TRIBUTE

Raw Talent or Persistance and Desire?
by Stefan Savides

Many times I’m asked the question by a student as to whether or not he or she has what it takes to make it in taxidermy. “Can I make a living at doing taxidermy?” My first response is, “Generally, the people that don’t make it in taxidermy fail because they are poor business people, not because their quality of work is poor.” We all know how many taxidermists are out there turning out crummy work, yet have thriving businesses.

For those of us who want to do higher quality work, we may wonder which is more important, raw talent or desire and dedication? To answer this question, I will cite the example of an incredible student of mine, Bill Martin.

“Mr. Bill,” as he was known, was a living example of the power of desire and dedication. When Bill first came to me around 1996 with a longing to learn to mount birds and other animals, he was suffering with failing kidneys from complications with diabetes. He was on dialysis and waiting for kidney and pancreas replacements. In 1997 he got his transplants, and before he was hardly strong enough to care for himself, he signed up for some classes that I was offering. At that time I hosted a deer head class with Joe Meder and conducted a bird class, back to back. Bill was quite weak and would retire to his camper often to take frequent naps during the class. In addition, his right arm had been damaged by the iv needles, and he had to work left-handed. None of these handicaps stopped Bill Martin.

...Continued in the Fall 2004 Issue of Breakthrough.

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