We were lucky to catch up with Becky Sessa recently and have shared our conversation below.
Becky , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
I’ve always been interested in oddities and taxidermy and right before Covid happened my husband had bought me a taxidermy class gift certificate and the project was a small rabbit. I have never preserved an animal before but I work in the dental field so blood and guts was not something that scared me or grossed me out. I had amazing instructors that went step by step and I really felt comfortable with the process. I still have my first piece of taxidermy that I personally made and it’s not the best at all but it holds a special place in my heart on on the shelf.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
After I took the taxidermy class Covid hit for real and the world shut down completely. I lost my job of 16 years and was truly stuck in a depression. Around that time I learned about buying frozen feeders online so I went ahead and purchased a bunch of rats just to waste time during the quarantine. With each rat I preserved the better I became and started to look on Facebook groups where other people were selling their taxidermy and art so I figured why not try it myself. I made a post and I was surprised at how incredibly fast it sold. That right there sparked my motivation to learn more ways of preservation like insect mounting, wet specimens, bone art, and most recently learning how to mummify animals. At that time in 2020 I decided to start my own oddities business named Sphynxsess as I had 3 sphynx cats at the time, and it was a play on my last name as well (Sessa).
I have also started selling at local markets like The Ocala Oddities Market and The Inverness Oddities Market both in Florida. One of the most exciting things that’s happened to me lately is my first request to preserve a clients pet scorpion. I have never done this before and told them this to be upfront and honest, but my client still wanted me to try because “how will you learn if you do not try?” I researched how to do it, then I started and luckily it was super easy and I was able to honor their pet in a beautiful way.
I think one of the ways my rat taxidermy mounts differ from others is I tend to go more of a forest/whimsical route. I use real preserved flowers and I also forage for acorns and nuts from different types of trees and also mushrooms where I dehydrate and epoxy them to last forever.
I work a full time job at a dental office during the week so when I get home I usually go straight to my workshop and start on projects. I truly pride myself into wearing “many hats”. I want to learn how to do everything myself so in my spare time I am always researching.
I can also be found at The World Oddities Expo in Jacksonville, FL July 20, 2024 the event starts at 12 PM and ends at 8 PM.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I believe the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is to see how a person reacts to your art. I usually have two outcomes, either I get the person that says OMG RATS with a scared look, or OMG RATS I love this can I pet it??? I truly see either expression is a win.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Networking networking networking!!! At the beginning of starting my business I was one of those people adding businesses constantly commenting on their socials which then led to them following me back, and even becoming friends with the owners. The oddities community is incredibly small for how large it truly is. Doing collaborations is another way to get your business name out there to other people. Do not ever be afraid of reaching out to other businesses or people because you never know what opportunities lie in that relationship.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Sphynxsess
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/tSQxetrf3z3j7ZQM/?mibextid=WC7FNe