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Devonian Display Idea - "fossils On A Rod"


hitekmastr

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Devonian Fossils Can Be Drilled and

Displayed on a Rod Like a Sculpture

I've been experimenting with some creative ways to display fossils. A major challenge was how to display several small rocks covered with Devonian death assemblages so that they can be swiveled to view the fossils on all sides. What I decided to do - which I discussed elsewhere on this forum - was to drill each rock using an extra long masonry drill bit (3/16) - then thread the pieces on a long steel rod, which was bent to hold each rock in place. My wife recommended placing one or two decorative beads under each rock to allow it to rotate. The following images show the finished sculpture and closeups of the individual pieces. The most impressive piece, which is also the smallest piece, was placed at the top - in addition to shell fossils, the top piece shows a segment of a very large trilobite, probably Dipleura. You can also see the beads under each rock, and at the very top is an ornamental wooden bead that was drilled and glued.

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The sculpture is anchored in a block of wood that was drilled to hold the base of the rod, and stained. At first I thought the piece would be off balance and easily tip over, however the combination of the weight of the rocks and the wood are solid and heavy enough and keep the piece surprisingly stable. I intend to add a brass plate identifying the location and other details. This is our first attempt to find an artistic solution that allows us to both preserve and display fossil finds. As most of our fossil friends know, we believe that collecting swarms of fossils and tucking them away in boxes is not a great solution - finding a creative way to display fossils keeps them visible, whether they are displayed in our homes, offices, or museums. I'm currently planning to collect more Devonian pieces to create a few more of these sculptures.

Another possibility I'm thinking about is how to do something similar with fern fossils - fern fossils are larger in size, but much thinner, which poses different challenges.

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Way outside the box, which is where beautiful fossils belong!

"There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley

>Paleontology is an evolving science.

>May your wonders never cease!

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I really love this display - the beads were a great idea too. Such an attractive way to display the fossils so that you can really examine them on all sides.

~Lise MacFadden - Arkona, Ontario, Canada

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I really love this display - the beads were a great idea too. Such an attractive way to display the fossils so that you can really examine them without on all sides.

The best thing is that this allows us to not only preserve the fossils but display them so they don't disappear in a box or cabinet. One challenge I want to tackle in the future is finding a way to artistically label the various species so they have a fossil ID integrated into the artwork in some way. That would be an ideal but it's REALLY tricky and probably requires some special pieces where there is room to put the labels so we'll keep an eye out for those. It's easy to do with fern leaves which are often spread out with blank spaces but not so each with 3D shell assemblages.

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  • 2 years later...

I know that this thread is quite old but just in case the original poster is still seeing this...

WOW! What an amazing idea. I have been spending a good bit of time developing ideas for displaying fossils in an artistic way that makes them a part of our everyday lives and not crated up.

Bravo sir!

Fossils: The Original Limited Edition Collectible.

www.bonesandstone.com

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