Never in a million years did I think I would have the opportunity to visit a place like China. With the language barrier and its distance from North America, it always seemed so mystifying and far away, but through the art of taxidermy, it became possible. Then last summer (2017), Clark Schreibeis called to ask me some questions about how my trip had gone. He explained that...

Barbary sheep are a species of Caprid and within the subfamily Caprinae. This subfamily includes sheep, goats, and ibexes. It is native to the rocky mountains of North Africa. Barbary sheep are now rare in their native North Africa, but with their introduction to North America (mainly in the southwest USA) and southern Europe, the population is very stable with hunting...

In 1989 when I was a fledgling taxidermist, I entered a whitetail deer pedestal with artwork on the back. I was told by the deer judge that I should not have put artwork on the back. He thought it was distracting to the viewer—the back should be left plain. Nearly thirty years later it is now hard to find the back of a pedestal mount that is not exhibiting some...

Moose skulls are difficult to boil and clean primarily due to the angle in which the antler bases diverge from the skull. Containers used to boil a moose skull can be quite large in order to immerse the entire skull and in doing so, at least portion of one antler. This large container can hold up to 45 gallons of water and is difficult to heat the water to the boiling...