HOME | DD

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to ToothlessEgo [2013-01-12 22:25:06 +0000 UTC]

I have been running a lot of small animal experiments as of late, each one having their own benefits. As for the slicing, nothing beats a really nice band saw! I have found the key is to go super slow and making sure that the specimen is dry and rigid before attempting it. It is possible to slice a non preserved specimen just for fun so long as its frozen first!

After the slicing I use a super fine sandpaper in an orbital direction, basically I polish these guys. I have used a whole host of different coats on these just to see what they would do, this one is actually coated with an acrylic based clear-coat. Poly seems to do well, wax does too. I think I most like carnauba wax so far though, it gives a really nice warm surface when burnished a bit.

Preserving: I have tried freeze drying, boiling in formaldehyde and wax, dessication via acetone, and dessication via "nature." Next step is trying a few plastination methods. Honestly, each method I try results in something interesting! I have not yet had any tragic accidents. All of the pieces I have tested have been stable for almost half a year now, so I am guessing that they can be called successful. Some of these pieces were preserved up to 6 years ago and doing fine. The bisecting is the new part of this whole thing.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ToothlessEgo In reply to Meddling-With-Nature [2013-01-13 06:21:50 +0000 UTC]

Gosh..that was all very helpful! Many thanks! I'd love to experiment and try out a few of those methods with my next finds. I'd been looking for a good way to preserve the flesh with the bodies.

And you have an absolutely inspiring collection of works here~

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to ToothlessEgo [2013-01-14 23:17:29 +0000 UTC]

Thanks a bunch! Let me know if you ever need any info or help with any of this. I am working on getting my "laboratory" section up on my site, it will cover a lot of procedural stuff involved with this as well as helpful links to others who are exploring similar methods.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ToothlessEgo In reply to Meddling-With-Nature [2013-01-21 23:19:57 +0000 UTC]

I think I'll take you up on that, if that's okay! Could you give me any more details on how you did dessication with acetone?
I believe I have what I need, but I can't find much information on it.
Thanks!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to ToothlessEgo [2013-01-26 00:06:56 +0000 UTC]

No prob! Depends on the thickness of the thing you are desiccating. Of course pressure is always the best, but most of us don't have a vacuum chamber lying around, soaking your thing in acetone is basically all you need to do, but this really depends on the size of the whole thing. With most specimens I first start out with denatured alcohol or formaldehyde to "fix" the specimen. This will end up making the piece more ridged and less likely to shrivel up as much. After the specimen has been fully saturated. (again depending on the size) I will move that over to a vat of acetone and let that sit for a while, hours or days depending. In an ideal world, you would replace the acetone with a resin through forced impregnation. That is basically plastination. But of course, that starts a whole new series of procedures requiring more fancy equipment. I have also had luck fixing a specimen and then moving that over into a freezer door where you let the thing sit for a good long time. This freezes the structure into place allowing an amount of stretch, so you end up with a nicely freeze-dried/burned piece without a freeze dryer. You want the piece to be open to the air, so no plastic bags. Its good to put it in the door of the freezer because the constant opening and closing of the door over time facilitates ventilation.

I think I might be able to help more if I have a better understanding of what you are doing. Hope this helps so far! Best thing I could say is experiment experiment experiment. Even with very exact instructions for different methods, the variables are so numerous that it would be a good idea to try a whole host of different "proven" methods at the same time. Remember, for this stuff you can always make use of the meat department at your grocery store! (lord knows I have done enough of that in my day!)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ToothlessEgo In reply to Meddling-With-Nature [2013-01-28 17:10:33 +0000 UTC]

Thank you! That should be quite helpful!
What I have right now is a medium sized vole, fur and all.
I have both alcohol and acetone so that seems like what I might try, though I'm not sure if the fact that this little guy has fur will be a problem.
I'll give it a shot, and do some experimenting with whatever I can get my hands on

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to ToothlessEgo [2013-01-29 08:58:20 +0000 UTC]

Ahhh... Alcohol first, acetone second. Once the specimen is "fixed" it will dry out better with acetone. And the fur likely wont be a problem. Wouldn't hurt to make him drink a bit of the alcohol to speed up the process before submersion.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ToothlessEgo In reply to Meddling-With-Nature [2013-02-11 03:21:56 +0000 UTC]

It seems like it worked, but only dried well after I'd removed the organs. Thank you so much for your help! It was really useful c:

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to ToothlessEgo [2013-02-12 04:54:00 +0000 UTC]

Organs can be tricky, and may need a bit of "embalming." I swear I will actually get a tutorial together. I am working on the "laboratory" section of my website this week that is actually a in wiki format. It will include more in-depth instructions on this. I will let you know when I get all of this together!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ToothlessEgo In reply to Meddling-With-Nature [2013-02-12 05:09:44 +0000 UTC]

That would be wonderful!
I really appreciate how incredibly helpful you are with this, especially since these are techniques that I seldom see. You're quite inspirational.
I'm curious if you'd care to see my results from what I've learned about this.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to ToothlessEgo [2013-02-24 04:58:24 +0000 UTC]

Well thank you so very much! Sorry I have not gotten back to you, its been quite a busy month so far! (Thank God!)

I would VERY MUCH like to see some of your results! I love it when stuff I recommend gets used!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to Redd-wulf [2012-10-12 22:33:36 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! A tiny experiment of much larger work in progress for next year!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to CriminalSpirit [2012-10-11 06:00:20 +0000 UTC]

You are in luck. I made a ton of them for my current show! I will be posting pretty regularly.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to Phoenix-Cry [2012-10-11 00:40:56 +0000 UTC]

Yep. I have been doing a lot of small mammal preservations as experiments for larger specimens for a show next year. So far each one has had varying degrees of success, but this technique worked out quite nicely! I will be scaling up to fox and cat sized animals next! I think I might forgo the clear coat next time though, or keep it matte.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Phoenix-Cry In reply to Meddling-With-Nature [2012-10-11 01:16:02 +0000 UTC]

Very cool!

Well if you're in America and interested in trying your hand at a ball python I have a few in the freezer you can have for the price of shipping.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to Phoenix-Cry [2012-10-11 02:07:15 +0000 UTC]

YES YES YES! I am actively searching for more snakes right now! And yep, I am in America, Cincinnati metro. Thanks for the offer, I will take you up on it!

jeremyjohnson888@gmail.com

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Phoenix-Cry In reply to Meddling-With-Nature [2012-10-11 02:18:42 +0000 UTC]

I will email you!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Meddling-With-Nature In reply to TDM1 [2012-10-11 00:09:12 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! I am really enjoying this new work. Bisect all the things!!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0