Chicago outdoors: Standing tall and peering close at the Illinois Taxidermist Association Convention

SPRINGFIELD — It's hard to ignore the giraffe in the room.

Yes, a giraffe towered over the near right corner — between bass, beaver, wood duck and deer mounts — at the Illinois Taxidermist Association Convention last week. Sarah DeJournett of Horse Creek Hidery in Bluford did the work.

Taxidermy is an ancient art that fascinates me because I can't do it.

"Taxidermy may be traced to the ancient custom of preserving trophies of the hunt, but the principal motive for its development into an art was the growth of interest, especially from the time of the Enlightenment, in natural history and the consequent appearance of both private collections and exhibits in public museums of birds, beasts, and curiosities," according to britannica.com.

(I don't have an old set of encyclopedias, but do have a favorite fishing spot on the Chicago River across from its global headquarters.)

"By the early 18th century, chemical means of preserving skins, hair, and feathers from decay and insects made possible the first crude attempts to re-create the appearance of live animals by stuffing the sewed-up skins with hay or straw."

When I walked into the ITA Convention last Saturday at Northfield Inn & Suites in Springfield, Frank Williams of Antler Ridge Archery & Taxidermy in St. Anne set me up with Greg Gullett of Marietta, an ITA member since about 2000, as a guide.

Gullett, who does taxidermy as a hobby, said, "I have a passion for it, an artistic curiosity."

He falls on the side of taxidermy as an art form.

"One of the key things about being judged at a show like this is the critique by the judges, who are brought in from the outside," he said. "We try to have well-known respected judges we bring in. People want to learn from their criticism."

Among the judges were the husband and wife team of Abel and Jena Everage.

I was caught by how intensely Gina Isabelli and Jena Everage discussed mounts.

Afterward, I asked Isabelli of Feather Creek Taxidermy in Fithian about the critiques. "It is for the learning," she said. "I want to take some to the Worlds this year. I want to make sure it is my best."

The World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships is Aug. 6-10 in Iowa. The National Taxidermists Association Convention, Competition & Trade Show is May 2-4 in Missouri.

"There are things you didn't know, things you can correct," Isabelli said. "Repetition can [lead to] bad habits. ... For me, I want to keep pushing the envelope and make my deer better."

Keith Kinzel of Kinzel Taxidermy in Red Bud and Abel Everage spent a long time together with Everage using his small flashlight to make points about Kinzel's black bear.

"[Critiques] are the only way you improve," Kinzel said. "Abel is tough, but he is only trying to make you better."

Corbin DeJournett, 15, from Mt. Vernon, who works for his aunt Sarah DeJournett, was discussing his deer mount in the youth section when I talked to him.

"I like criticism," he said. "I like to know what I can do better."

He still has his first mount, a fox squirrel, in his room.

DuWayne Cournoyer of Cournoyer's Taxidermy Studio in Baraboo, Wisconsin, had an eye-catching scene of lifelike otters chasing shiners around wood.

"I found this wood in Kansas," he said. "I had the wood for six years. I picked it up shed hunting."

"Sometimes, people have an item for a long time until they have the right specimen," Gullett said.

Other taxidermists improvise what they envision.

Bill Bourke of Bourke's Taxidermy in Pana had a full-body mount of his personal-best buck (17 points) leaping over a log. Not just any log, but an elaborate pronged log that he crafted using PVC, 2 x 3s, field tile, 5-gallon buckets and Polygem products.

"I spent 190 hours total, as many hours in that log as the deer," he said.

There was a small section of Master of Masters. ITA president's Jordan Hackl's harlequin duck was just astonishing.

"It just looks perfect and I am not a bird guy," Gullett gushed. "It is the softest, the cleanest."

Literally every feather was perfect.

This year's convention topped 170 entries, a record. Williams took Best of Show with his mother and child raccoon on a limb.

"This is my fourth Best of Show, first in Illinois," he said. "I have won National Champion and North American Champion and this meant more. Illinois is a really tough place to compete in. We have a lot of good taxidermists."