Amber Maykut
Appearances
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
I guess that a lot of celebrities have bought stuff for me or commissioned work for me or I go to their houses and fix their taxidermy and hang it up for them.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
Let's see. So for Drew Barrymore, I did some framed butterflies to hang on the wall. And then for Amy Sedaris, I did a pheasant. And then for Adam Jones, he's the guitarist of Tool. I did a ram head with four horns on it and a goat head for the band Slayer.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
Sure. A lot of what I do is called anthropomorphic taxidermy. So it's kind of giving life human characteristics or activities to the taxidermy. So behind me here, I have like a raccoon cowboy. So it's a raccoon wearing a cowboy hat and a red bandana around his neck. And he's doing finger guns with his paws.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
Yeah? That one's actually for Justin Long and Kate Bosworth that's shipping to LA. And then the one next to it is actually a squirrel riding a horse, waving a cowboy hat. Cowboy theme happening here. And that one's for Maura Tierney, who's an actress from the show ER.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
So that one was actually part of her personal collection, and it was an antique that was really worn down and the fur falling out. So I remounted the whole thing, so it's a fresh mount on the original horse with the original hat.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
Yes. So that one is probably one of my best sellers that went viral online. I made one once, and then I put it online in my online shop that people could just click and buy it, and then I just... Right.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
Oh, geez. I don't know. I write down things in the middle of the night sometimes that make no sense at all. So who knows?
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
Oh, geez. I don't know. Nothing seems weird anymore, right? Sometimes I have to pause and wonder if I'm getting trolled or people are messing with me or if this is a serious request or not. But sometimes people will send in photos of people or be like, can you make a mouse look like my boyfriend? And send photos of their boyfriend.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
the taxidermy is if you see like the mannequin behind me on the one side so this is a himalayan goat on one side that's mounted with the skin on it already and the one on the other side is just a mannequin with just a form so it's an anatomically correct mannequin to that specimen how do you get anatomically correct models of animals or do you make them
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
So there's taxidermy supply companies, dozens of them in the US, where you can order your deer mannequin or skunk mannequin. And then you basically, it's kind of tailoring in reverse. You whittle down your mannequin or build up your mannequin to custom fit it to your skin. And then you use glass eyes that are also anatomically correct to the specimen, to the millimeter, a wire for the tail.
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
WWDTM: Amber Maykut
And then you do your kind of clay for musculature and sculptural work. and sew it up, do your hair and makeup, do airbrushing, painting. So there's a lot, it's a lot of sculpture.