MARCH/APRIL 2021
In studying the art of taxidermy for the last 30 plus years I’ve been asked to work on some unique projects. A request this past December was VERY unique for me, to say the least. A young man serving our country (U.S. Army) was referred to me by a mutual friend with questions about mounting a rooster. My first thought was, “heck yeah, a ROOSTER!” Then I also had questions such as, how it died and what steps had been taken to preserve the animal to this point. I was informed it was a special pet for this young soldier’s mother and had been taken care of very well in life and death — a pet for a mother who is fighting cancer. That’s when I knew we had to put a rush on things!
I feel very blessed to live in the era of taxidermy where we have access to literally anything and everything we need to complete a project. The manikin I chose to use was a Shane Smith body from McKenzie Supply (SW-66) because the measurements were exactly the same. The head is a cast head from WASCO that is extremely altered with a band saw, Dremel tool and epoxy. Eyes are European acrylic bird eyes from WASCO as well. All finish work was done with KLEI epoxy and Pan Pastels.
— Bryan Stillwell • Stillwell's Taxidermy 2 in Iron Station, North Carolina
|
