Some months ago, I saw this project for a papier mache taxidermy and immediately thought, “I want.” So eventually I got a roll of chicken wire, some gloves, glue, floral wire, and a bunch of newspaper together and made it (all of these “do it yourself” things sure necessitate a lot of equipment, don’t they?).
I didn’t photograph the steps, but it pretty much went down the same way. The first antelope head I cut out didn’t look right, so I redid it. Nothing to worry about. A big roll of chicken wire is only $5. Not sure what I’ll use the rest for; certainly not actual chickens
Then I tore up strips of the local paper. The instructions recommend using a pretty paper, or looking for vintage, but I decided to go with true recycling and just dug it out of the bin.
I mixed Aleene’s Tacky Glue with some water(the ratio was one cup of glue, maybe half cup of water) in an old tub, then dipped the strips in.
The head took about 4 layers to make. I kept going back and redoing bits.
Finally, I hung it in my reading nook, which I have been planning for quite a while. The reading nook consists of two bookcases (a taller one not pictured) and the green chair, which I found at an estate sale and which I love.
Here’s the antelope head alone.
The photo in the picture (in case you were wondering) is a photo I took during my college study abroad of a Virgin Mary statue in some interior place in Italy. The place (probably a church where I wasn’t supposed to be taking photos, but I think more like a vestibule) was very dark, so the photo was very blurry (pre-digital, you know). I made it a solarized print and it turned out to be a really interesting image, the blurriness turning into a sort of silvery finish.
MARGARET DILLOWAY 