This week on the work bench

Hello you, thanks for dropping by!

Summer has finally graced us at last and whilst I’ve found it a little bit too hot in the workshop to do taxidermy this week, it hasn’t stopped me from making myself a massive cup of tea (it’s never too hot for tea, right?!) and planning out my next projects.

I can also take this opportunity to tell you what curiosities have landed on my workbench in the last couple of weeks. I have been rather lucky to work on some really beautiful specimens, including a Kingfisher, Reed Bunting, Magpie and a Rainbow Lorikeet. You can see a ‘behind the scenes’ video of that one which I hope you will find on this page.

I’m starting to find a bit more time now to work on the menagerie of specimens I have in my freezer that are not commissioned pieces, so please keep your eyes peeled over the next few weeks as I’ll be finally adding to my online taxidermy  shop page!

To conclude this blog post, I read an interesting tweet this week by Nature Writer Stephen Moss that during lockdown:

“one-third of adults are more interested in nature; more than half plan to spend more time outdoors; and over two-thirds have discovered that spending time in nature has made them feel happier”

Which fills me with hope for the future of our ever dwindling landscapes and all the beautiful wildlife that resides in it, that we unknowingly depend upon so much. The more people that realise the true value of nature and what it can do for us, the better chance we have of conserving and saving it from the destruction of humanity, we are both the problem and the solution!

Upon reflection of this comment, it’s also made me realise the value of the work I do, for the art of taxidermy produces not just beautiful, inspiring biological snapshots of the world we so admire today, but also future artefacts that can play an important role in advancing our knowledge of the environment and how we can live in it harmoniously with the wildlife we share it with.