Hello, everyone, I do hope that 2021 has been kind to you.
It has been years that I haven’t done any of my art posts. Since I immigrated my blog to WordPress I haven’t done the tagging stuff. Anyway, I feel like sharing a small experience of me experimenting with taxidermy.
Full disclaimer: This is purely ethical no animal has been harmed they died from natural
causes. The person whom I purchased the deer leg bone does ethical practices from picking roadkill animals and those who died naturally. I’m well aware that this is not everyone’s cup of tea and I respect that but as a fine art artist I accept constructive criticism.
I always wanted to do taxidermy. I personally find it interesting in trying new things and I always experiment when it comes to art techniques. Thankfully, I already know some few people that already do taxidermy from my amazing witchy friends to a family member of mine. I’m not into picking roadkill animals because:
- I live in an apartment so it’s not very ideal.
- Not quite sure if I have the stomach to do the stuffing
- We’re in the middle of a pandemic so intend to avoid going out as much as possible.
I searched many different sellers around the world until I found one that got some good prices and the communication is amazing. So for my first experimenting onto the taxidermy I decided to purchase one deer leg bone. I think it’s a femur but I can’t really tell much about animal anatomy.
Anyway, one of the first things I did was ask my cousin for advice knowing that he would have more experience with the taxidermy later on, do some sketches and ask for constructive criticism and suggestions from my friends. One of the themes was witchy stuff. I already have crystal rocks, wiccan books, a pendulum, tarot cards, and of course a black cat to go with it. So during an online class I was in I got bored so I took my trusty Sakura pen which I personally I believe got one of the best black ink and the Micronpen size 005.
At first I started doing a crescent moon with a human-ish face, then I added stars and after that I started going full of dots (puntillismo / pointillism) and honestly for a first timer I feel quite pleased. A friend of mine suggested I turn it into a crescent moon series so I’m quite excited to turn it as a project for 2021. In the end it was a very extremely easy process and I do see myself playing around in creating more art with animals bones.
It came out so well!! I actually didn’t realise that taxidermy included just bones rather than stuffing the whole animal. I’m glad you only chose from animals that died from natural causes!!
Thank you! Honestly, I was a bit skeptical about creating this. Due to I was a bit afraid of receiving backlash since from my understanding taxidermy doesn’t really have a good reputation. I find stuffing too much and a little bit dangerous dealing with bacteria to the harsh chemicals.
It looks absolutely lovely, loved hearing about the process and your interest in the area!
This was a great insight into your artistic process, and it’s great that you’re still able to responsibly create at home during the pandemic!