She was the beloved rat terrier to a local Philadelphia family for 14 years before she passed recently in her sleep.  I spoke of getting the call from a friend about the friend I was about to meet, and my trepidatious handling of the manner.  Basically what I tried to convey (and I believe reached everyone present) is my undying, unconditional love for animals and my goal to treat them with utmost respect after death. It was slightly emotional.

 

Next to Elke 2.0 is Grazyana, a Polish hen which belonged to another friend of mine.   I buy fresh eggs from him whenever they’re available and this little gal didn’t make it to laying age.  She was petite and so special; I imagined her as a Princess Bride.

 

On my head is a piece composed of a Selama hen, also a donation from my chicken master pal.  I basically mounted her in a position which would hug her to my scalp, with a wing fashionablly covering one side.  Lately I’ve been inspired by the beauty of feathers and how the dermis can be manipulated into different positions which accentuate this natural beauty.  I’m enjoying the attempt to mount creatures in ways that would not be found in nature.

 

 

Winner!  I went out to celebrate with my gracious hosts that night and celebrated until 3am.  I woke up exhausted but still elated.  Thankfully that elation stayed with me, through my ten block walk down 7th ave (after getting dropped off at Penn Station instead of 42nd street) while clutching a giant trophy and 3 foot long box of taxidermy sculpture, as well as my navigation of the Broad Street line and subsequent walk home from the station.

There were several impressive write-ups covering the event including a piece in the NY Times, and the Wall Street Journal.  Drew Anthony Smith is a photographer I met who took some really terrific pictures of the event several blogs covered the night’s festivities quite nicely.  I suggest reading these (Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire, Pink Slip, Stars and Garters, Big Bad Bald Bastard, to name a few) for more coverage on the other contestants since every entry was fantastic and I’m only telling my own story here.