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Our World: Alive again
Skins & Scales Taxidermy is located at 2255 Kirkwood Avenue in Naples.
Skins and Scales Taxidermy
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Lou Poisson ponders his next move.
Directly in front of him is an alligator the size of Montana with its mouth gaping open ready to snap.
Undeterred by its aggressive stance, Poisson reaches his strong arms and wrestles it down, clutching its scaly skin in his hands.
Poisson has done this with other animals before. Cape Buffaloes, baboons, Cookson Wildebeests and African Warthogs have all made it to their final resting place thanks to Poisson.
But he didn’t kill these creatures. He’s bringing them back to life.
Skins & Scales Taxidermy is a place where the animals don’t roam but where they stand or lie and wait for caring hands to mold them. They wait to live one single moment forever.
“Mainly taxidermy is a remembrance of an occasion,” Vernon “Bucky” Flowers says as he sits in a chair surrounded by various animals frozen in proud positions.
Flowers’ taxidermy shop has been preserving mounts for prosperity for more than three decades serving enthusiasts who want to remember the hunt or the find.
Like a lot of things in a more politically correct generation, taxidermy has become known in certain circles as wildlife art. The taxidermist is now a wildlife artist. Whatever you call it, the work certainly is not as macabre as is sounds.
The remains of the animals are treated with respect. Caring hands reshape and preserve the form of just about any game animal you can imagine.
Greater Kudus stand next to raccoons, while coyote’s stare at turkeys. Lions snarl in mute protest.
There are as many as 100 animals in the shop, each meticulously reconstructed and ready for admiration from their soon-to-be families.
Where they once stood on the African tundra they’ll now stand in a showroom, den or a museum.
“The goal is to make the animal look alive,” Flowers says.
To create the illusion of life, skins are painstakingly measured and sewn to specification.
The work area resembles an operating room. Cardboard and staples hold together fur and dollops of Bond-O. Flowers guides the placement of body parts with a surgical precision carefully reconstructing the antlers of a Kudu.
Flowers continue to diversify his talents by taking on larger animals. Most come from Africa, where the meat generated from the kill goes directly to the villagers, orphanages and homeless shelters.
“People aren’t just out there killing animals for a mount” Flowers says as if to dispel admonishment for his craft.
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To reach Judy Lutz e-mail jhlutz@naplesnews.com
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I have a cousin who was such a wildlife artist for a number of years. He was talented. Visiting his home is interesting as you never know who/what you will find watching you from a fixed gaze. The bathrooms in his house are an adventure.
A full sized 8 point buck graces his living room and is a favorite perch for one of their cats.
I never got to visit when he had his shop, but this feature helped me understand more about his skills and the art involved. He did a lot of work for a natural history museum.
Thanks for an interesting feature NDN.
#1 Posted by BlueTonguedVole on March 17, 2008 at 3:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
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