taxidermy | SheWalksSoftly

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Lisa Wood Curiosities

Posted in anthropomorphic, craft, nature, taxidermy with tags anthropomorphic, craft, lisa wood, nature, taxidermy on September 11, 2016 by shewalkssoftly

Lisa Wood creates adorable dioramas of anthropomorphized insects engaged in various recreational pursuits.

She also has a collection of egg dioramas, reliquaries, shadow boxes and jewelry.

Lisa Wood

Oddities Store

Posted in antiques, creatures, medicine, oddities, taxidermy, vintage with tags antiques, creatures, medicine, oddities, taxidermy, vintage on February 18, 2015 by shewalkssoftly

If it has “oddities” in the title, there’s a good chance I’ll go down a massive rabbit hole exploring it. Thus, Oddities Store was an enjoyable find indeed.

I desperately need these:

They have bisected animals…

Bell jar skulls of all sorts…

Fish sticks (literally):

Diaphonized beauties:

Skulls on plaques:

Lovely shadow boxes:

And…Lung Salve!

Browse the rest of the collections at the Oddities Store.

3 Comments »

Jordan Elise: Horrible Adorables

Posted in craft, plush, taxidermy with tags craft, plush, taxidermy on February 17, 2015 by shewalkssoftly

Jordan Elise makes delightfully unique faux taxidermy creatures she calls Horrible Adorables.

I like her layered felt technique. Who would’ve thought to make animals out of multicolored felt, cut and positioned like scales? Now that’s imagination!

Some of the eyes are eerily real, which (in my opinion) is a great design element.

Wouldn’t one of these be excellent in a child’s bedroom? I wish I’d had a Horrible Adorable as a kid!

Horrible Adorables

5 Comments »

Weird Valentines

Posted in anatomy, art, humor, valentine's day with tags anatomy, art, humor, taxidermy, valentine's day on February 14, 2015 by shewalkssoftly

I give you my heart…

I’ve seen a lot of Nicholas Cage valentines, but never one with the expert coloring this one has. Those lips…hot pink…

This isn’t a Valentine at all, but it’s fun.

The perfect misanthrope cake.

The only mustachioed volcano I’ve ever seen.

Lest you think I forgot about the folks getting screwed over in a divorce at present:

I could probably make a whole post about cards with some variation of this phrase:

And if you’re in the mood for some vintage Valentines, check out:
Vintage Valentines: Monsters and Undead
Vintage Valentines: Ghosts, Witches and Skeletons
Vintage Valentine Roundup: Masochistic, Murderous and Meaty

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

4 Comments »

Desktop Goodies: 2/4

Posted in 80's, absurd, advertising, anatomy, anthropomorphic, art, Books, humor, medicine, oddities, robots, sea, skulls and skeletons, taxidermy, vintage with tags 80's, absurd, advertising, anatomy, anthropomorphic, art, Books, humor, medicine, oddities, robots, sea, skulls and skeletons, taxidermy on February 4, 2015 by shewalkssoftly

You’re being welcomed into this post by anthropomorphic hotdog with breasts.

As far as I can tell, this is a real vintage ad. Probably one of the most jaw-dropping examples I’ve seen.

Imagine this is what you’re really standing on.

I prefer my tables without testicles.

Don’t miss the other title by this author on the bottom.

For “elegant women of refinement and taste.”

Just your average note-wielding mouse on a lobster.

I’m not sure what’s going on here. Is this a medical assistance device? Unless it’s equipped with some sort of pulley mechanism to lift bodies in need, I see very little purpose for lying on something LESS comfortable, a few inches above something designed for lying on.

And now, in today’s installment of unappealing instructional material…Meet the man who can tell you how to lick pimples.

Haunted…

In conclusion, cats are the cure for everything.

7 Comments »

Twice As Natural

Posted in humor, taxidermy, vintage with tags humor, taxidermy, vintage, vintage print on September 8, 2014 by shewalkssoftly

Phil Are Go! posted a series of images from a 1946 issue of Popular Mechanics that featured behind the scenes taxidermy. The captions containing the *ahem…cough, cough* “reproduced text” are hilarious.

“Taxidermy” comes from the Latin “taxi”, meaning “yellow car for short term hire” and “dermy”, meaning “having nothing to do with”. Since the dawn of time, Man has been fascinated with killing animals, shoving lots of things into them, and then staring at them. Until the creation of the first museum, these men were just sick weirdos. Now, they are the archivists of the miracle of life, through the glory of death.

The journey of taxidermy begins with the animal being lightly killed. In this photograph, we see a Chimpanzee receiving his “contribution to history injection”. The animal’s last meal may consist of beer or Tang, depending on whether he was a jerk and bit somebody.

I’m still laughing at the phrase “lightly killed” (though it’s no laughing matter, of course).

Since I can’t take credit for the writing, I’ll let you read the rest here.

Thank you, Bettie!

5 Comments »

Afterlife Artwork

Posted in anatomy, craft, jewelry, taxidermy with tags anatomy, craft, jewelry, taxidermy on August 27, 2014 by shewalkssoftly

Afterlife Artwork sells unique CRUELTY FREE (the artist is very clear that no animals are harmed for the making of any of these pieces) anatomical jewelry, featuring bits and bones of many varieties.

The rattlesnake skeletons look great:

Knowing that these creatures were already deceased is important to me (I get very upset when animals suffer for art of any kind). In this case, these displays become loving tributes to the gorgeous inner workings of our fellow critters. She is making use of that which would otherwise be discarded or rot, showcasing these miraculous tiny bits of nature.

Mini quail heart bell jars:

Starfish and seahorse:

Articulated rat paw:

Afterlife Artwork

5 Comments »

Brooke Weston

Posted in craft, sculpture, taxidermy with tags craft, sculpture, taxidermy on August 10, 2014 by shewalkssoftly

Brooke Weston makes interesting mixed media sculpture, in which animals house tiny worlds within them.

From the artist bio:
Her work is primarily made from old taxidermy and almost all recycled material. Almost all of her pieces share the concept of small worlds and dioramas situated in objects. She gathers inspiration from antique fairy tale illustrations, amusement parks and artists like Bosch and Joe Coleman.

It might be wise for every human being to take a step back and view him/herself as an empty bust. What would decorate the inside of yours?

Perhaps there is a rare skin condition among deer that looks like a rash of villages and ships. (Kidding! I love the imagination here)

Ah, come have a seat by the fire…in this goat neck.

Brooke Weston

11 Comments »

Tacky Taxidermy, Day 7: Finale

Posted in absurd, creatures, humor, taxidermy with tags absurd, creatures, humor, taxidermy on June 8, 2014 by shewalkssoftly

As it turns out, I’ve collected WAY more terrible taxidermy than I could feasibly post in a week. I also intentionally left out the new wave of artistic rogue taxidermists, to be visited at a later date, though this hobby is gaining ground and producing some entertaining results (this is one kind of craft I could never do; I’m too sensitive to work on…former creatures).

So here are some honest attempts at preserving and posing creatures that don’t quite…look…right.