Search Results for: The Chinese Taxidermy Diaries

Day One started with flaying a dog, and Day Two started with flaying a baby dog. So when day three started with Teacher Liu saying, over breakfast, "I think you'll do a sheep's head today," I cheered with glee. I almost spilled my bowl of fresh soy milk & nescafe. Little did I realize, ...

That first day was a trial. We'd flayed a dog's legs, and worked the bones from the feet.  But that was nothing compared to the second. "We've got two squirrels for you this morning," Teacher Liu said at breakfast.  I was thrilled -- a squirrel sounded like something I could do all of, myself.  But when ...

I finished my first animal!!!"Mommy, why can't I go outside and play?"

Mr Zhou's a generous man.  He loves to hand out smokes.  As Michelle and I were working on our sheep heads, he shoved pre-lit cigarettes in our mouths.  "Smoke," he insisted, in his thick northern accent, then pounded from the room.  There we were: fags in mouths, scalpels in hands, like real professionals.  Later, I ...

Woo and I have long shared a love of stuffed animals, so it's time to make it true. This morning, we're driving off to Songzhuang Artists Village with two lads from Harbin for a 10-day taxidermist training workshop. A couple of Woo's preview snaps, from our visit last weekend. I just hope my stomach ...