Gustavson Taxidermy Studio

09/16/2024

Cleaning a cat skull this weekend

07/03/2024

Little Gopher is part way through his Mummification. It is a long process that requires burying him in a special drying-salt mixture, switching the salt out daily, and drying out the wet salt in between changes. The mummification process can take months, but he is small so will take less time. He will be wrapped in linen strips and sealed with a resin based mixture to keep out moisture and complete the mummy.

06/23/2024

Mummified a little gopher today, well, started to, he will be a while before he’s finished 💀

05/19/2024

Poodle finish work done and final grooming finished! Toby is ready to return to his owners! RIP little guy!

05/19/2024

Finish work on poodle. Filled in his eyelids with apoxie sculpt and painted them, painted nose and paw pads, then put a matte sealer/gloss over the eyes, nose, and paw pad.

05/19/2024

Part 2 of mounting poodle. Test fit the skin on the head and then started to mount the head. Ears were made with bondo/fibreglass, and paws filled with clay prior to this (in my previous mounting post). Pinned the face, and continued to mount the body, front legs, down to the back legs. After mounting he got a shampoo before final drying. Once dry he will get another shampoo and final grooming before I start finish work.

05/07/2024

Marten

04/11/2024

Marten groomed today

03/28/2024

Spent all day yesterday mounting. Here’s a preview of me mounting the paws and doing custom shaped wavy Bondo ears. Got him all together and drying now, it turned out great but the reveal will be after finish work is done and it is sent to the customer. He will dry now and get a shampoo in about two weeks before I finish grooming and painting.

03/28/2024

Did some clay work on my custom dog form. Haakon was my nose model.

03/22/2024

Custom dog form finished

Canada’s Pet Taxidermist and Memorial Artist. Custom Mounts. Traditional Taxidermy, Mummification, Painted Portraits, Skull Cleaning, Pawprint casts. Located in Lloydminster, Alberta.
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Text 1-306-218-7147

03/21/2024

Repairing broken leg, attaching limbs to body, Wiring legs.

03/21/2024

Removing the foam casts from the plaster, and trimming them.

03/13/2024

Plaster molding the body, and casting in foam. Waiting for it to dry out more before I unmold it, but I think it’s going to turn out great!

03/13/2024

One more from the class at Walker's Wilderness Studios. I highly recommend their courses!

03/08/2024

Mounted marten today at Walker's Wilderness Studios. Almost done! It will need to dry before another shampooing, and then I can start finishing work!

03/08/2024

Mounting marten today at Walker's Wilderness Studios. Also got some kitty cuddles.

03/08/2024

Making clay tail, form preparation, and test fitting marten yesterday at Walker's Wilderness Studios

03/08/2024

Doing Bondo marten ears yesterday at Walker's Wilderness Studios

03/06/2024

Sewing marten buttholes today at Walker's Wilderness Studios. Gotta get that pucker.

02/26/2024

Plaster moulding and foam casting of custom heads today. Ran out of plaster so I’ll have to do more castings tomorrow.

02/22/2024

A few weeks ago I was asked about my process. (This is your warning to turn back now if you don’t want to see skinning/gore)

When I receive animals they are frozen solid, I’ve taken to thawing them whole (in a pickle solution) to keep bacteria from affecting the hide while skinning. Then after skinning, fleshing, turning the ears, eyes, nose and lips (sorry I didn’t get many photos of that) the hide goes back into the acid pickle (with degreaser added), is put into a baking soda solution to neutralize the acid, and then tanning oil is applied to the flesh side of the hide to finish the tanning. With Domestic animals there are no forms available so a custom form will be made from a cast of the positioned and frozen carcass. Next I will be separating the frozen carcass into segments and using the pieces to make moulds that I then pour in foam.