Where the Dead Things Are - Artist Spotlight

Death is a difficult, even taboo, topic for many. It’s uncomfortable to contemplate our mortality and the fleeting moments in our life leading up to that point, nevermind discussing what happens to our mortal shells once they’re reclaimed by earth (burial) or our loved ones (cremation). It all just feels so final. Those who work in that liminal space are all too familiar with that discomfort - not from themselves - but from others. Being so removed from the care of those that have passed, allowing others to take up that mantle, has made it easy for us to avoid the topic altogether until it happens.

All that being said, whether it be a mortician, funeral home director, or taxidermist, hearing about their jobs can be distressing for some, so it is with mindfulness and care that I provide to you, dear readers, a warning. Beyond this point, we will be discussing the fascinating work of local artist and taxidermist, Katelynn M., owner and operator of Where the Dead Things Are. I’ll be sharing her story, and photos of her work - including her most recent project. With that, let’s dive in.

Sitting on Katelynn’s basement stairs, I watched as she removed staples from the bear hide that she had been stretching and allowing to dry in preparation for the final steps in creating a bear skin rug. The bear, in question, had collided with a van and the driver had wanted to preserve its beauty, so they called the Game & Fish department to tag it, a step that is required by state law for taxidermists to work on a wild animal. Although the animal was long gone, Katelynn was gentle and worked with respect, conscious of the fact that this was once a living being that graced our green earth.

Katelyn removing pins and staples used to stretch the pelt for a bear skin rug

Katelynn was young when her fascination with anatomy and physiology began. It was interesting to her how different animals could possess similar parts and systems that work entirely different across species to contribute to their survival. Throughout her education, she delved into these topics, including biology, and learned everything she could and, over time, her interest extended past how a body works into what happens when it stops.

At first, her interest in the dead was really more of a hobby. She collected bones, bone articulations, pelts and hides, and taxidermy art. She was mesmerized by how the essence of these things continued to exist well after the spirit that had been attached moved on. She loved that people created art pieces that honored and memorialized animals that would have otherwise ceased to exist. In 2019, she had the realization that she could do the same, so, in early 2020, she travelled to Montana to complete the necessary training for her taxidermist licensure from the Montana School of Taxidermy.

She opened her doors to Where the Dead Things Are in late 2020, with her first project being a snow goose for a friend. Since then, Katelynn has completed many a projects from the whimsical, like a Druid Squirrel, to the sentimental, like a bone articulation for a person’s feline companion. Regardless of the project, she completes the arduous task of preservation with reverence for the life that was and wonder for the life renewed through her art.

Out of respect for the lives that were, all of her work is created by commission. She doesn’t carry a ready supply of pelts, bones, statues or articulations; nor will she work on animals that are already in the process of decomposition, haven’t been tagged by Game & Fish or are federally protected, with the exception to the latter being that it is a bird and being used for educational purposes, as her permit with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service dictates.

Photos of Katelynn's other works

If you are interested in commissioning work from Katelynn or want to see more of her work, you can find her on Facebook! If you send her a message through her page, she will get back to you as soon as possible.