Euro Sheep Mount With Cervical Vertebrae
Dorper ewe untraditional euro mount of skull, cervical vertebrae, first thoracic vertebrae, and first pair of ribs.
This sheep died naturally in the pasture, and that got me thinking about how I could preserve her first half that lay together as perfect skeletal remains.
Cleaned with raw ammonia and moderately whitened with hydrogen peroxide. I didn't want the skeleton to be bright white, as when looking at them front on, the white blends together for me, and I preferred the natural bone coloration.
While she's anatomically correct, her pose was actually one I copied off a photo of a friend's sheep comically shaking itself after a rain shower with its neck outstretched. I loved the picture and sought inspiration from it.
This girl is sturdy, and I've spent weeks troubleshooting any weak spots for her to be able to hang on the wall without drooping or falling apart. I've used a thick wire that I doubled over through the neck and epoxy resin to join the bones, as two-part epoxy resin is much stronger than super glue or UV resin.
Approximately 3 kg weight to the entire structure of bones and wooden shield. The wooden shield I have set her upon is an upcycled old taxidermy plaque that had the original mount removed. I have coated the plaque in resin to reduce its dull matte tone.