Tuition

TAXIDERMY TRAINING COURSES

Learn Taxidermy

To learn to be a competent taxidermist and produce work of consistently high quality across a wide range of bird, animal and fish species using a variety of techniques takes many years of hard work and commitment coupled with a certain amount of natural artistic flare. It also requires an understanding and appreciation of muscular and skeletal anatomy. Therefore to expect to be able to learn taxidermy in its entirety on a course of just a few days is obviously unrealistic at best. The courses I provide are aimed at helping the beginner to gain an appreciation of the art whilst at the same time dispelling any illusions or preconceptions that a "fast buck" can be made after minimal training. The student will also be made aware of the legal implications of handling dead wildlife. The intermediate and advanced courses are for those who may already be producing completed mounts, possibly for clients and who wish to raise the standard of their work or concentrate on an area which has, thus far proved difficult.

Anyone who has struggled to model and set up an animal or bird only to be left with a barely recognisable pile of feathers or fur, which, after just a few days emits a strange odour will appreciate the opportunity to be guided, "hands on", through the whole process of setting up a bird or small mammal by an experienced professional taxidermist. This can save many hours of frustration, wasted money and precious carcasses, which are often difficult to obtain.

For some years now I have been providing a limited number of short courses on taxidermy. These are tailored to cater for most levels of experience from the complete novice with little or no practical experience to the advanced level for those wishing to refine their techniques and learn new ones to gain wider experience and knowledge of the art.

I run the courses on a minimum 2 days and up to five days. Longer courses are available buit these need to be structured and planned in advance.There will be a maximum of two persons per course. (A similar experience level is to be preferred when two people attend together.) Each course is individually tailored to the requirements of the person/s attending. As a guide courses are split into three levels:

Warning

I would point out that Taxidermy, by its very nature, involves close up handling, studying and the skinning out of animal and or bird corpses. If you are in any way upset or disturbed by this prospect then you may want to consider carefully whether a taxidermy course is for you.

Beginners taxidermy course

The begginner's course is, by definition, aimed at those with very little or no previous experience of taxidermy. For this course we normally work on a simple bird mount using a commonly available species such as a Magpie, Jay or Crow. The student will be taken through the whole process and will be "hands on" from fresh specimen to completed mount. There will be no corners cut and the student will learn all that is necessary to produce a high quality mount. People often attend this course simply to experience taxidermy out of interest.

What will I learn?

You will be taken through every step of the method I use to mount a bird:

Observation and reference of the bird prior to commencing work on it.
Skinning/ cleaning the skin of fat and grease
Washing and drying of the skin
Detailed instruction on producing an anatomically accurate manikin or form
Wiring the skin and mounting it on the form correctly
Stitching the skin to close the incision.
Arranging the skin and plumage correctly to attain the correct posture and attitude in order that the bird is properly balanced and anatomically correct.
Pinning and carding to hold the feathers in position for drying.
Finishing and painting as necessary.

Length of the course:

Most people tend to start with a two or three day course, mounting a single bird over two – three days from start to finish, covering the whole process and having itfully explained, you can dictate the pace and ask any questions, take notes, photos etc. during the course.

If required, days can be added up to a total of five. This allows for more in depth coverage of all aspects plus coverage of other relevant areas such as groundwork (habitat setting) and paint finishing.

Intermediate taxidermy course

This course level assumes that the student has at least some previous experience of taxidermy and has successfully skinned cleaned and mounted a number of skins. It is also most useful to bring along some specimens and photos of previously mounted work for constructive comments and to help in assessing the overall standard attained prior to the course.

Advanced Taxidermy courses

The advanced Taxidermy course is for those who have perhaps been practicing taxidermy for some time on a range of specimen types and may wish to concentrate on a particular area like game heads, full mammals, finishing or cases and habitat work. Here the emphasis is very much on areas such as anatomy, muscle tone, pose, and expression. Finishing techniques are also looked at in depth. Before commencing an advanced level course it is very important to plan well beforehand the precise areas the client may wish to concentrate on to ensure that we do not go over familiar ground and consequently waste time.

Taxidermy training courses available

Subject	Level and Availability
BIRD	BEGINNER	INTERMEDIATE	ADVANCED
GAME HEAD	*****	INTERMEDIATE	ADVANCED
FOX MASK	BEGINNER	INTERMEDIATE	ADVANCED
FULL FOX	*****	INTERMEDIATE	ADVANCED
HABITAT WORK	BEGINNER	INTERMEDIATE	ADVANCED
FINISHING	******	INTERMEDIATE	ADVANCED

TAXIDERMY COURSE PRICING

Basic Beginners bird taxidermy course is £400.00 for the two-day course. PLEASE NOTE. PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE. ALWAYS CONTACT ME FOR CURRENT PRICES.

Extra days can be added at £150.00 per day.

Everything required to complete the mount is provided. Although if you have a particular specimen that you would like to work on then you can bring it with you. (provided it is legally obtained and can be proved to be so. Call me first to discuss this.) All other courses are P.O.A (price on application) due to the fact that they must be tailored to suit the requirements and experience level of the student.

Clothing: working overalls or practical clothing which you are prepared to get a bit dirty. Comfortable shoes, trainers or similar. Long hair should be tied back for health and safety reasons.

I require a deposit of £100.00 on booking and the full balance is due on commencement of the course. Please note. if paying by personal cheque the payment must be cleared at least 7 working days prior to the course commencing. Regretfully I do not take card payments.

Courses normally start at 8:30 a.m ~ 5:30 p.m with one hour for lunch (provided). Overnight accommodation from B+B to large hotel is available locally dependent on requirements.

For more information contact me on:Tel: 01204 523622.