CoverStory
Black and Tan Creative Takes on Taxidermy
F
or wildlife artist Jamie Black, preserving animals isn’t just a hobby, it’s her full-time job. After half a decade of running Black and Tan Taxidermy, she still finds her work endlessly fascinating. Black turned to taxidermy as an occupation after she was laid off from her job in the mining industry. She originally launched Black and Tan Taxidermy with the help of a government grant that provided her with business training and start-up funds. Now, as one of only two taxidermists in the Thunder Bay area, she has a seemingly endless supply of work. She runs the business out of a shop attached to her rural home, where she regularly puts in 12-hour workdays. What keeps her going through endless hours of skinning, tanning, sculpting, and painting? Black truly enjoys what she does. “I can’t emphasize that enough,” she says. “Like they
say, if you love what you do you’ll never work a day in your life. And that’s honestly how it seems most of the time.” Although her work is often solitary, Black understands the value of good advertising and interaction with the public. She reaches out to potential customers through trade shows such as the Central Canada Outdoor & Recreation Show, NOSA Gun Show, and Northwestern Fur Trappers Annual Convention. Black sees many repeat customers, including avid hunters who bring in their trophies year after year. She especially loves preserving the fish and birds brought to her by parents and grandparents who want a token of their child or grandchild’s first fishing or hunting trip. As a female in a primarily male-dominated profession, Black was occasionally met with some suspicion. Now that her business is
Nuttall Photos
By Emma Christensen
established, she prefers to let the quality of her work speak for itself. She refuses to accept the archaic assumption that taxidermy is all “blood and guts,” or that women shouldn’t handle its messier side. “That’s really such a minor part of what I do,” she says. Realistic, lifelike form is important to Black. She uses her own observations and pictures provided by her customers to re-create the animal as it appeared in life or soon after death. “I really aim to have more creative, dynamically positioned mounts,” she says. She’s aware that displaying an animal on a wall isn’t for everyone, given
current home decorating trends, so she also offers products like antler coffee tables and candle holders. Despite the long hours needed to turn her passion into a profession, Black doesn’t regret starting a business. She adamantly urges others to seek out work that they are excited to return to day after day. “I’ve always felt that you’re going to be happiest and most fulfilled if you do what you love, and honestly there are billions of jobs in the world. If you don’t like what you’re doing, change it.” Learn more at blackandtantaxidermy.com.
The Walleye
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