# Mounts compete for tops in taxidermy



## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Mounts compete for tops in taxidermy 
Squirrels, deer and even a peacock on display at convention
By BRETT FRENCH
Of The Gazette Staff

In one room you can see a rattlesnake preparing to strike, a cougar jumping up for a flying duck and a bothered bear with a bee on its nose.

More than 300 entries, many of them life-size, are on display at the National Taxidermists Association's 35th annual convention, competition and trade show at the Holiday Inn Grand Montana Hotel and Convention Center this weekend.

"This is every hunter's dream trophy room," said Greg Crain, executive director of the association and convention chairman.

There are mounts of trophy bull elk - one complete with a waterfall - a white-tailed buck deer dusted with snow and a stunning display of three full-size mule deer bucks racing across the room. But there are also less common animals like a wolverine, marten and even squirrels. And don't expect them to be unadorned. One specimen was a peacock on a vanity looking at its reflection in a mirror.

Joel Edwards, of Hurley, N.M., is in charge of the seven judges who will decide who wins the top awards. What they look for, he said, are details such as the symmetry of the eyes and ears, the workmanship, skin alignment and overall appearance.

The judging was to take half of Thursday and most of today before the public is allowed to see the entries after 6 p.m. today. Then people can vote for their favorite mount, which will win the people's choice award. There's no charge for admission.

"It's a very impressive competition room," Edwards said. "It's one of the better quality displays, and there is a lot of assortment of pieces to judge that are really impressive."

John Janelli, assistant manager of the show and a taxidermy historian, said the industry has made more technical advances in the past 25 years than in all of the previous two centuries. Those advances have come in the form of materials used for forms and preservatives, and they have allowed taxidermists to do more creative and unusual work.

"Taxidermy has taken a complete 360-degree turn from where it came from in the 1800s," Janelli said, "and we're still changing."

The mentality behind what gets mounted has also changed over the years. Crain said it used to be the biggest and best that were preserved through taxidermy.

"Now, the specimen means something to someone," he said. "That's why we're seeing more natural habitats."

The "biggee" award will be for the best of show, which is voted on by all of the judges.

"That's the most prestigious award these guys and gals could win," Edwards said.

To take such an honor at this level of competition, Crain said, the winning mount will have to tell a story.

And it doesn't have to be the big, impressive full-size polar bear.

"One of the littlest mounts in here might be the best overall piece," Edwards said. "Quality overrides size."

"Typically what happens is you see a specimen that doesn't just jump out at you and you really overlook it," Crain said. "But when you pick up a score sheet and examine it, it starts looking better and better."

Edwards said many of the mounts created for the show involve hundreds of hours of taxidermy work, way beyond what they could sell the pieces for.

"It's done more for the prestige and self-satisfaction and competition," Edwards said.

As a taxidermist himself, Edwards said his goal every time he sits down is to bring the animal back to life.

"I want it to look real enough to bring back memories of the hunt," he said.

Contact Brett French at [email protected] or 657-1387.


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## bigpaws (Aug 1, 2006)

Bob,
Thanks for the good posting! I'm always looking for a reputable taxidermist!


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