When he was a young boy, Forrest Farnsworth and his brother would hunt ducks and pheasants. They would skin and de-feather their kill before cooking and eating the birds. Farnsworth recalls how gorgeous the feathers were and thought that throwing them away was a waste. So Farnsworth taught himself to taxidermy as a means to preserve the life and beauty of the birds.

“I just started doing taxidermy,” Farnsworth said. “I would turn taxidermied animals in for class projects and my teacher would say, ‘I think I’m gonna keep your project’ and I would think ‘yeah nice for you.’ I would never get ‘em back.” Soon enough, taxidermy turned into more than a hobby for Farnsworth.

That was 50 years ago. In the 1950’s, the only formal education for taxidermy was The North Western School of Taxidermy, a mail correspondence school based out of Nebraska. Farnsworth would receive picture how-to booklets in the mail that bore a remarkable likeness to the most simplistic children’s instructional coloring books, with hand-written text outlining how to skin and assemble featured animals such as squirrels.

Over the decades, the profession of taxidermy has developed into a precise art. National competitions are held, and wildlife scenes, full-bodied animals, and heads are related based on factors such as the reproduction of vein structure, positioning of the ears, construction of mouth and eyes, the tilt of the head and anatomical correctness. But Farnsworth is “not interested in the competition of it.” Still he finds keeping up with new innovations, and making the animals with care and precision of utmost importance.

Bill Twitchell has been hunting in Africa for 50 years and owns about 25 taxidermied heads that are displayed throughout his Sebastapol home, some of which have been created by Farnsworth. Twitchell said that Farnsworth’s work “is a great artistry…the ability to sculpt the veins to make the animal look alive.”

The process of taxidermy involves skinning the animal, sending the hide out to the tannery, and then gluing and sculpting the skin to the form. A typical deer would cost around $800 to have taxidermied and take about six hours to complete, minus shipping, drying and setting time.

Since 1977, Farnsworth has owned two shops in Sonoma County and is currently based on a country road in Forestville. Most of his clientele are regular hunters and repeat customers. “This is where the bread and butter of it is,” said Farnsworth. In one week he may work on anything from boars to caribou to foxes.

But sometimes he is hired for odd jobs, such as road-kill or full-bodied cheetahs from Africa. Farnsworth used to do pets “but then the job turns into a funeral,” he said. “You have people comin’ in grieving and sobbing and they’re very delicate and particular about their pets.” Farnsworth also pointed out that when customers bring in a pet, the job becomes much more complicated and less uniform.

But his limitations don’t end there. “I don’t do birds, anymore, or fish, because they stink,” Farsnworth adds with a laugh.

Surprisingly enough, with piles of hides, skulls, and even raw, salted flesh throughout his converted-garage workspace, Forrest Farnsworth’s International Taxidermy and Gaming Studio doesn’t resonate with a smell more distinctive than the sweet country grass surrounding the property.