Ramses is my first work in my newest series - or what I hope to be a series at some point - of rescued shoulder mount trophies. I had an idea to expand my skulls to include "fur" along the neck and shoulders. As usual, I dreamed of a moose, but my husband wisely cautioned to start a bit smaller. So, I went out in search of a mangy shoulder mount that looked like he could use some loving attention.
I found my rescue at 12 Vultures on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. I asked the owner, Adam, if he had any neglected and abused old shoulder mounts and he led me to the secret back room. After a few options were presented, he dug Ramses out of a pile of discards, pointing out that someone had, at one point, unevenly hacked off the mount near the base. PERFECT! He clearly needed some TLC and I knew just where to rehab him.
First thing, was removal of the fur. Now, keep in mind, I am a taxidermist's daughter, so this, while dusty, was not a big deal for me. Unfortunately, the old plaster, especially around the eyes, was pretty well crumbling, but no matter, I knew what to do!
Armed with spray foam insulation, plaster, Apoxy Sculpt and Bondo, I set out to restore the back board which we would use to mount the finished piece. Then, I had to resculpt the eyes and attach the ears, followed by hours and hours of sanding. When the rebuilding process was complete, I was ready to begin adhering my beads.
I started with the face, because that was similar to the skulls I had done before and I knew what to do with that. An added bonus that I hadn't expected was the beautiful big brown eyes that gazed intently at me throughout the process. I had never before realized that I missed looking in the eyes of my piece, because, well, skulls don't traditionally have eyes (creative process is working here....).
After completing the face, it was time to move onto the fur, which I had determined I would be using varying lengths of bugle beads to provide the suggestion of fur. Using a variety of lengths from 3mm-30mm and different colors as well, I was able to create a beautiful beaded fur coat for my lovely Ramses.
I am so excited to share this piece with my galleries and IG followers. I have a feeling there will be more to come in this story and I am already searching for a suitable discarded trophy for my next piece.
Also note that my newest longhorn, Ruach.