This weekend I did a two-day workshop on taxidermy with Allis Markham at Prey Taxidermy studio in downtown Los Angeles and it was amazing! I think it was truly the best class I've ever taken in anything.
Over the course of about twelve hours we learned every step of preparing a museum-quality mount (Allis also works as a taxidermist at the Natural History Museum). We used starlings that were culled for an unrelated purpose and obtained ethically after they had already died.
Honestly, I had no idea how difficult taxidermy was! It takes hours of careful, precise work, locating and cutting through individual tendons, easing aside tissue-paper-thin skin, and sliding wires up alongside fragile, hollow bones. And it requires a knowledge of anatomy, too, to tell connective tissue apart from skin or muscle in a bird as small and delicate as a starling. Not to mention the more aesthetic work of grooming and positioning the birds, etc.
Working on the starlings:
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| That's me in the upper left. |
All done!
I have always loved taxidermy - in large part because I love natural history museum dioramas - but now that I know how exacting it is, I love it even more. It is really an amazing blend of science and art, one that requires you to combine the skills of a sculptor, a biologist, and a surgeon. I am really looking forward to practicing these techniques - and to taking her more advanced classes later this year.
P.S. - I didn't post any photos of the process here for the squeamish, but email me if you want photos of the bird before and during as well as after.
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