Comments | paddlefoot_wolf: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

paddlefoot_wolf

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Mar 02, 2013 23:41

First thing - the person signing mounts up for the competition is also a judge for many competitions (not here.) He would NOT let me enter my coyote in amateur. Period. He said it wouldn't do me justice and I wouldn't get the critique I needed... so I went ahead and let him put me in Professional, the next hardest class. (They have youth, ( Read more... )

Comments 11

gilmorelion March 3 2013, 06:18:51 UTC

That is officially Awesome-sauce, Pad! Congrats! I'm sure it's only the first in a long line of awards for you!

paddlefoot_wolf March 3 2013, 17:56:55 UTC

Thank you! I'm really itching to get "Most Artistic Entry" someday, but it is one of the most coveted and hard to get awards. SOMEDAY!

dolphinfriend March 3 2013, 13:10:11 UTC

Awsome!!! congrats congrats, you deserve it. I am so happy for you.I bet you will get that first place ribbon next month.

paddlefoot_wolf March 3 2013, 17:54:04 UTC

Thank you! I'm going to try very hard :)

nick_tiger March 3 2013, 14:16:22 UTC

That is awesome. I think it's so cool to have people who want to teach you, versus protect the 'tricks of the trade'.
Congrats! I hope you have a lot of fun doing this, and make some bank doing it!
-Tiger Nick

paddlefoot_wolf March 3 2013, 17:53:23 UTC

I'm sure some people are like that, but I haven't met them! From what I learned from listening to people talk about other folks, so long as I don't go to someone, eat up all the free things they offer to teach me, and open a shop next door all will be fine, y'know?

I even had someone explain to me how to make my own version of "night eyes" which cost almost $40 to buy them outright! They are eyes that - when you take a flash picture or shine a light in them - they do that blueish glow in the pupil like a real animal.

(The comment has been removed)

paddlefoot_wolf March 3 2013, 17:46:54 UTC

Thank you! I'm very excited for the next competition - the bug has bit me :)

mystee March 3 2013, 15:34:53 UTC

W00T! Congratulations on the second place. Just out of curiosity how many people enter into these competitions? and how is amateur, professional and master judged differently?

paddlefoot_wolf March 3 2013, 17:46:19 UTC

At this competition there were about 64 mounts (some had multiple entries. There was a doe with 2 fawns and that counts as 3 mounts. If someone had a deer on really nice habitat they can enter the habitat as an entry too. Everything is separate, but you don't have to enter everything in a piece.) and a good handful of folks who didn't compete. There is a world taxidermy show that is stateside this year that usually has at least 400 mounts folks I was hearing about ( ... )

mystee March 3 2013, 18:16:58 UTC

Thanks for the explanation! I'm sure with a little tweaking your coyote will be at a blue ribbon in no time!

how do you keep a mount like that 'fresh' do you have to preserve it in some way?

paddlefoot_wolf March 3 2013, 18:54:18 UTC

My skin was tanned and so preserved before I even started working with it.

The only things that *should* happen with age is the fur colors might lighten over time due to sunlight, or with even more time, the light bulbs shining on her. She'll need a dusting sometimes (air compressor works the best, actually, to knock the dust off and fluff the fur) and I'll clean her eyes to keep them shiny, but that's about it for the usual home environment.

Many people will put mounts under glass cases to minimize upkeep/ dusting and that isn't a bad idea.

Since I used spindly real dried grass (that hangs over and isn't protected), I actually have a extra box full of the stuff I used should I need to replace a strand here and there. Someday when I'm not on such a tight budget I'll probably buy reproduction plants to replace the dried ones so upkeep is easier.