Wunderkammer in a box (dead animals ahead!)

[clayfaery]

I hope it can be fixed . It's an amazing piece .

A lot of modern taxidermy artists are now using road kill and animals that have died from natural causes . I've lways wanted to learn it !

[yellie]

I also thought this: "He is now dancing on the top of the "mystery box" with his own skin." was very clever.
your box of wonders is very interesting and it would be even better to inspect it up close.

[fuzzymonkey]

cool AND creepy! i am too squeamish to do something like this myself, but i'm impressed. the stitched up rat made me think, wouldn't it be kind of cool to open up the chest of a little rat and put in clockwork parts? I'm suggesting it to you 'cause i couldn't do it myself, but you definitely could...

[selkie]

Just wanted to say this is wonderful!
And I've been a vegetarian for 15 years and, IMHO, the reason many people are squeamish is that we don't have a connection to where our food comes from anymore. DH is a cook in the USCG and people won't eat chicken unless it's skinless and boneless because they don't want to be reminded that they're eating a dead animal.

I think this is wonderful, my great-grandfather was a taxidermist and I love that there are still people who are practicing the art. (My mom was the one who painted the colors onto them after he mounted them!)

AWESOME job!

[ars_anima]

Thanks guys! before answering those comments...

FINAL UPDATE!!!

After the 6 hour trip to sept-îles, I went directly to the museum to assess the damage and repair what I could. The damage was worst than I expected, but after 2 hours with a hot glue gun and the help and fuckin' huge pocket knife of the museum director, I managed to put it back in a acceptable way. There was glue streaks everywhere, things weren't where they were supposed to be, the dried rat had cracks all over, but I put some mesh I had on hand in front of the box to hide most of the defects so it could be shown.

It didn't look as good as when I made it, and the lighting sucked, but the trip with my friends and other artists was definitively worth it.



Now as for why it is a final update, well I got it back from sept-iles a few days ago. The jars containing the skinned rat and rat organs were leaking, the dried rat was crushed, the stuffed rat was ripped in pieces, pieces of wood were loose, and the lighting inside the box didn't work anymore.

I salvage the parts I could and threw the rest in the trash, so all that remains now is the pictures I took of it and a few elements that weren't broken. It sucks, but it makes a good story to tell 

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Nataluna: Some people don't care if they do their jobs wrong, I guess...

Babbetto: Thanks!

Clayfaery: If the pet of one of your friends die (of natural causes, of course), why not offer it? Either they'll enjoy the thought, or they'll think you're completely creepy. Both are great IMO!

Yelli: unfortunately nobody will have the chance anymore. Thanks for your comment!

fuzzymonkey: Now THAT is something i've got to try. A steampunk rat! I'm getting all worked up just thinking about it. Thanks!

Selkie: You're totally right about the loss of connection with our food. Being the son of a hunter, I've learned to know how nature works, and what it means to kill to feed yourself and your family. I also learned to waste nothing when an animal is killed, which is one of the reason why I teach myself taxidermy.

I'd love to meet a serious taxidermist and discuss a bit about that job; Tanning and stuffing large animals must be much more interesting than stuffing rats!

thanks for your comment!

[monster]

oooOOOOoooh!  i love your wunderkammer!  i've invited my friends over to make curiosities this weekend.  i've wanted animal specimens, but i never considered the pet food freezer.  and i like the magnifiers.  i'm going to have to steal that idea too.  just brilliant!

[morglanc]

this is great, and you are awesome for making it!

[PixieVal]

That is insanely amazing. Sucks what happened to it.
Mystery box of own skin, my mind can go so many places with that.

[craftylittlemonkey]

God, this is gross.
You make the best stuff.