To me, Nature is God. Without it, we simply would not exist. Conserving the world’s natural spaces and the creatures that live there is paramount to the survival of humans as a species, and I have therefore dedicated my life to studying environmentalism in order to help people co-exist more successfully and sustainably with the natural world.
All natural materials I use in my creations are either sourced from roadkill, Fish and Game, secondhand sources such as fellow artists and estate sales, or are antique. In this way, I'm ensuring that no animals were needlessly killed for the sake of the artwork I produce. I fully believe that no part of any creature should go to waste if a purpose can be found for it, but I do NOT support trophy hunters or overseas fur farms by buying 'byproducts' like bones, skulls, or claws directly from them. The only exception I make for this rule is for parts from animals legally culled for population control programs approved by Fish and Wildlife.
As a photographer and wildlife enthusiast, I've been involved with many fantastic organizations such as Images4Life and Wild Tiger, as well as the Sierra Club and many smaller, local groups.
I've been published, interviewed, and even featured on Rainn Wilson (Dwight from “The Office”)'s personal networking website, SoulPancake.com.
I’ve also been blessed with the opportunity to visit many of the world’s most amazing wild places, like Komodo Island, Bali, Lombok, Malaysia, and the Cayman Islands, and have even documented entirely new species previously unknown to science.
Other interests include: Wilderness survival, primitive skills, backpacking, fishing, kayaking, boffing, airsoft, snowboarding, meandering around town, and caving.
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
I totally forgot to upload photos of the bear headdress I’m also working on! This bear was shot by a police officer in Colorado. I don’t know the exact story, but I assume he was too close to civilization and was thus deemed a threat. Colorado doesn’t mess around with their problem bears, unlike Oregon (where bears were only a bit less common than deer on my old college campus).
It really is a beautiful specimen - probably the most gorgeous I’ve ever worked with. He’s a black bear, but is actually dark brown in color, and each of his hairs is tipped in gold. He’s also got a golden stripe down his spine and a white blaze on his chest.
The man who commissioned the headdress wanted it to have ‘blind’ eyes, so I used specially-made opalite glass, which has been backed in foil. They are now reflective in low light, and change color from milky blue to pale orange.
oh WOW! this is incredibly lovely
The eyes are so beautiful…