taxidermy

I spent a good deal of my day yesterday working with someone dusting the taxidermy at work (we have A TON of taxidermy) and the person I was with mentioned that taxidermy weirded them out. Personally - I've always found it a little fascinating as stuffed animals - dolls - fur coats etc have never bothered me.

Does taxidermy weird you out? Have you ever put a finger on why it weirded you out?

Meh. Not really. Taxidermists creep me out. Not taxidermy.

It doesn't weird me out, but I can't say it's something I like. It kind of puts me off, especially when it's an animal that wasn't killed for food. Trophy fish fall into that category.

It creeps me out when people have stuffed pets that they have really (what I consider to be) unhealthy attachments to (talking to them, pretending they are still alive etc..)

Also, something about those fake eyes creeps me out.

Oy I don't know lol it's just the whole idea of preserving a formerly-living thing and keeping it around just doesn't sit well with me. I think living animals are beautiful because they are alive. I don't think dead things hold the same beauty. So it doesn't really make sense to me.

They don't SCARE me. As in, if I go to someone house and they have a stuffed deer or whatever, I think it's interesting.
but I certainly wouldn't want anything dead/preserved in my house.

Well stated, Fran That's a lot of it for me, too.

You don't work at Cabela's do you? :rofl1:

When I was a kid, my dream was to be a taxidermist when I grew up. I had a bone collection and checked out dozens of books on taxidermy from the local library. :rofl1:

My 9-pt deer head is mounted above my fireplace, and I'm proud of it.

It's especially fun at Christmas time to put a red ball over its nose.

Yeah, but I'll wager the rest of that buck went into the freezer.

I am trying to keep where I work under wraps. This may or may not be some of the stuffed wildlife where I work.



I'm kind of with you on finding taxidermy interesting.

Yup! And then into our tummies.

Organs, entrails, and femurs get given to dogs (I don't give my dogs entrails, though....*shivers*).

One thing about taxidermy is that it opens up lots of shaming possibilities at parties

One of my favorite parts of volunteering at the museum is getting to draw the mounted specimens.

I like GOOD taxidermy. Not for in my house but I find some of it really fascinating and well done. Like displays at Cabelas, Bass Pro, museums, etc. Bad taxidermy... just creepy. Taxidermied (is that a word?) pets is really creepy to me.

Dina left me a few racks of ribs for my dogs. They were in heaven, lol. Especially Bimmer. He is absolutely certain he was designed to eat venison. I'm not sure how often wolves actually get deer though. But he loves it above any other food.

Yep, taxidermy creeps me out. The only stuffed thing I would even consider putting in my home would be some sort of giant awesome deep sea fish, and only if DH or I caught it ourselves. Then again fur creeps me out too.

Taxidermy as a general rule doesn't creep me out or bother me in the slightest, it's actually something I'd like to take up as a hobby. I love good, quality taxidermy, whether or not the animal itself was used for food (I draw the line at "hunting" tame game farm animals, but that's another thread...)



Bad taxidermy... Well...



:rofl1::rofl1::rofl1:

Here's my deer head. I shot and killed it when I was 8, and it's the only one my dad ever had mounted out of ALL the deer we ever killed. I feel speshul. . Lol




Forgive the low quality iPhone pics.

While it's not to my personal artistic/decorative taste, I can appreciate good taxidermy. It takes quite a lot of skill and art to get it done properly. I don't think mounting an animal's preserved skin for artistic value is any weirder than wearing fashion accessories made out of an animal's preserved skin (belts, wallets, purses, shoes, fur coats, etc). It's all about aesthetic appreciation.

Mia, I LOVE your deer head. The pose on it is beautiful.

Thank you, Gem.

As for decorating with it, I think that all depends on your personal tastes and the style of your home. I'll be the first to admit that a deer head would've looked hilariously out of place at our (mine and hubby's) former home. That house was still simple, yet more formal. The house we're in now (the house I grew up in) is a combination between French Acadian and ranch. The living room walls are paneling, but NOT that cheap sheet paneling. Each piece is actually handcrafted of White Ash, and the pieces fit together like a big puzzle. While I normally despise paneling, I LOVE these walls. They scream warmth and comfort and country living to me. But what I love about them is what others may hate about them. Lol. My deer head just. "fits" with the style of the house.

It's not my cup of tea, but I wouldn't say it weirds me out... unless it's poorly done.