#2headedanimals

A faux conjoined goat I did several years ago, constructed with twin stillborn pygmy goats. This piece is one of several freak goats I have created over the years. The first one I made was back in 2003. It was exhibited a year later at the world's 1st Rogue Taxidermy exhibition, which I orchestrated with fellow Rogue Taxidermy art movement founders Scott Bibus and Robert Marbury. (click here to read about the history of Rogue Taxidermy) The goat in this post was commissioned by a gentleman who runs a traveling sideshow of animal oddities that tours state fairs around the Untied States. In keeping with sideshow tradition, he passes it off to fairgoers as a genuine anomaly of nature.

Throwback Thursday ~ I know I have a few protégés and fans among the followers of this blog, so this post is for you guys: This is the very first taxidermy mount I ever did, way back in 1999-2000. I was never terribly interested in creating normal mounts and dove headfirst into primarily anomalies of nature and cryptozoological creations right out of the gate. I'm self-taught and have had no formal instruction in the realm of taxidermy. 16 years ago I bought myself two VHS tapes, one on how to mount a squirrel, and one on how to mount a pheasant. I learned a lot through trial and error, but practice makes perfect. The rest is history. Following in the tradition of bars tacking the first dollar they earn to their walls, I have hung onto this mount and proudly display him in my parlor. He may not be the most anatomically precise squirrel you've ever seen, but he's seamlessly spliced. Even after all of these years I still have to say he's not half bad, especially for a first attempt. Some people naturally excel at math, or pick up second languages effortlessly, others are born with an innate artistic ability and can draw or paint without training. The very first time I tried my hand at taxidermy I discovered I had an aptitude for creating imaginary creatures that looked alive even though they had never walked the Earth. I can still remember the trepidatious knot in my stomach and how my hands were shaking when I picked up that scalpel with these two squirrels lying on the workbench in front of me…. but at that moment, I already knew I had found my calling in life.

A genuine 8-legged conjoined goat that I purchased in 2001. Two heads and 2 legs on the front end, then the body splits into 2 separate rear ends. Both rear ends have two legs. Then there is a pair of deformed legs sprouting out from between the two bodies