So, last I left you, I was prioritizing clients still waiting from 2021 - we are currently at 15 clients still waiting! That  does not include juggling finalizations and adjustments on articulations (to get everything just right <3) so 24 still in progress. Adjustments on their way I will hopefully have more to show - a photo-dump of all finished skeletons, mockups, or approvals soon.

Now, to clarify I have not stopped working on all other memorials; I am currently still catching up on processing, and death masks to be completed. Certain paws have come out of the dehydrating stage and heart specimens finishing their last round of soaking… so keep an eye peeled for those emails requesting updated addresses, etc.

Lastly; A few weeks ago, some skeletons had finished in the dermestid beetle colony! I sent an email (along with a photo) to all those clients - hopefully pull more skeletons from the beetles soon! But that made me realize, it’s a good time to do a refresh of what to expect in a bone memorial and a brief look into what every step entails.  With every step and progress in the memorial process - a picture and an email update is sent. Also, if you don’t hear from me that means everything is unfortunately in the same step but I am always working on it! Memorial just take time, especially bones. Certain steps are crucial and I unfortunately am a perfectionist <3

A rough estimated timeline for every step:

Step 1: Contract & assessing (upon arrival 1-2weeks)

Step 2: prepping for beetles (1-2months)

*if aquamation is needed, I will handle transportation

Step 3-4: drying, beetle tank, cleaning (1-5 months)

(depending on season, size, type of memorial, and if euthanasia/heavy medication was used will affect that time for a longer processing time. If longer than 5 months - you would be contacted to be switched to maceration)

Step 5: Degreasing (1-4months)

This is the most important-trickiest step to get exactly right for beautiful bones that will last you a lifetime.

Step 6: Whitening & Drying (1-2 weeks)

Step 7: Articulation and Staging (1-2months)

This stage you will get an email to get approval of the mock up and anything else that needs to be finalized.

*There typically is a lag between stages due to current work load or waiting for space (other projects to finish their steps). An average memorial takes over a year until completion

Bone processing is an art and not all methods or timelines apply to every situation. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s extremely hard and stubborn. I like to best describe bones as unique and the art of cleaning them requires a touch of instinct like baking. And like I always say, there’s always different ways to learn and experiment on better processes - and you can learn along side me with my zines (link to volume 1 and more to come!)

My Dear Memorials,

May is coming to a close and so will my books for incoming new clients for the time being. The next few months, I plan on prioritizing my current clients from 2021 who have been waiting for their memorials. There are 24 clients on that list - which means clients who arrived in 2022 will be next. It does weigh on me to be at such a long wait… a number of factors from memorial work being a long process to begin with, delays outside of anyone's control over the past few years, and my desire to reach a high level of perfection in each and every memorial (to deliver beyond what you may have been expecting and to honor your loved ones as best as I possibly can) all of this keeps my schedule full as I complete each memorial in the order they were received. I hope my extra time and attention to detail feels worth the wait to you as well - these memorials ALL mean the world to me, no matter how small.

Being Mental Health Awareness Month, I think it’s just a good check-in to remember we are all human… Being honest with myself and transparent so that maybe you don’t feel so alone as well. Every memorial taxidermist sometimes has a hard time separating from the grief of their clients and working on that with my own therapist helps. It has been a learning curve for me to figure out what’s my best balance. And my process just takes time to complete the kind of work to meet my own standards as well as provide what you are hoping for in your memorial. Always learning and growing, right?

Here’s some positive news and accomplishments from the month: Beautiful domed memorials going home, release of my educational bug-pinning zine, helping teach a student how to process their own tarantula (video coming soon), finalized unarticulated memorials and many new memorials prepped for dermestids, and last but not least, got to meet some of you beautiful people in Chicago (which meant the world to me)!

Take a moment to check in with your besties and always say ‘I love you’

xo, A