Stephanie Lee's love of taxidermy took a while to develop. "I worked with
feathers and bone in the jewelry trade for several years before turning to
taxidermy. I had no mentors. Seeing the fabulous mounts of Coloman Jonas at
the Smithsonian had a big effect on me. It was such a strong visual impact."
Lee talks about the importance of leadership. "Women looking to enter this
trade need a double dose of it! You'll need to be marketing yourself continually
in order to obtain mounting jobs. This, in itself, takes a lot of initiative.
"Now add the female factor and you're talking about another level of marketing.
Not too long ago, I visited a taxidermy supply house and was greeted by disdain
when my trade was known. The owner couldn't deal with the fact that a woman
would actually want to be a taxidermist!"
While Lee has done a wide range of mounts, she's particularly proud of
a half-raccoon shown emerging from its habitat. The piece won a second-place
trophy at the 1997 Eastern Regional Taxidermy Competition.
"These competitions are really important events for me. Since I don't belong
to a hunting club or associate with sportsmen, these venues remain one of
the best places to network. I meet prospective clients and I also get to see
what my competition looks like. Of course, I can't rely solely on these events
for my advertising." Lee also maintains a website where potential
customers can view a wide range of her work.
Veteran taxidermist Jim Marieiro has some advice on training: "Certainly
an ideal situation is one where a student can learn by doing -- as well as
by watching a master taxidermist at work."
But Marieiro says another component of taxidermy education isn't widely
taught. "The road to successful taxidermy is littered with the corpses of
those small businesses which started up undercapitalized. Their owners bought
expensive leases for their stores and then folded soon after.
"They hadn't figured on the harsh reality that this business is primarily
seasonal. Unless you have a steady... [line-up] of clients banging on your
door for work, mounting jobs can be few and far between."
"I think the term 'taxidermist' throws people off a bit," says Jeff Brain.
He is president of a taxidermy association.
"They know you do a form of magic with their animal or fish. But I don't
think they fully realize that we're really artists first, and then highly
trained technicians. This perception is key to how I believe taxidermists
need to market themselves.
"I get very frustrated when I see a taxidermist under-price their work.
While I understand that they may be responding to a cost-conscious clientele,
they do all of us a disfavor."
Brain encourages anyone interested in this profession to take advantage
of opportunities to meet practitioners and be inspired by their work. "There
are a number of ways to do this. Attending taxidermy convention and wildlife
competitions is very effective. Most taxidermists are very passionate about
their art. They love to talk about it and, of course, they love to show it
off.
"There's a tremendous body of skill that goes into the most deceptively
simple mount. Somehow the buying public needs to be educated about what they're
paying for and why our services may seem inordinately expensive.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm an artist called in to do triage," says Brain.
"A client sends me a specimen for mounting. It looks great on the surface.
I start to work on it and find broken parts, torn skin. It's not like I can
go back to the supermarket and exchange it -- I've got to do the best with
what I have!"