Colorado Loud Changing-Clanging
Since moving to Colorado this last June, my views on hunting and taxidermy-art has changed. I mean not drastically but I can see it.
Back in Illinois, hunting and guns were not a part of suburban-life. You had to go out-of-state to do that. Taxidermy wasn't even popular for decorations except for a friend who's father had a MONSTER MOOSE in the living room.
Yet out here in Colorado kids do lean about gun-safety and gun-control as part of 4-H. Almost every kid in the 4-H club I tried to get into had done a gun-project. Hunting is also part of life here. Colorado has some huge herds of elk, a booming mule deer population and just every other animal you could think of. But let's talk about the mule deer. Now, in Illinois, we have lots of problems with the white-tails. Wasting diseases are the prominent problem and having done research, for a school/4-H project, it's due to poor population-control. However in Colorado the hunting of mule deer every-year culls animals to protect the health of others.
More animals, less food = not healthy.
Less animals, more food = healthy and breeding
Taxidermy used to scare me. I'm still a bit creeped out but it doesn't seem as terrible anymore. Actually it's partly due to doing some research through people who are wild-life artists. For some reason, I think of taxidermy now and I immediately think of the Field Museum in Chicago. There are these two enormous African Elephant bulls. Carl Akeley and his wife, Delia, were collecting specimens for the Field and Carl brought down a huge bull that was unfortunately missing a tusk. Two days later Delia brought down a bull with both tusks intact. Carl was furious but his anger didn't last long. Hot African days made carting both bulls to the sea-port horribly taxing. Because Carl wanted to preserve the natural structure of the bulls he bought several hundred pounds of plaster and cloth. He then arranged each bull and made half-casts in plaster. After skinning the animals the plaster-molds and skins were shipped to the Field and waited to be mounted. This day-saving technique using a mold (which would be filled with paper-mache)quickly replaced the cloth-wrapped frame style of mounting and evoked a truly natural appearance to the animal.
Also, Carl was still angry at Delia so he positioned his one-tusker as goring the magnificent bull she brought down.
I think I'm starting to see taxidermy as almost honoring the animal. Displaying it in a natural-manner is kind of neat. It's still creepy (even though I know the eyes are only glass) but it's starting to seem a lot less horrible. I know I could never take an animal but I am starting to look for skulls.
Colorado is starting to change me. Just a rambling. If you do not tolerate my views: Please don't comment here.
~Weaver
Back in Illinois, hunting and guns were not a part of suburban-life. You had to go out-of-state to do that. Taxidermy wasn't even popular for decorations except for a friend who's father had a MONSTER MOOSE in the living room.
Yet out here in Colorado kids do lean about gun-safety and gun-control as part of 4-H. Almost every kid in the 4-H club I tried to get into had done a gun-project. Hunting is also part of life here. Colorado has some huge herds of elk, a booming mule deer population and just every other animal you could think of. But let's talk about the mule deer. Now, in Illinois, we have lots of problems with the white-tails. Wasting diseases are the prominent problem and having done research, for a school/4-H project, it's due to poor population-control. However in Colorado the hunting of mule deer every-year culls animals to protect the health of others.
More animals, less food = not healthy.
Less animals, more food = healthy and breeding
Taxidermy used to scare me. I'm still a bit creeped out but it doesn't seem as terrible anymore. Actually it's partly due to doing some research through people who are wild-life artists. For some reason, I think of taxidermy now and I immediately think of the Field Museum in Chicago. There are these two enormous African Elephant bulls. Carl Akeley and his wife, Delia, were collecting specimens for the Field and Carl brought down a huge bull that was unfortunately missing a tusk. Two days later Delia brought down a bull with both tusks intact. Carl was furious but his anger didn't last long. Hot African days made carting both bulls to the sea-port horribly taxing. Because Carl wanted to preserve the natural structure of the bulls he bought several hundred pounds of plaster and cloth. He then arranged each bull and made half-casts in plaster. After skinning the animals the plaster-molds and skins were shipped to the Field and waited to be mounted. This day-saving technique using a mold (which would be filled with paper-mache)quickly replaced the cloth-wrapped frame style of mounting and evoked a truly natural appearance to the animal.
Also, Carl was still angry at Delia so he positioned his one-tusker as goring the magnificent bull she brought down.
I think I'm starting to see taxidermy as almost honoring the animal. Displaying it in a natural-manner is kind of neat. It's still creepy (even though I know the eyes are only glass) but it's starting to seem a lot less horrible. I know I could never take an animal but I am starting to look for skulls.
Colorado is starting to change me. Just a rambling. If you do not tolerate my views: Please don't comment here.
~Weaver