The son of a professional guide and outfitter, Rip Caswell developed an innate understanding and appreciation of nature and wildlife. As a young boy, he began sculpting his very first figures from the moist shoreline clay of the Pend Oreille River near his home in Washington State. An early apprenticeship in taxidermy established an intimate familiarity with wildlife physiology and form, and his work in this genre earned Rip a reputation for a uniquely natural style that brought movement and grace into a field normally focused on technical accuracy rather than presentation.

Having won numerous taxidermy awards, first regionally then nationally, friends and family began to encourage Rip to pursue his talents more di...