Taxidermy may seem like a lonely occupation, and Tami McCarty admits to talking to deer as she works.
But the owner of She Shed Creations in Mexico also keeps a table and chairs in the room. …
This item is available in full to subscribers.
We have recently launched a new and improved website. To continue reading, you will need to either log into your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active subscription, or you are a print subscriber who had access to our previous website, then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you have not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
If you are a current print subscriber and did not have a user account on our previous website, you can set up a free website account by clicking here.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
![Tami McCarty in her workshop at She Shed Creations in Mexico. Now a highly regarded taxidermist, she originally had no thought of following her father into the business. [Dave Faries]](https://epsilon.creativecirclecdn.com/mexicoledger/original/20210723-134944-Taxidermy%201%281%29.JPG)
Taxidermy may seem like a lonely occupation, and Tami McCarty admits to talking to deer as she works.
But the owner of She Shed Creations in Mexico also keeps a table and chairs in the room. Clients, hunters and people just interested in sharing stories like to hang out as McCarty prepares a trophy.
“I never expected to be this busy,” she said.
When she set up shop a few years ago, McCarty thought business would be slow at first. But on the first weekend of deer season, hunters brought in 21 deer. And now she takes in animals from all over the country.
McCarty is working on a black bear from Colorado. Bobcats and rams come in from Texas. There are deer from the mountains of Pennsylvania.
“I stay busy year round,” she pointed out. “I love it.”
While she has become known for high quality mounts and clearly enjoys the process, McCarty never showed an interest in taxidermy until well into adulthood. Instead she earned a degree in nursing.
Her father, on the other hand, was a skilled taxidermist who taught the trade to others. Junior Newsom had a shop in Auxvasse and when he fell ill and needed assistance, McCarty returned to Audrain County from Montana.
“Every day I was doing more and more,” she recalled.
As she took up the practice, her father would watch and nitpick, pointing out the smallest errors, showing where she could do better.
McCarty notes that he was a critical mentor. But under his tutelage she became one of the best.
One day, as he watched her work on an animal, Newsom offered a rare word of praise.
“He said ‘You’re good at it,’” McCarty recalled. “Hearing that from him meant a lot.”
McCarty aims for a turnaround time of three to four months, although it can take 16 hours of work to finish one deer. She does her own tanning, which helps her control the timeline. But she received 60 animals in November alone.
And She Shed Creations gets busier every month.
“I haven’t turned a TV on in four years,” McCarty said.
Still, she finds an hour or two to hunt or fish every day. And it’s her love of the outdoors that defines her work back in the shop.
“I don’t like people who hunt and don’t make use of the animal,” she explained.
