Great Falls taxidermist wins top award – Great Falls Tribune

Carved wooden fish and water droplets rolling of the moose’s nose makes Mark Smart’s mounted moose head stand out.
The mount was unique enough, while also being expertly done, to earn Smart a top award at the World Taxidermy and Fish Carving Championships, held May 5-9 in Springfield, Mo.
Smart, who owns Great Falls Taxidermy, took home the award for best game head mount in the collective artist division.
He worked on the moose mount with Clark Schreibeis, a Billings woodcarver. Schreibeis carved the wooden fish at the base of the mount, and Smart did the taxidermy work.
The moose was harvested by Jim Clough in British Columbia.
Smart and Schreibeis designed the mount to look as though the moose was looking at the fish swimming by.
Smart used resin to create water droplets on the moose’s nose to make it look like he just took a drink.
“I’ve the got water dripping off his nose,” Smart said.
The fish are carved out of juniper, and the red and white colors of the wood make a nice contrast with the dark moose.
This was Smart’s second time entering the competition. In 2007, he took second place in the game head category with a mountain lion mount.
While in Springfield, Smart saw some other incredible mounts from around the world.
“There were quite a few different countries represented,” he said.
The best in show award went a mount that showed two pheasants fighting in mid-air.

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