Tuesday 21 August 2012

Something a little bit different volunteering-wise...

I've been meaning to blog about this for AGES as I've been doing it a few months now but you know what I'm like, I procrastinate like a boss. Unfortunately I seem to have lost most of the photos I took near the beginning which is a real pain but I still have enough to get by with.

Anyway, moving on...

I've been meaning to get involved with some voluntary work for a while now but until recently hadn't really felt up to doing anything. A chance comment about helping one of my dad's work colleagues snowballed and I'm now coming to work with him every other Friday to help out Laurence with some things.

Matisse and I
Myself and 'Matisse' the Mallard.

 Hey, wait...are those wires coming out of his legs?

Oh, didn't I mention? My dad works for Glasgow Museums and Laurence is the taxidermist. ;)

Photobucket
(Sorry, I couldn't resist! XD)

Birds in the podI won't be doing any actual taxidermy though sadly, I'm assuming the role of 'Groundwork Preparator' (in layman's terms, I make nice scenic bases for the mounted specimens)

But bear in mind that there will be a lot of photos in this post - some of which include 'in progress' shots of the taxidermy so if it really isn't your thing, my apologies. I'll link to anything that could be considered graphic so you don't need to see anything gory though. :)

I've always loved taxidermy (blame my dad for that - we usually had at least one dead mouse in the freezer ready to be taken into work when I was growing up) and one of my earliest memories of Kelvingrove Museum was the big woodland diorama case with all manner of native species mingling in amongst the undergrowth. It was one of those displays that you could examine for hours and still find something new each time! Sadly, the current trend is for everything to be displayed 'cleanly' with ugly perspex bases and everything on open display (which really isn't good for the specimens...but more on that later) so good dioramas are in fairly short supply and my beloved woodland dio was taken apart and dismantled when the museum was renovated a number of years ago. I won't be making anything particularly large, or indeed, to go on display in the museum; however those I do make will be loaned out to the Open Museum and the like so they'll still be seen by a large number of people!

The workshop is definitely my kind of room - all organised chaos with bits and pieces scattered all over the place...

WorkbenchMuzzle


SlothWhat's that in the corner? Oh nothing, just the 133 year old Sloth who needs some of her toenails stuck back on. ;D Isn't she lovely? (and don't Sloths have the weirdest hands?!)


The first day I went, I met up with my fellow volunteer Barbara who, unlike myself, won't be making bases, but instead will be dissecting some of the unmounted and relatively fresh specimens and examining them for parasites. You know, as you do. :P (she's doing it at uni I think)  Laurence has been showing her how to make a bird skin which works out well because not only does she get to dissect something and learn from the gory bits, but the museum also gains another valuable addition to the collection. (Unlike the traditional mounted specimens you're used to seeing on display, skins are mainly kept for for research and have all the internals bar the skull, leg and wing bones removed - a lot trickier than you'd think!)


To start off with, they would be skinning out a juvenile Starling...

(-This is what was removed from the body cavity - the white stuff is preservative - and we realised afterwards that the newspaper article was strangely appropriate!-)

Skin
This was it more or less finished I believe.


...while I would be making a base for this incredibly miffed looking rabbit.

Rabbit

Now, I will be the first to admit that not all taxidermy is good. Some specimens have dodgy eyes, freakish anatomy etc...

 Bunny bitesServal

...while others are just insane! 

lolworthy wildcat


 Mr Rabbit wasn't too bad, all things considered, but he was without a doubt, one of the haughtiest looking creatures I've ever seen.

Laurence cut the MDF for me and explained the basics but from then on I was pretty much left to my own devices as far as actually doing it was concerned. I was expecting it to be really technical but all it amounted to really was blobbing on a lot of wood glue and adding on the groundwork.

 Fun Fact! - Anything used in this kind of display must first be put in the freezer at very low temperatures for several weeks to kill off any lingering invertebrates or bacteria which may prove harmful to the specimens.

Mr Rabbit needed his leg wires straightened a bit but after a few minutes of gentle positioning was ready to be wired in. We marked out on the base where the wires were to go in, then drilled four holes - one for each leg - and carved out 'channels' for the wires to sit along on the underside of the base. Label on, ID number scrawled on the underside in case it got lost and wayhey, grumpy-bun had a base!

Rabbit base

Rabbit base 

The following week I made a slightly more interesting base for a Rook, seen here...

Rook

Alas, all the photos I took with him actually perched on the post have gone AWOL so you'll just have to imagine it I'm afraid.


Rook Base

I love crows and the like and that particular specimen was gorgeous - I kept stroking his head feathers as they were so soft and lovely.

Adder baseNext up was the base for the Adder. (who you can see behind the container with the blue lid in the workshop photo from earlier)

This one was left entirely up to me to design and put together and I really couldn't be more pleased with it.







The groundwork had to be mostly flat so the snake had enough space to be displayed but I thought having the bracken rise up at the back would add visual interest as well as giving an instant snapshot of the kind of habitat they live in.
Everything probably looks like it'll just blow away but it's all stuck down incredibly firmly with copious sprayings of watered down PVA! Mrs Adder hasn't been wired in yet so you'll be able to see finished photos next time I'm there.

Now, what about that Mallard from the first photo? You'll notice I called him 'Matisse', well, that was due to the state of his original base...

'Matisse's original base

The person who mounted him had been using it as a palette when painting his feet and beak and I thought it wouldn't have looked out of place in a Fauvist's studio. XD You can actually see where he just painted over his feet - the underside of them are actually a totally different colour! lol

This base had to be simple so I decided to do it like a riverbank with some very fine gravel and a few choice rocks and pebbles to add interest. Gluing on the gravel was a feat in itself - it was so fine it got EVERYWHERE and if I picked the whole thing up before it had dried, big chunks of the stuff came off in my hands.

I think it worked out ok in the end however...

Mallard Base

Mallard Base

Matisse's leg wires were waaaaay too long so Laurence clipped them down to size and used one of the sanding wheels to give the ends points so they'd have a firmer hold on the MDF.

(Observe the colour of the feet, lol)

Feet sanding


Feet sanding

Before long he was wired in and I took him off to photograph...

Mallard AKA 'Matisse'

His unfortunate leaning stance makes it look like he's laid all those stones... XD

Mallard AKA 'Matisse'


...and finally, my absolute favourite...

Hedgehog Spines

...what's this?...

Hedgehog Spines

...a cactus?...

Hedgehog

Nope, a hedgepig! :D :D

I absolutely love hedgehogs and this one was adorable. He was a juvenile, so was a lot smaller than I was expecting. (pocketsized, heh)

Again, the base wasn't very big but I wanted to make it look like it had just been lifted from the forest floor and was interesting to look at from every angle. I had great fun scrunching up a big pile of leaf litter and sprinkling it artistically over the whole thing! I finished it the week before last but ran out of time to put the hodgeheg in place.

Hedgehog Base

My favourite part is the moss and lichen covered stick on the left.

Hedgehog Base



Here, I present to you the one, the only, the incredible levitating hedgehog!

The amazing levitating Hedgepig!

The amazing levitating Hedgepig!

XD We needed to mark out where the leg wires would go you see...

Hedgehog Base

...and doesn't he look perfectly at home there?

Hedgehog

Genuinely, I would have taken him and the base home if I'd been allowed, I'm SO pleased with it all.


Hedgehog
Hedgehog
Hedgehog

Hedgehog
Hedgehog
Hedgehog

So yeah, that's what I've been doing recently! XD I start back at college this coming monday (eeek!) and will hopefully be continuing with this on fridays. My next base to tackle is for a Common Gull and then, possibly a Barn Owl!




12 comments:

  1. Oh now that is a cool place to help out! You did wonderful work on the bases, especially those of the duck and the hedgehog are really my favourites, too.
    i find that whole taxidermy business totally interesting and a couple of years ago, I inherited a taxidermised (is that the verb for it?) barn owl from my grandfather. The owl is preserved lovely, but the base is very uninspired. It guards my bookshelf now and scares visitors new to my place.*g*

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    1. 'Mounted' I think is the correct term. XD But eee, so jealous! I don't have anything of my own. :( I'd love an owl or a jackdaw beside my desk...

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    2. Aw, thanks! :)
      If she'd still be able to fly, I'd send her over to visit you. As it is, I can only share a picture- her name is "Eulalia" and she was set on her perch at least 60 years ago:
      http://i302.photobucket.com/albums/nn108/ailanreanter/ailyblog/eulalia02.jpg

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  2. JEALOUS! My dream job is to design exhibits for zoos and museums. If you ever need another pair of hands.... ;)

    And ugh, I have definitely seen my share of truly disturbing mounts. Have you ever seen the one done of Misty of Chincoteague? Poor thing looks all bloated. (The original Bloaty?) It's not just when she was mounted, though- I've seen some phenomenal mounts that are 50+ years old and look amazing, and I've seen some that were mounted a few years ago and are atrocious. The museum that I used to volunteer at had a truly talented taxidermist, who sadly passed away a few years ago. I don't know if they've hired another yet, but he is definitely missed.

    But I really am glad that you got this chance. You really are good at making those bases, and the hodgepig looks fantastic! It's nice that you are applying the things you've learned in school to a real-world situation! After you graduate, will you keep working there?

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    1. :D :D Honestly, I would love to work there or in the museum - it's been such a big part of my life and just gahhahhh, if you're ever in Glasgow, visit Kelvingrove and you'll see what I mean - absolutely stunning building.

      Yeeeeah, she's...lovely. >.<

      Oh definitely, I've seen some in the stores that were done maybe only twenty years ago and have fur falling out and wonky eyes and distorted limbs and yet some of the really old things look brand new! Mind you, condition-wise it usually comes down to the arsenic they used as a preservative! Modern stuff gets mothed to death because all the good stuff is too dangerous to use thanks to health and safety! *eyeroll*

      Well I've got two years of college to go but here's hoping! I'd love a job out of it but I know it's not realistic... :/

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  3. So so jealous! I was planning on doing a course on taxidermy at the start of the summer, but didn't earn enough money in time :( Would've mounted my own magpie had I done it though! That hedgehog base is fabulous! <3

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    1. Awwww whaaaat? No way, that'd have been awesome! And a Magpie as well. :(

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  4. Wow! I can't say I'm a big fan of taxidermy, but that is the COOLEST volunteer job ever! And you're doing a fabulous job. You do a great job making the bases simple enough not to distract but still looking real and with visual interest. I look forward to more pictures!

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    1. :D Yeah, it's not for everyone but if done well enough so that it does the animal justice I'm all for it. :D

      Ohohoh, no worries there! XD

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  5. Jaysus your bases are second to none!!!! So prefessional and so detailed and just gorgeous! WONDERFUL job!!!! xx Sophie (from Georgie's forum)

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  6. Haha, thank you! :D I'm going there again tomorrow!

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