Superb Owl Sunday! This Red Morph eastern was a collision victim, who will now live on as #taxidermy for an #museum This little body contains so much-the grief of life lost, the reflection of our impact, and the hope for this being's afterlife to inspire a better world for us and #birds.

I think #taxidermy is the ultimate expression of love. Especially for under appreciated
#birds like #starlings. Taxidermy classes are happening all through Valentines weekend in NYC-will I see you there? www.gothamtaxidermy.com/classes

I am so happy when teaching #taxidermy ! I’m in awe of my students, the animals, the craft. My classes have built community by sharing knowledge with joy and ease. It's not just about more taxidermists-it's about conservation and our role on this planet, and that's way bigger than any individual.

When the world feels heavy, I look to birds. With death, they teach how some days are grand, others, just getting by. The powerful cling to how it’s always been, we cling to how it could be. What’s it mean to put beauty into an ugly world? It means I am here, you are here, and thats worth something.

Red tailed hawks are very familiar across the US. Still, it’s heartbreaking that this #bird met its end much sooner than normal-rodenticide, collisions, and other perils we can change. I'm grateful to use #taxidermy to preserve her, and her story.

⭐️ this protected bird is for a museum with permits

Art + science are ways to make sense of the world. Taxidermy holds both, and the visceral ingredients of life + death. Preservation runs deep in ancestry, but we’ve been disconnected, by assimilation or by force. We’ve forgotten the tenderness that caring for the dead holds. I want us to remember.

Can you trust your eyes if your imagination is out of focus?

Sometimes #taxidermy mirrors reality, other times, it transcends it.

I made these replica flamingos for Ted Chin as a physical manifestation of his surreal art 💓🦩

What are you dreaming about as the year begins anew?