Hollywood taxidermist Stan Gross demonstrates how he places whiskers on a deer mount. Gross learned taxidermy as a young boy and has been doing it ever since.
After 52 years in taxidermy, Stan Gross has met a lot of people who do not understand the details that go into his work.
They are surprised that Gross paints fish mounts. Some people are even surprised that a mounted deer’s eyes are glass or that Gross, in some instances, plucks a deer’s whiskers, saves them on a piece of tape, and uses a reference photo and pins to glue them back into the hair follicles once the hide is ready, getting the position and curvature of a whisker just right.
Gross, who owns Stan Gross Taxidermy in Hollywood, first learned taxidermy in 1971 when he was 11. He and his older brother, Bruce, ordered a 10-page booklet on taxidermy.
“We ordered this ‘Northwestern School of Taxidermy’ out of the back of Outdoor Life magazine — just a little ad,” says Gross, who turns 64 this year.
The “school” was a printed series with how-to instructions and drawings. 1 month would be game heads and the next would address birds. While Bruce started with deer, Stan focused on birds. They worked together on fish — his brother would skin and mount the fish, and Stan painted the fish once mounted. It is how the brothers earned money during high school.
Taxidermy eventually became a full-time job for Stan.
“I tell people I am blessed because I don’t mind getting up and going to work every day,” Gross says. “It ain’t all ice cream and peaches, you know, but for the most part I still enjoy it.”
Taxidermist Shane Smith of Bridgeport also got into the field as an 11-year-old. He ran his own business as a cooperative education student in high school.
Shane Smith with his daughter, Reese, enjoy a recent turkey hunt. Photo courtesy of Shane Smith
Smith now owns Artistic Compositions in Bridgeport where he and his staff specialize in waterfowl, turkey, and other birds. A few years ago, Smith got into product development and created a line of waterfowl molds sold by McKenzie Taxidermy, a company that specializes in taxidermy supplies. Smith’s done taxidermy pieces for Ducks Unlimited as well as Bass Pro Shops.
Artistic Compositions hosts seminars for others who want to learn taxidermy. They draw people from all over the country, Smith says. Some want to start their own business, while others compete in taxidermy competitions and want to improve their skills, he says.
Part of the job is organization, Smith says, and he ships birds all over the country from his shop in Bridgeport.
Smith’s workshop features a variety of waterfowl and turkeys, some on ghost hangers Smith created to give the appearance of flight while others are placed on water sculptures that may end up behind glass for display. There are ocellated turkeys of Mexico, a New Zealand black swan, and king eider sea ducks found in Arctic coastal countries. There are birds from the boreal forest of Europe and from the jungles of Yucatan.
Smith’s 18-year-old daughter, Reese, learned the skill from her father and recently created a tail feather piece from an ocellated turkey.
For many customers, the completed mount becomes more about the memory it evokes, Smith says. That is why, he says, they try to put emotional impact into the work.
“It’s more about how it makes them feel than the actual bird itself,” Smith says. “Somebody may have a wood duck, and it’s the first 1 they ever shot. It may not be as pretty as another guy’s wood duck, but they don’t really care because they’re so drawn to that 1 memory or that experience that they had. So, basically, we provide an experience in a material form that preserves a memory.”
A lot has changed in the field of taxidermy, Gross says. Companies that specialize in taxidermy materials now sell sculpted forms for everything from ducks and deer to elephants and lions — many created by award-winning taxidermists.
Gross remembers using Excelsior wood shavings and string to create bird molds — an old-school technique he could still use today if necessary. Gross has taken a few old mounts from the 1950s apart and has found them filled with wood, clay, grass, and pine straw.
Gross makes his own molds for ducks, but now even the smallest animals have mannequin forms that can be purchased. The most challenging part is just getting the animal hide ready for mounting, especially since all the flesh must be removed. Animal hides and feathers are typically filthy and must be thoroughly cleaned before a taxidermist can work with them.
Taxidermists often use some basic craft tools to help secure mounts as they dry — masking tape, the plastic canvas used in cross stitching, sewing T-pins, and straight pins. They use paint to get the coloring right in and around the ears, eyes, and nose.
The time it takes to do a mount varies depending on the animal itself and what kind of mount the customer wants. Gross has worked on typical game expected in Alabama — deer, ducks, turkeys — as well as more exotic species, such as African buffalo.
Most hunters want their wildlife mounts to appear how they were when alive, and Gross says imperfections usually can be camouflaged.
“A good taxidermist is like a good carpenter — they can hide mistakes,” Gross says.
Powell says being a book author has been “a bucket list thing for me. I didn’t care if I only sold 1 copy, I just wanted that book to be in my hand.”
