MODELS & SCULPTURE
When the real thing is too big, too fragile, or won’t sit still, the next best thing is a realistic model.
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Rural Action, Acid Mine Remediation Scale Model Diorama
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Spring diorama, with Veery, Pink Lady Slipper model, and Wood Frog model
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Little Brown Bat model
Reproducing the Extinct
Carolina Parakeet (Conuropsis carolinensis)
Officially extinct in the United States — since 1918, Carolina Parakeets were known for their bright colors and as North America’s only native parrot. Audubon’s famous painting depicted them eating cockleburs, a known poisonous plant. A little nod to Audubon, this Carolina is foraging on a recreated cocklebur plant. With no material available to mount a real Carolina Parakeet, this model was created using already mounted specimens of various species of specially selected parrots. Those were then pieced together to give the illusion of the original extinct bird.
This model received a first place ribbon and best in category award at the 2021 Ohio Taxidermy Championships.
Too Delicate for Taxidermy
Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum)
Carved from balsa wood — the rest sculpted with epoxy, enamel, and thread, this tiny darter model came to be. Scale photographs and drawings of the fin structures, helped to recreate the number and shape of the fin rays as accurately as possible.
This rainbow darter received a first place ribbon in the professional fish reproduction category, at the 2021 Ohio Taxidermy Championships.
Artificial Meets Recycled
Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus)
Little brown bat models were created by sculpting the body form using scale measurements as reference. The sculpture was then molded and cast out of high definition resin. The fur was added using reclaimed vintage fur coat remnants. Bats are outfitted with key-hole mounts, so that they can hang and roost to vertical surfaces, just as they would in the wild.