#allismarkham

[preytaxidermy]

We are all just marionettes. Here you can see me pulling on the tendons of this Toucan foot and manipulating the digits. Fascinating!

I’ve pulled the tendons out of the bottom of the foot in order to remove them from the specimen. This makes room up the back of the foot for a wire in the mounting step of taxidermy.

I remember the first time I pulled the tendons on a bird. It was a hawk and the talons closed around my fingers. I jumped up and thought it was alive for a second! Today, I love showing this to students and seeing the fascination in their eyes.

[preytaxidermy]

Mini fox! Meet the Island Fox. They’re basically the Corgis of the fox world because the have developed island-miniaturist aka insular dwarfism.

They are smaller with shorter limbs and even less vertebrae in their tail.

Why? Because they developed characteristics that benefited them for island living. Basically being small, low to the ground and a more veggie-heavy diet.

They descend from the mainland Grey Fox; their population floated or crossed an ice bridge to the Channel Islands of California around 10,000 to 20,000 years ago.

Over that time, they adapted into what we see today. There are six subspecies, each native and unique to their own island.

They also try to steal my marshmallows when I go camping on Catalina Island. But I don’t blame them because they’re cute. ***This is a protected and endangered species that I work on under special permits for a museum. ***

[preytaxidermy]

‪Flesh eating beetles?!

Yes! They exist and are known as Dermestid Beetles. Here they are cleaning a fox skull over 14 hours sped up.

These amazing creatures are commonly used by taxidermists, museum professionals, biologists, artists and other naturalists to clean bones.

One such artist is skeletal articulator, Gerard Geer of Australia. I was lucky to meet Gerard when we taught an articulation class at my studio a couple of years ago.

You can follow him at @articulated_imagination to see his creations if all kinds. He truly is an artist with a keen sense of anatomy and biology.

[preytaxidermy]

What’s in a tail? We see dogs wag them, cats flick them and Kangaroos jump with them. But what are they really?

If you look closely, you can see the tail is made up of vertebrae (caudal section), lots of tendons and even muscle tissue. The tail is an extension of the spine and has lots tight tendons; making it easy to be used as a type of rudder for the Fox. Tails have a lot of variation across species though and it’s truly fascinating to notes the differences.

Here you can see I’ve made an incision up the bottom of this Island Fox tail and have skinned it out. I’m then peeling it back for removal.

In the taxidermy mounting process, I will make a replica of the tail with wire and wrapped cotton.

I am aware that some taxidermists slide the tail out, aka ‘tubbing it’. For me, I cut it so I have full access for fleshing and tanning.

[preytaxidermy]

One of my early inspirations for becoming a taxidermist was the Victorian era obsession with the art. This piece was created by me a few years ago as an homage to that era.

Victorian taxidermy is said to have been stemmed from a newfound interest in the natural world from the emerging middle class. This new middle class now had time & expendable income to collect and even create ‘parlor art’ ; taxidermy, wax flowers, shell collections, fossil collections and more.

They began collections known as ‘Cabinets of Curiosity’ inspired by their newfound ability to travel and visit museums. In fact, before the Victorian era, museums were closed spaces only accessible to members of the aristocracy, academia and other privileged classes.

Today, while museums and education are considered open to all, we must remember there is still privilege in getting access. We all have to do our part to support programs for the underprivileged and also minorities in STEM. Science and education is for everyone!

[preytaxidermy]

Another photo from my shoot fit The Washington Post @washingtonpostmag by @iancredible

I’m with a leusistic Raven I had been working on. Leucism is a genetic partial loss of most pigment, and does not result in the red eyes you see in albinism.

‘White Ravens’ such as this are extremely rare. I’ll share more about her once I get solo photos taken of her. In the meantime, please enjoy my ‘blue steel’ face.

[preytaxidermy]

Duck, some assembly required.

Here are some process pics from Olivia Miseroy of @terrafaunadesign from The ‘Dead-Stream’ on Tuesday.

Olivia showed us how she creates and paints replica parts for taxidermy.

Replica parts are used in taxidermy for recreating fleshy areas that might shrivel or be attractive to pests.

So, we make mold of them, pour resin into those molds to create a ‘cast’ and then paint them.

Flip through to see some of Olivia’s process photos and see here favorite products.

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[preytaxidermy]

This ain’t Tiger King.

This clip is from the documentary about taxidermy called ‘Stuffed’. I was so honored to be a part of it and share my work on screen. If you have an interest in museums, taxidermy, animals or beautiful cinema, it’s out now streaming on Amazon Prime and on iTunes.

A big part of my work is spending time researching living animals; Watching them move, taking photos, studying behavior.

In this case, I was at Conservation Ambassadors. Basically the opposite of Tiger King. They do no breeding, no cub petting and are not open to the public. Instead, they take in animals from fires injuries, the illegal the pet trade and from Tiger King-type situations. These animals are cared for lifelong and the more social ones can be used for public education at schools.

One such soul is this Mountain Lion, Wyatt. He was 16 at the time and highly habituated to people due to his early life. You can see more about their work and donate to help them feed their animals at @conservation.ambassadors.zty

If you haven’t watched ‘Stuffed’ (and why haven’t you?!) you can get more info at @musicboxfilms and also check out our talented (and female 💪🏻) director @historyboutique .

Told through the eyes and hands of acclaimed artists across the world, STUFFED explores the surprising world of taxidermy, where sculptors m