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 For centuries hunters have worked to preserve their trophies. Castle walls held skulls and horns of the spoils of the Lord's hunts, and taxidermists learned to preserve the hides of the animals to mount the entire head, instead of just the horns and skulls.
Today, shoulder mounts and horn plaques are only a small part of what many taxidermists do and most clients expect. Today, taxidermy is becoming not just a way to preserve a set of horns on a head, but a way to preserve the entire hunting experience.
At one time, life-size mounts were mainly seen in museums, but today many hunters are investing in a life-size mount complete with a habitat base.
I recently attended the Wyoming Taxidermy Artists show in Sheridan, Wyoming. Some of the mounts not only recreated the animal, but were artistic as well.
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| Elk with calf, the People's Choice award during the Wyoming Taxidermy Artists show, April, 2008 in Sheridan, Wyoming. Mount done by Majestic Creations, Buffalo, WY |
Many even told a story, such as the fox standing up against a fence post, investigating a brace of ducks. Or the one with a cow elk head mounted licking her calf. The mount won the people’s choice award for that year. One elk head had the base of the form hollowed out with a nature scene and a light inside. More a three dimensional art sculpture than a taxidermy mount, but very unique.
Greg Hartman, a Sheridan, Wyoming taxidermist, said of the new taxidermy, "Many clients bring back photos of the animals natural surroundings, wanting a similar scene on the mount. These photos help the taxidermist to re-create the exact environment that the animal lived in. These photos help to make the mount and the base as realistic as possible. Taxidermy is a visual art, and a way of recreating nature."
To re-create the living animal, a taxidermist has more options now that ever before. New forms, new eyes, detailed jaw sets and artifical noses add life-like looks to the mounts. Natural-looking habitat materials are now readily available from many supply houses throughout the country. "Taxidermy has come a long way," says Herb Kretschman, a 20-year veteran of the taxidermy business. "Taxidermists used to take the skull and attach it to an upright stick and a back board, which was then wrapped with excelsior and clay to form some semblance of the animal’s muscle and bone structure. Today, new innovations have helped to make the mounts more life-life than ever..”
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| Bobcat with kittens, Henry Imchumuk, Hot Springs, SD, taxidermist and sculptor, who did several of the mounts in the Denver Colorado Museum of Natural History |
“When I first started taxidermy in the 1970’s” Hartman said, “It was difficult to create a natural look and certain facial expressions that I wanted with the eyes available at the time. With the new, improved eyes various expressions and attitudes can be achieved. Highly detailed noses and mouth cups have also helped to create realistic looking animals. Forms, too, are more accurate than they used to be. Old mannequins were hollow paper mache, and the new foam forms are lighter, more detailed and easier to alter and change. Custom taxidermy often requires extensive alterations,” Hartman added. “ We have to thank the numerous taxidermists and sculptors, who over the years have contributed more accurate forms, especially for life-sized mounts.” Richard Rhoades, Clear Creek Taxidermy, Clearmont, Wyoming, added that the new forms and new eyes are a great improvement. “Urethane foam is the best thing that has happened to the business. You can alter the forms much easier than you could with the paper forms. Habitat materials have advanced a lot as well, the new, lighter rock and realistic looking silk plants help to re-create better looking habitat on the mounts.”
Not only are life-sized mounts with habitat becoming more in demand by hunters, the pedestal mounts are a new direction in shoulder mounts.
"Taking a shoulder mount and adding a habitat and a finely constructed pedestal greatly enhances the mount," Hartman said. "It becomes not just a mounted head, but a work of art, or a functional piece of furniture."
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| Whitetail on pedestal with aspen backing, Jared Gagliano, Banner, WyoWhitetail on pedestal with aspen backing, Jared Gagliano, Banner, Wyo |
"Pedestal mounts free up wall space, and give the trophy a more 'interesting' appearance," says Rhoades.
The pedestal mounts are also a 3-D piece of art, that can be walked around and viewed from all four sides, unlike the average shoulder mount. Pedestals can be made to suit the decor of the clients house, in almost any wood and any style. They take up less room than a full-body mount, yet habitat can be added to enhance the mount.
"I think the taxidermy profession is shifting away from the generic shoulder mounts, people want more artistic mounts, such as the life-size and the pedestals," Hartman said. "Hunters today focus on custom taxidermy work. People who go to Africa and Asia for exotic trophies look for more creative ways to enhance the trophy. Most people want good quality, and they are willing to pay more for it. They want that one-of-a-kind mount that no one else has."
At the taxidermy show, many of the taxidermists who displayed mounts would have agreed. One mount was attached to a large tree limb, the knarled wood looking like a part of the mount. One that caught my eye was two whitetail heads, mounted together as a pedestal mount, and the backing was a forest scene. More and more creativity is apparent everyday in the taxidermy world.
Kretschman added, "Some animals just deserve a life-size mount. Sheep are hard to get and expensive, and they look better life-sized. Big cats, mountain goats and other animals lend themselves to full body mounts."
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| Antelope on a colorful plaque. Duane Mittleeder, Cody, Wyoming. |
He added certain trophies are getting more rare, so people want to preserve the entire experience, rather than just put the head and horns on the wall.
Hartman stated that hunters also want artistic scenes with two or more animals, such as a bear and wolverine or a lion taking down an impala. At the taxidermy show, one mount was a bear that was trying to dig a frozen deer out of a snow bank. The mount told a story in itself.
"A good taxidermist should be artistically inclined," Hartman said. "He or she must have an 'eye' for the natural world when recreating it for the client. Taxidermists who excel look on it as an art form.
In choosing a taxidermist, the hunter should choose a taxidermist who is experienced in all phases of the taxidermy work. Hartman continued, "Taxidermy is a craft, but also an art. Today's taxidermist looks upon his craft as an art form, and wants to portray the natural world in life-size artwork, incorporating as much of nature as possible."
Cynthia J. Vannoy-Rhoades
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