On taxidermy competitions…
I personally have not competed in well over 20 years and I will likely never compete again. I do believe, however, that my best work is still ahead of me. There is no question though that no matter what I do in the future, it is those years in the past in which I did compete that were so pivotal in my development as a commercial taxidermist. It meant that I had to take it to an academic level and force myself to navigate my subject to better understand it. If you don’t understand it, you can not accurately replicate it. I have had Taxidermy Tech students ask me about taxidermy competitions while telling me about a “cool idea” they have for competition mount and so I will say that in my humble opinion, you must place your focus on the technical accuracy of the animal. The arrangement, the habitat or the cool idea should never be more important than technical accuracy. You must know your subject...Not only it’s anatomy but it’s physiology and behavior. You must spare no time or expense in planning, preparing and researching for your competition mount...and above all, you must be willing to humble yourself and recognize that what you are gaining for your extraordinary effort is not recognition, ribbons or honors, but rather, knowledge... and sometimes, when it’s all said and done, that is the hardest pill to swallow.