From Scalpel to Shrine: Practical Death Craft with Bones & Wet Specimens

This workshop is a hands-on introduction to working responsibly and competently with the dead—human and animal—through the lens of both mortuary science and ritual practice. Designed for practitioners who are curious, serious, and unafraid of getting their hands dirty, this class focuses on how this work is actually done, not how it is aestheticized. Drawing on professional mortuary training, Mortellus will teach foundational skills used in taxidermy, specimen preparation, and skeletal care, including safe handling of remains, bone cleaning methods, wet specimen preparation, chemical safety, proper PPE, instrument use, and basic anatomical handling. Yes, this includes how to hold a scalpel without loosing a thumb, how to work cleanly, and how to keep both yourself and your workspace safe.

Alongside the technical instruction, we will address the practical realities of ritual and magical work with these materials: how bones and specimens are stored, maintained, repaired, and ritually integrated over time;…