08.20.03
Here is a customer's mount that I completed yesterday.. a weasel holding a rat in its mouth!
I am in the process of moving to a NEW SHOP!! Yes, a brand new shop.. I am so excited. My dad has offered to give me the addition off of our garage, and I gladly accepted. Alot of work needs to be done to it, but we are working on it right now. It may take a while for us to get it all ready, since my dad is only able to come home once every two weeks for the weekend. But it shouldn't take too long! The room measures 10 x 20' with 8' ceilings! Definately a big step-up from 6 x 14! I can't wait to move in!
08.14.03
Today an article was printed about me in our local newspaper, The Charlotte Observer... on the very FRONT PAGE!! To read the article online Click here!
08.09.03
Take a look at THIS...
Do you think I have enough squirrels to keep me busy for a while!?! I recieved these in the mail yesterday from Lenny, an internet friend of mine who keeps me supplied with squirrels when I need them! In the fall I can shoot my own squirrels, but squirrel season isn't in right now, so I have to get them elsewhere. In the box, there were 18 squirrels total! Some are damaged in the body and will be used for the ever-popular "squirrel head mounts"; the rest will be for lifesize mounts. If anyone wants to buy a squirrel mount, let me know.. I've got plenty to work with right now!
During the past week I've been experimenting with a new tan called "Krowtann". I bought it at the NTA and tested it out last week by tanning a marten, muskrat, squirrel, and groundhog with it. It is VERY simple to use.. you simply skin the animal, flesh it, and put it in the Krowtann for 3-4 days. Then neutralize the skin, take it out, and that's it! NO salting, NO pickling, and NO oiling. Don't ask me how it works; I was extremely skeptical at first. But after tanning these skins, what are my findings? They are very stretchy and white, and I didn't have any slippage problems. Looks good to me! I will still use the Rittels products for my larger animals (Deer capes, etc.), since the Krowtann is a bit expensive, but this is a great tan for small animals. If anyone is interested in trying it, it is sold by Brian Harness of Ozark Woods (1-800-467-0369)
08.07.03
Here's a picture of a new doe that I mounted for myself:
She is mounted on one of the new McKenzie "wall pedestals". I love wall pedestals, mainly because the profile is so nice looking. Rather than looking at a deer straight-on, it's more like you're looking at it from the side.. very pleasing to the eye. This doe was quite a difficult subject, as she was an early-season, short haired deer. This was the first deer I'd ever mounted where the form detail actually showed through the skin! She was difficult to mount, but in the end, turned out beautiful! You can see every muscle and vein in her face. I believe the man I bought her from said she was shot the first day in deer season.. so, she is an early fall deer. She still has some of those golden "summer" hairs in her coat.
I actually have a REAL summer deer cape, though! It's from a very young deer, and it has been commercially tanned. My friend Dave Ringstrom gave it to me at the World Show, along with a teeny tiny set of velvet antlers. It's hair is absolutely beautiful.. so short and golden.. it almost doesn't even look like a deer! Unfortunately, there are two large holes in it (the tannery did it, I suppose), one being a 4" gash on the side of the face. The hair is EXTREMELY short, so the gash will be hard to hide. But with a little glue and epoxy work, I think I can make it look decent. This will make a very unusual piece for my collection, as you don't get summer deer very often. I believe it's illegal to shoot them in the summer... but Dave told me this deer died naturally (I can't remember how, though). I'm rehydrating the cape right now, and once I get measurements I'll start making plans to mount it.
My local newspaper, The Charlotte Observer, is getting ready to do an article about me and my recent winnings. I had an interview with a reporter last Sunday, and this afternoon we had a photographer come over and take pictures of my shop and my mounts. I can't wait to see the article! This is a really great opportunity, because it will get my name out to the locals... potential customers!
Oh, one more thing.. I now have some photos from the NTA posted! Click here!
A quick update on the work I've been doing these past few days... I've mainly been trying to catch up on stuff since I got back from the NTA. I still can't believe I actually won National Champion.. I keep staring at the plaque, thinking "did that REALLY happen??". But anyway, every time I come home from a taxidermy competition, I'm inspired and ready to start mounting! Look what I did last night:
A mink! I decided to leave it freestanding, rather than put it on a base. I think it looks really nice. It feels good to mount something for myself that's NOT a competition piece.. it's actually enjoyable, rather than stressful - Lol! I'm trying to mount alot of stuff for my "showroom", so I can show customers what I am capable of. I'm always doing good mounts, but most of them are sold or go to customers!
I also mounted this button buck a few days ago:
This was tough to do. First of all, I had to alter the eye-to-nose measurement on the form. The form, from Ben Mears supply, was the smallest I could find and it measured 4 7/8; my button buck was just slightly over 4". I started by cutting the nose off, and cutting a 3/4" slice out of the form. Then I used two part foam to put the nose back on. A little bit of cutting and re-sanding in the facial detail, and you could hardly tell it had been altered! By the way, I actually used BONDO in the ears. This was the first time I'd used bondo in deer ears since that catastrophic first try about a year ago. It didn't turn out too bad (it helps if you actually know what you're doing!), but I'm still a firm believer in earliners. The only reason I used bondo was because these ears were way to small to fit any earliners.
I've been forgetting to show a picture of my rattlesnake that I did about a month ago. This was really something new -- the first thing I've done that hasn't been a mammal! It turned out "ok" - I'm not entirely happy with it, but then again, I think it's pretty good for a first try.
In case you might be interested to know what I plan on working on in the next few weeks, here it is.. these are all going to be mounts for myself:
Groundhog- My good taxidermist friend, Tommy Hall, gave me a groundhog yesterday. It's huge! I've got it salting right now. It's going to make quite an unusual mount
Marten- A marten is somewhat like a mink, but rarer, a little bigger, and much prettier. This one has a big patch of pure orange fur under it's throat! I've got it thawing out right now.
Deer- Whitetail doe and Mule deer- I've got two deer to mount for myself. The first is a whitetail doe that I am going to mount on one of the new McKenzie wall pedestal doe mannikins. The second is a small mule deer. It only measures 15" around the neck, but because of it's thick fur, it looks really big!
With the customer work I've got to finish up, who knows when I'll get my own stuff done! But when I do, I'll be posting pictures here...
07.27.03
Well, I'm back from the Nationals and WOW, do I have some news to tell you!!
First of all, let me start by saying I got a ribbon of every color!! I entered my mounts in the professional division and they scored 93 (mouse), 88 (tiger), and 78 (fox pedestal). I was extremely excited to recieve a blue on my mouse, and as if that wasn't enough...
Later at the awards banquet, my mouse was awarded "National Champion Small Mammal", meaning the highest scoring mammal mount in the professional division!! Only three first place ribbons were awarded in the small mammals category, and mine won by one point. This award came with a very nice plaque and $250!! I was also awarded the "Henry Wichers Inchumuk" award, which is given to the highest scoring mammal the size of a squirrel or smaller! Needless to say, I am VERY glad I decided to mount this piece at the last moment!!
Within the next few days I will be posting many photos from the show, but in the meantime, here's a photo of the lucky little mount with his big awards...
This means my mouse will get it's picture put in the next "Breakthrough Magazine" and the NTA publication, "Outlook"!
07.20.03
Here are some pictures of my finished mouse. I made a small little base for it out of leaf litter, grass, and moss, similar to my tiger's habitat. The mouse's expression looks like it is intensely staring at something, so I thought it would be a neat idea to put some object in front of it. I wasn't sure what at first... perhaps a flower? Or some kind of food? In the end I decided on a big black beetle. I found it under a log while "habitat-material-hunting" and thought it looked interesting. Plus, mice eat beetles, so you can imagine that the mouse is getting ready to pounce on it. I had to hurry and get this habitat ready.. It will take a little while for everything to dry, and it's just three days till I leave!
You won't believe it.. at just 6 days till the Nationals, I mounted another competition entry! Yes, it sounds crazy, but it will be totally dry and ready in time! Why? Because it's so small.. it's a field mouse! When I originally took the mouse out of the freezer, I intended to simply mount it to sell on Ebay. But then I began working on it a while and realized, "Hey, this looks REALLY good!". Plus, I thought that would be a very uncommon kind of entry. How often do you see a mouse in competition? The ears and feet are giving me a bit of trouble, since they're so small and hairless. But everything else looks great. In case you're wondering how I mounted it, here's my trick.. I used the actual skull, and the rest of the body was made entirely out of Critter Clay! I just pushed some clay up inside, and began shaping it. It was almost like sculpting a clay model.. only with skin over top. It wasn't as simple as you'd think - I spent about five hours getting it the right shape that I wanted - but in the end the results were nothing less than fantastic!
I have no idea how it will score.. I will be very interested to see!
07.13.03
I just got back from the state show this morning! It was a fantastic show, with 91 mounts all in all! That's a good bit more than we had last year.
Well, I entered my mounts in the professional division, and... my tiger got a FIRST PLACE, and my fox got a high second (88)! I was thrilled to have recieved these high ribbons. This was my first time competing in professional at the state level. Here are my mounts with their ribbons...
I took LOTS and lots of pictures at the show, and will be putting them on the NCTA website shortly.
I forgot to mention.. I did something a little different with my fox. Just one day before the state show, I decided to add some snow to the rock base. I also sprayed the back of the fox with some clear spray, and sprinkled snow very lightly on top of it. This made it look just like it had been standing in a light snow! It's a very nice effect that makes it look a little more artistic.
Well, it's off to the NTA in just 10 days! I'm hoping that, after correcting several flaws in my mounts, I might be able to get a second place at the Nationals with the tiger. I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
07.09.03
Here is one of my latest mounts.. a cottontail rabbit!
In my opinion these are one of the most difficult small mammals to mount. The skin tears VERY easily! However, I went nice and slow and I think this mount turned out quite nice. My sister loves rabbits and she wished she could keep it... But, it's for a customer!
Two days till the state competition!! Next time I update my journal, I'll be giving the competition results!
07.05.03
Today something quite out of the ordinary happened.. I'll tell you about it..
First of all, my sister raises show rabbits outside in our barn. Well, today she came running into the house, with my dad right behind her. He was holding a HUGE black rat snake with big bulge in it's stomach. Apparently, this snake had crawled up into one of the cages where there was a nest of five little 2-week old baby rabbits. By the time my sister found the snake, it had eaten all but one of the babies! This was truly a tragedy, as they were really special to my sister, not to mention an expensive breed of rabbit. My dad captured the snake.. gave it to me.. and I proceeded to try and break it's neck. Normally we don't kill black snakes since I always considered them "good snakes" that controlled the rats.. but we don't need them around the barn! Let me tell you, though.. snakes are NOT easy to kill! I twisted it's neck and held it by the throat tightly for several minutes until I was sure it was dead, and then I dropped it to the ground. Well, that snake started slithering right off! I grabbed it by the tail.. "Steve Irwin style" as I call it.. and held it there until my dad could chop off it's head. That seems to be the only way to kill a snake quickly, without risking being bitten!
Anyways, after we cut it's head off, I skinned it.. and removed the four very dead baby bunnies from it's stomach. It'll make a nice skin once I tan it.
Here's a pic of me skinning the snake, with my dad holding it..
06.17.03
I mounted my red fox pedestal!
It's finally finished! Everything went quite well, I think.. and the artificial nose worked GREAT! I may use an artificial nose on ALL my small mammal mounts now, regardless of whether or not they're competition pieces.
I finished the back of the form with some black leather, and ran some black decorative rope around the edges. For the base, I chose a McKenzie artificial rock and attached it to an 8" oak panel. I think it looks rather nice.. see for yourself!
Now it's off to the state show in just three weeks, and then the Nationals! Let's hope for the best!
06.01.03
WOW.. I haven't posted in my journal in a long time, have I? This is mainly for the fact that I haven't been doing anything too out of the ordinary. I've been spending my time mounting the usual -- squirrels! Especially the squirrel heads. I'm keeping those squirrel heads coming, because yesterday I sold one on Ebay for $100!! I am quite pleased about that...
I've really got to focus on making money right now, rather than mounting things for myself, since I must fund my trip to the Nationals and State competitions this year. The state competition is in just a little over a month! Which means I really have to get that fox pedestal mounted!! The fox cape itself is tanned and ready to go.. I'm just waiting for the supplies. I ordered a Jan Van Hoesen pedestal form, competition-quality earliners, the best Tohikon IQ eyes, and an artificial nose! Yes, an artificial nose.. I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into, since I've never used an artificial nose before, but something tells me that it really might be alot better for a competition... It can't be that hard to use (or atleast lets HOPE so!)!
05.07.03
Here is a photo of my three antelope.. they are now finished, and hanging on the wall together. I think they look great!
So let me bring you up to date on what's been going on in my world of taxidermy...
First of all, I have decided that I am going to the Nationals again this year, in Louisville, Kentucky!! I didn't think I would be going to the Nationals after I had already been to the Worlds this year. But I am.. and I am SO excited!! I will be bringing my tiger cub, along with atleast one new entry I am working on (a red fox pedestal).. maybe even two new entries if I can get them finished in time! I will update my journal as my competition entries progress (I am currently tanning the red fox)
I have been practicing alot more with my flesher, and must say I have gotten quite good at it. I shaved a mule deer cape last night, and it worked wonderfully. I can now get my thick deer capes so thin, which means they're alot easier to mount! (And show alot more detail). I would definately recommend a flesher to anyone who does alot of home tanning... It will pay for itself in no time!
04.21.03
The antelope fawn is now mounted!
It is very small (10" neck!) and so cute. It was mounted on a TruFitt form, with Tohikon IQ eyes and bondo ears. I have done an alteration to the form, and rotated the glass eyes, so that the fawn looks as if it's lifting it's head up into the air and looking down at you!
04.17.03
It's been a busy day for me... I mounted an pronghorn antelope doe! Here is a picture of her:
For some reason this photo turned out a little blurry.
I used a Tru-Fitt form for this doe. Normally I use only McKenzie forms for all my shoulder mounts, but they didn't have the right size I needed. This was a pretty large doe! One thing I want to mention is that I used BONDO in the ears!! I can't believe I was brave enough to try it again, but I went ahead and did it, and it turned out great this time! I tried bondo about a year ago, on my 2nd-ever deer head, and it was a catastrophe. Ever since then I've always used earliners, but this doe had smaller ears than a buck, making earliners hard to find. I must say, I am pleased with the bondo results.
04.14.03
I just got home from the World Show last night! It was GREAT!!!
I know many of you are wondering how I did with my tiger cub mount. Well, I got a 3rd place in the professional division! I was very happy with that.. the World Show is judged ALOT harder than the nationals, in my opinion.
I took lots and lots of pictures!To view them just click here!
Now, take a look at what I bought at the show!!
A brand new Dakota IV flesher!! I had been contemplating on buying one of these for a while, and when I saw Van Dykes selling show models for $80 cheaper than the catalog price (plus no shipping), I just couldn't resist! I can't wait to try fleshing my capes with it. I have to practice on some leather pieces first, though. It will take a while to get the hang of it and stop cutting holes!
