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Upcoming Prep Project - The Green River Bird


Ptychodus04

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1 hour ago, Ptychodus04 said:

We are calling it Anneavis cf. annea.

One of the Eocene proto-mousebirds form North America.  

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Geez! Congratulations Kris. That is one helluva spectacular job. I don't know how I missed this thread, but it is an amazing epic story of your efforts to produce this masterpiece. This should end up displayed in some museum. Thanks a bunch for sharing.  

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Incredible! :default_clap2:Pretty sure most people have no clue how much work goes into those straightforward-looking fossil slabs at the museum, haha. Thanks for sharing the awesome journey of this project with us. It was so cool to be "involved" in each step like that!

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     :star:

Wishing you a merry Christmas, a happy Hanukkah, and a joyful holiday season!

🎄   🕎   🎁

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22 minutes ago, Maniraptora said:

Pretty sure most people have no clue how much work goes into those straightforward-looking fossil slabs at the museum, haha.

Indeed! Most of this is generally done behind the scenes and the public sort of ends up assuming fossils come right out of the ground looking spectacularly prepped. Anytime Hollywood has depicted archaeologists or paleontologists they have done their part to further this fantasy that fossils like Archaeopteryx are simply exposed in the field with a simple swipe of a brush in the field. :rolleyes:

 

Last year I had the privilege of volunteering in the "live lab" in the Fantastic Fossils exhibit at the FLMNH which ran for 9 months. Folks were able to watch paleontologists (and poser volunteers like me) work on some really cool looking fossils found nearby at the Montbrook site in Florida. They were able to see the detailed work that is necessary to prep fossils to the state that they can be studied or be displayed in exhibits for the public to view. Many visitors were fascinated to see what goes into the preparation of fossil specimens.

 

It would have been a slow process to watch Kris prep this in real-time in an exhibit environment (and I guarantee his productivity would have decreased by 90% making it an even longer prep job). We are indeed fortunate to be able to have followed the progress of this bird seeing the light of day after a nap of some 50 million years. One can only hope that Kris decides to enthrall us with progress photos of his next big prep job. ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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11 minutes ago, digit said:

Indeed! Most of this is generally done behind the scenes and the public sort of ends up assuming fossils come right out of the ground looking spectacularly prepped. Anytime Hollywood has depicted archaeologists or paleontologists they have done their part to further this fantasy that fossils like Archaeopteryx are simply exposed in the field with a simple swipe of a brush in the field. :rolleyes:

 

 

And for those who buy fossils, the amount of prep time is part of the labour value that is baked into the price. Sometimes it takes doing one's own prep to understand the "sticker shock" of some fossils, atop the time spent in exploration and digging. 

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...How to Philosophize with a Hammer

 

 

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Well, the bird has flown the coop! I drove it up to Kansas yesterday and met my client at the Sternberg to hand it off. I think it was a successful project as he started crying and hugged me when he saw it in person. :thumbsu:

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He was crying because he meant for you to prep the Knightia on the reverse instead. :P

 

Sounds like you've got a happy client and reputation means you're going to be busier and busier.

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

 

 

 

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5 hours ago, digit said:

He was crying because he meant for you to prep the Knightia on the reverse instead. :P

 

Sounds like you've got a happy client and reputation means you're going to be busier and busier.


Oh snarge!! I totally missed that one. Oops. He was really happy. I won’t fuss about having more work if it comes my way. :P

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Kris that is an outstanding job you did! 

How lucky your are to have been able to prep that bird!

Dipleurawhisperer5.jpg

I like Trilo-butts and I cannot lie.

 

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5 hours ago, Darktooth said:

Kris that is an outstanding job you did! 

How lucky your are to have been able to prep that bird!

Thanks. It was definitely a special specimen. It was an honor to work on it.

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:notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy::notworthy:

 

not possible to say more, fantastic work and a great result! One of the best fossil birds I have seen in my life

So, when you look for a christmas gift for me and do not know what you want to get me, I have an idea :rolleyes:

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On 3/14/2023 at 10:18 AM, FossilDAWG said:

Did you ever learn of a definitive ID on this bird? 

 

Don

No bird fossil expert but it looks like a rock dove :DOH::heartylaugh:

 

@Ptychodus04

That came out great.

 

So, if you charged only minimum wage you'd be able to afford a nice dinner at least.

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11 hours ago, Sjfriend said:

No bird fossil expert but it looks like a rock dove :DOH::heartylaugh:

 

@Ptychodus04

That came out great.

 

So, if you charged only minimum wage you'd be able to afford a nice dinner at least.

 

Thanks. I'm pretty happy with it.

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I just came back from a conference in Seattle.  Drove out and stopped in Kemmerer (Wyoming) on the way out, which was more random than planned. My wife and I got to see the bird with our own eyes in the store it is being displayed in (for now).  Very nice work, ptych.  Got to see some other things they are working on in their shop... a big croc was the highlight.  

Edited by jpc
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14 minutes ago, jpc said:

I just came back from a conference in Seattle.  Drove out and stopped in Kemmerer (Wyoming) on the way out, which was more random than planned. My wife and I got to see the bird with our own eyes in the store it is being displayed in (for now).  Very nice work, ptych.  Got to see some other things they are working on in their shop... a big croc was the highlight.  

 

Awesome! They are great people. That croc is really well preserved and insanely complete.

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  • 6 months later...

Spent 1.5 hours reading this whole thread, really enjoyed it.  Quite the specimen, GRF does have amazing preservation. 

Now, no one can complain about a tough prep before they compare it to this bird and Kris's excellent work.  You have amazing talent.

 

This is pretty inspirational, especially to me since I recently just started prepping.  Finished my first prep, a small brachipod last week.  Been binging these sort of threads here on TFF, trying to learn.  I might be posting some similar sort of content like you did here Kris, except with a beginners point of view.

 

Have a great week everyone!

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-Jay

 

 

 

''...science is eminently perfectible, and that each theory has constantly to give way to a fresh one.''

-Journey to the Center of the Earth, Jules Verne

 

 

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And when you're looking at it in person... WOW!  Words certainly can't describe it well enough. The visual and emotional senses plus the thought processes going on while standing in front of it are left out with just pictures, IMO.   The proprietor, Lisa, insisted on me being in the pic...oh well, maybe I should have cropped that out. I had just left the American Fossil quarry up the road and was recuperating from dehydration...because I kept splitting rock for the entire 4 hours shift I purchased without taking a proper break. Stoopid! 

 

PXL_20230826_211631106.thumb.jpg.01ea117816232a519213e6d09b899be1.jpg

 

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Very nice! It may be some time before it is on display but I'll have to make a note to stop into the Field next time we're up in Chicago visiting family. ;)

 

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

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awesome!  Now I will have to make another trip to the Field, just to see it in person!

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"There is no shortage of fossils. There is only a shortage of paleontologists to study them." - Larry Martin

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With the new and improved forum, the size limit for attachments is big enough to add some of my shorter time lapse videos from this prep! I had to crop them pretty close but that’s what happens when your camera is recording in 4k! I’m pretty sure some of the resolution is lost but they’re still better than nothing at all. :P

 

 

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