Is This "commercial Taxidermy"?

At Worlds......

Some of the best fish mounts I've ever seen only have one eye installed.

 

Who said anything about worlds? I said that in regards to a state show comment

 

the bad doctors rely on malpractice insurance to save their hides and stay in business. i would like to see the Government change that to a three strikes and they are out.

 

So the standard should vary state to state? And then overseas?

Commercial isn't about "quality", it's about profit. Sometimes the two are related, but not always.

I have no problem with your own personal standard. There are those with higher standards and lower too, who do just fine, or not, commercially.

 

thats what i said above about doctors relying on malpractice insurance to save their hides.
they can amputate the wrong leg, still have to take off the other one and all you get is an insurance settlement, two artificial limbs and they still get everything, including being allowed to do it again.

 

sounds like are goverment.

 

"Taxidermist" is a very broad term. We could teach a monkey to pull a skin over a form and call him a taxidermist. Either a mount looks alive, or it doesn't. Not much in between. The taxidermists who consistently produce life like work are true professionals. Hacks make gargoyles and cheap caricatures. From what I've seen over the years about 98% of the taxidermy work done is pure garbage. If there are 75,000 taxidermists in the USA, that means there are still 1500 taxidermists who are doing great work. That's 30 for each state. Can you think of 30 people in your state that you would let mount your work?

 

Rick

With all do respect I say humbly I think you woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Saying only 2% of taxidermist are worthy to do taxidermy work. I know you have the highest standards and want to stress to everyone here to strive excellent in there field of taxidermy. With that number comparing with every other industries there would only be 15 taxidermist qualified to enter the national competition

 

On the coyote or the person viewing it?

 

Fallenscale,


Rick doesn’t reference taxidermist with his 98% crap count. He was talking about taxidermy work in general and to that I will somewhat agree. To further make that point I would be happy to hand over a deer for Rick’s services but, would not be handing him a fish There is however a very small percentage that I would have a fish mounted by.


-Pete

 

Harum

I'm pretty sure he said there only 1500 taxidermist doing quality work. I'm not going to beat the horse. There many levels of taxidermy and pricing. Not all people have integrity for sure not all are great artist.

 

As I read it his number of taxidermist was a fictitious number to back his 98% crap count.

I understand your point of view on this. Just as valid a point as Rick’s. We all have our level of acceptance on quality. I for one can’t think of 30 taxidermist in each state that I would give any thought into bringing an animal to. My point was that his call on the matter is not because he got up on the wrong side of the bed. It may sound odd to you but, I think he was being generous… It is fortunate for the 60,000 remaining taxidermist that people still continue to look for the cheapest deal or the person with the best social media skills.


-Pete

 

Harum

I read that 98% of taxidermy work is pure garbage. That there only 1500 taxidermist doing great work.
This is the last I'll even entertain this subject. Any thing beyond this point is no more then ego driven

 

Both

 

There is no standard amongst taxidermy customers, that's half the problem.

As in the case of determining what is "great work", even standards in taxidermy competition are largely subjective. Despite the use of score sheets, we so frequently witness vast differences in results from one scorer to another.

So, when it comes to evaluation, not all evaluators are equal. Some of that is a result of the level of knowledge a person has from studying subjects, some from how they personally interpret what they see in a subject, and some is the result of differences from subject to subject even in the same species.

As for Rick, he does say "all taxidermists suck" earlier in this thread. Sounds pretty inclusive. Perhaps it's pessimistic, but not necessarily egotistical for him to say 98% of all taxidermy is pure garbage. With or without ego, his high standard is based in extensive study and knowledge of both taxidermy and taxidermied species. So, it's an informed opinion, and yet it's no more than a personal opinion. What's the standard for pure garbage? What's the purpose of taxidermy?

As for ego, we might embrace ego as a key ingredient to great taxidermy, after all the highest standard is often what's referred to as "The work of God." But...when the living is the bar to measure against, that ego is often crushed. When taxidermy is the bar to be measure against, ego can often be revived, substantially.

 

1fish2fish

You made one point I like to bring out.not all judges score come out the same.

Well you look in nature not all whitetail deer are the same they change from area to area. Same as fish. Not all 24 inch large mouths have great big bellies. It what people learn from there area what something should look like. I truly dislike a buck shoulder mount with a over swelled neck. But so many push this. Or a Bobcat that put on a mannequin well over size till it makes a heavy winter coat look thin. There a lot of opinions I wouldn't pay $1 for a Picasso I get no pleasure looking at his work

 

I have seen some live animals that truly warranted a remount.

 

I expected a better informative answer from Rick ,one of the best deer taxidermists in the country if not the best . Reading between the lines it appears to me that Rick is going through the early stages of taxidermy+customer fry out + burnout.

 

What's better than the truth? If Rick believes what he wrote then it is the right answer for him to provide.

More informative? If you are a deer taxidermist who wants to find out how you suck and you need Rick's help, have him judge your mount. He's been telling folks what he thinks is wrong (and right) with mounts for years.

I can think of less than 25 taxidermists total I'd have ever chosen to do a fish for me.

Pete Harum, Joshua Knuth, Tim Overbaugh, Dave Campbell, Brett Wingfield, Dave Smith, Ron Pittard, Dale Cornetet, Gary Bruch, Mike Vernelson, Daniel Blackstone, Paul Borkowski, Matthias Fahrni, Jeff Mourning, Luke Filmer, Frank Kotula, Mike Kroessig, Rich Benedict, Doug P, Terry Weick, Ken Bauman, Brian Noody, Mike Orthober.....I'm sure there is someone I'm forgetting.

That is a pretty inclusive list for me, though there are others whose work I admire. Still, even amongst those listed, I have a few favorites that are ahead of the others by quite a bit. Several are no longer with us, and some aren't doing commercial work.

Is that conceit? It's not about me, it's about the quality everyone else is putting out and what I look for if I'm going to pay for someone else's standard.