Laura Manns

June 13, 2011

Day 7: Coyote

Today we began with the frozen thawing coyote and ended the day by putting the skin

into the auto tanner. There is warm water and three chemicals in the machine:
Aluminum sulphate (which sets the hair), salt (which gets the dirt and contaminants out of the hide), and soda ash (which neutralizes the pH). It's really important to tan the skin as soon as possible before bacteria starts eating away at the hair follicles. Once the fur starts falling out, there's no saving it!

I got a girl coyote :)

What big teeth she has

Parting the fur

I'll spare you the gross photos, but

she ended up looking like something out of

John Carpenter's "The Thing"

June 11, 2011

Day 6: Hen done

This was the most stubborn mount so far. Her skin was like tissue and the feathers didn't want to lay.

I'm happy with how she turned out in the end though!

For our third bird we had to choose a more dynamic pose, so here she is - preening.

Got my bird taxidermy certificate!

Video

June 10, 2011

City Girl caught a fish...

My first fish, a Northern Pike!

It was quite a spectacle, with everybody cheering "New York!"

Day 5: Hen...

...or as I like to call her, "girl duck"

I'm really lucky cause Dan gave me one of two hens.

Everyone else had to do another mallard or pheasant.

I started and nearly finished her today.
I got her skinned, fleshed, de-greased, tumbled, patched, boraxed, wired and sewn up!
Only things left to do for now are the head, affixing her to the base and some finishing touches.
I'll airbrush the duck feet and pheasant waddles when they're dry.

Day 5: Finished Mallard

Done! Wings and feet are drying in place. I named him Adrian. I love him!

June 9, 2011

Day 4: Mallard mounting

We didn't quite get done with our mallards today. We still need to secure the feet better, position the wings and blow dry the feathers some more. But this is what he looks like now!

Tornado Watch

The weather is insane right now!
The lights are flickering and water has leaked into my friend's room next door

June 8, 2011

Day 3: Mallard

Foot on the left has been rehydrated, right one hasn't

The skin is so delicate! I have to repair some holes tomorrow...

Day 3: Pheasant done!

Ta-da!

We secured the wings and tail with card and tape to keep the feathers in place

This photo was taken before I injected the feet with preservative and wrapped them up

Setting the eyes

June 7, 2011

Feathers...

Day 2: Pheasant Mounting

We didn't get done with the mounts today. I just need to glue the skin around the beak to the foam, sculpt around the eyes, and attach him to the cedarwood base. The pheasant is going to be in flight!