Convention is the stuff of taxidermists’ dreams

There is a menagerie of wildlife on display at the Drury Plaza Broadview hotel this weekend.

The animals all have been meticulously sewed together and glued into place – from bass to raccoons to grizzly bears.

The Kansas Association of Taxidermists is holding its annual convention at the hotel this weekend, and enthusiasts from the region have come to display their work.

“We’re trying to bring them to life,” said Dennis Costlow, a firefighter.

The artists at the convention shared tips with like-minded enthusiasts and demonstrated how to do a shoulder mount for the newbies.

Mark Huser, a taxidermist from Sedalia, Mo., has been traveling to Wichita for the convention every year since 1996, he said.

Since he married his wife, Brenda, three years ago, taxidermy has been his full-time job. He used to run a farm with cattle, he said, but he has since moved out of the country.

His business, Mark’s Whitetails, primarily does shoulder mounts of deer, he said, though he has also stuffed other animals.

“You got the good ol’ boys that are old backwoods rednecks that are just as tickled pink as can be, and then you’ve got ... the high-end clientele,” he said. “I like the good ol’ boys.”

Most modern taxidermy pieces use only the skin and fur of the animal – the inside is filled with a foam mold contoured to the animal’s shape. For fish, the mount is usually a foam replication of the fish that has been painted to look the part, he said.

He said he sells completed deer mounts for $475.

At the convention, large taxidermy animals such as black bears can sell for about $2,500, Costlow said.

Costlow said sometimes people even bring in their deceased pets to be stuffed, as was the case at the convention for a small chihuahua standing up on his hind legs on a pillow.

“Though most all of these animals were hunted, we’re not just out there shooting to shoot,” Costlow said. “We have a lot of respect for these animals.”

Taxidermists in attendance have submitted their best work, which will be judged and put on public display Sunday. And the judging is intensive, usually taking about 20 to 30 minutes per piece, Costlow said.

“You get to those big forms and (the taxidermist) can spend an entire year on that one design,” he said.

The convention runs through Sunday.

This story was originally published March 28, 2015 at 6:33 PM with the headline "Convention is the stuff of taxidermists’ dreams."